Don't Get Too Excited About That Nintendo Emulator Patent

4chanOver the weekend, people got excited about a Nintendo patent that was published by the US Patent Trademark Office for a software emulator for handheld video game platforms such as the Game Boy and Game Boy Advance. This patent allows Nintendo to make game emulators for things like your smart phone, tablet, or in-flight entertainment devices. But before you have a heart attack, this also allows Nintendo to stop others from doing the same thing. Nintendo has held similar patents since 2000, and this one could be just continuing to cover their bases. Keep in mind that they're already doing basically this on their own existing platforms with the Virtual Console for 3DS and Wii U.

That said, the patent does contain language like "in some circumstances, it may be desirable to enable people to play GAME BOY.RTM. video games and other GAME BOY.RTM. applications on a personal digital assistant, cellular telephone or other such device," so keep your dreams alive if you're set on playing Pokémon on your iPhone.