\u00a0<\/p>\n
Thirty years after Pok\u00e9mon Red and Blue launched in Japan, Nintendo is celebrating the anniversary with something that looks almost exactly like a Game Boy \u2014 except it will never, ever play a game. The Pok\u00e9mon Red & Pok\u00e9mon Blue Game Music Collection: Game Boy Jukebox is a miniature sound toy that slots mini cartridges to play the original games\u2019 iconic 8-bit soundtrack, and it\u2019s already selling out across regions.<\/p>\n
The device is a faithful shrunken replica of the original Game Boy, complete with the grey shell, D-pad, A\/B buttons, and a screen. None of those controls do anything. All the action happens through the cartridges: pop one in, and the player outputs the corresponding track, whether that\u2019s the hauntingly spare Lavender Town Theme, the adrenaline-spiked Gym Leader Battle music, or the quietly triumphant Pallet Town Theme. All 45 tracks from the original games are represented, covering everything from the Title Screen to the Ending Theme, with Jigglypuff\u2019s Song and the Pok\u00e9mon Center jingle tucked in between.<\/p>\n
Designer: Nintendo<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Junichi Masuda, composer of the original soundtrack, was involved in tuning the product. \u201cWe took particular care to make the audio sound just like Game Boy,\u201d he said, which goes a long way toward explaining why the format (one cartridge, one song) makes a certain kind of sense. It\u2019s tactile, deliberate, and forces you to actually choose what you want to hear rather than shuffling through a playlist.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
That said, the jukebox comes with some genuine limitations. There\u2019s no headphone jack, meaning the music plays out loud only, which caps its utility as background listening. The three required LR44 button cell batteries are included for demonstration but not for ongoing use. And at $69.99 (\u00a359.99 in the UK, 489 yuan in China), it\u2019s priced squarely as a collectible rather than an everyday gadget.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Nintendo is selling the jukebox exclusively through Pok\u00e9monCenter.com in North America with a one-per-customer limit. The UK has already sold out. Fans in mainland China can enter a lottery-based purchase system starting March 6. Gotta catch \u2019em all, right?!<\/p>\n
The post Nintendo\u2019s Game Boy Jukebox Plays Pok\u00e9mon Music on 45 Swappable Cartridges<\/a> first appeared on Yanko Design<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u00a0 Thirty years after Pok\u00e9mon Red and Blue launched in Japan, Nintendo is celebrating the anniversary with something that looks almost exactly like a Game Boy \u2014 except it will never, ever play a game. … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[16],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n