Gaming - News
Nintendo Worked On A Touchscreen For The Game Boy Color That Was Never Released
By A RIDDELL
Through the GDC Vault catalog, viewers can watch archived Game Developers Conference speeches from years ago. In one of these decade-old speeches, Nintendo hardware designer Masato Kuwahara educates the audience about the inspirations for the Nintendo DSi, revealing a concept for a Game Boy Color with a touchscreen.
In his 2009 keynote speech, Kuwahara shows an image of a Game Boy Advance SP hooked up to a touch panel prototype and explains that it would be able to display color; however, the concept was not well received. Kuwahara cites the lack of a backlight for its initial rejection, explaining, "I think it's because the screen is dark and it's a little difficult to play."
Following the release of the Game Boy Advance SP in 2003, Kuwahara was asked to show his idea to a product panel. It was received positively by the panel, but still "did not lead to commercialization" at that time. The idea of incorporating a touch panel into a Nintendo console remained in the memory, with the Nintendo DS entering development in 2004.
