You can turn your Samsung smartphone into a retro Nintendo Game Boy

You can now turn your Samsung smartphone into a Nintendo Game Boy.

SAMSUNG has a new weapon in the smartphone wars and it comes from a time before the existence of iPhones or Galaxy S8s — the beloved Nintendo Game Boy.

The pocket-sized device was a favourite of any kid in the 90s and helped achieve iconic status for games like Tetris, Donkey Kong and Pokemon.

And now if you have a new Samsung smartphone, you can experience them again in all their nostalgic glory.

The Korean smartphone manufacturer recently licensed Los Angeles company Hyperkin's SmartBoy Android add-on which effectively turns certain Samsung smartphones into an old-school Game Boy, equipped with a cartridge slot for your favourite games.

Sure you can find simulators for certain games which mimic the classics on your smartphone, but this chunky add-on promises the real deal experience.

The SmartBoy can play both Game Boy Original and Game Boy Colour game cartridges. It is also compatible with other apps and games, including Game Boy Advance apps from Google Play.

According to the company behind it, the SmartBoy was designed for current-gen Samsung devices with USB Type-C ports.

The product actually started as one big joke. Last year, Hyperkin announced the product as an April Fool's joke but after being inundated with positive feedback the company actually decided to follow through with the idea.

"The SmartBoy has been about two years in the making — three if you count the months we were kicking around the idea," the product's lead designer Chris Gallizzi said in a statement.

"From an April Fool's Joke to a successful dev kit, and now an officially licensed device, that little guy has come a long way."

It's not due to hit stores until later this year and will come with a $67 ($US49.95) price tag.

At the moment it's only set for release in the US and Korean markets but then again, a wave of positive feedback might change that.

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Source: You can turn your Samsung smartphone into a retro Nintendo Game Boy