Nintendo just filed a trademark for the Game Boy, and we're hyped
Nintendo appears to be toying with everyone's emotions yet again, filing a trademark application that included an image of the original Game Boy and igniting a handful of rumors, speculations, and general confusion about what exactly this company is up to.
Last week, a Twitter account that posts Japanese trademark filings alerted the world to a new trademark application from Nintendo that includes an image of the 1989 Game Boy — as well as the kinds of goods that the trademark covers, like clothing, chachkies, and video game consoles.
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The trademark filing flew under the radar until Japanese news sites like Rocket News 24 caught wind of it in recent days. According to Rocket News 24, the name "Game Boy" wasn't actually part of the trademark filing, but that image is unmistakable.
As for why Nintendo filed a trademark application for an image of a Game Boy, it's possible that it is simply trying to protect its brand, securing the likeness of the Game Boy for official swag and making sure other companies don't try to copy its design.
There's also a possibility that Nintendo is planning on releasing a new entry in its series of classic consoles: The Game Boy Classic Edition.
The Game Boy came out one year before the SNES hit stores in Japan in 1990, but perhaps with the 30th anniversary of the Game Boy coming up in 2019, Nintendo may want to line up a release of a Game Boy Classic Edition with that momentous occasion.
If Nintendo does take the Classic Edition route with the Game Boy, hopefully it doesn't miniaturize it like it did with other consoles. The Game Boy was small enough as it was, thank you.
In July, Nintendo filed a trademark application that included an illustration of the Nintendo 64 controller, which could also suggest that the company has a Nintendo 64 Classic Edition in the works too.
Nintendo has not yet responded to our request for verification of whether this trademark is related to a Game Boy Classic Edition, but we will update this story if it does.
