14 DAY TRIAL // Regardless of how many new games emerge every day, for some people, old titles like Super Mario Bros or Donkey Kong remain the best time killers on the subway, during break hours, on the toilet, etc.
Case in point, there are ways now to put your favorite Nintendo games on your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad. Some require jailbreaking while others don’t, but they all force you to tap some virtual buttons on the screen of your device.
Seeing how his son struggled to accurately hit those on-screen touch controls in a Game Boy interface, British designer Aws Jan thought up a brilliant solution that puts actual buttons over the display. Since that portion of the screen was only used for the button layout anyway, he figured why not put a silicone rubber sleeve with actual buttons over it.
“G-pad is designed for more than casual gaming-on-the-go. It's lightweight, slim goes with you anywhere. The shape of G-pad fits easily into your pocket, bag, or backpack. Games are always within easy reach,” says Jan. “Its comfortable, soft silicone rubber textured offer a sure – but comfortable – grip for hours of gaming.”
“I funded the prototype with my own money. But setting up a full manufacturing process is expensive — I can’t do it alone. Until I get large enough for huge orders,” he writes on Indiegogo.
Currently $1,596USD (€1,156) have been pledged of the $16,000 (€11,594) goal. The British designer says that, if he can raise more than that, he will “unlock” the two-color version as well. According to Jan, the accessory will be manufactured to fit iPhone 5, 5c, 5s, iPod touch 5th Gen, and even iPad mini.
Editor’s note Needless to point out, touchscreen controls aren’t exactly ideal for those of us growing up with 8-bit gaming gear. I wouldn’t be caught dead playing Metroid or Mortal Kombat with touchscreen controls, but I might pick these up again using the all-new G-pad by designer Aws Jan.
The G-pad looks and sounds like the best available solution to tackle the touch-controls problem that many nostalgic gamers face today. Of course, this doesn’t work for games that put their controls over some of the action on screen (unless Jan has a transparent version in the works).
The Indiegogo project has 53 days left, in other words plenty of time to reach the $16,000 (€11,594) goal. If you’ve always wanted a proper solution to play Game Boy ROMs on your iPhone, now’s the time to make a move.