nintendo 7

Sony has been in the mobile business full force since its merger with Ericsson in 2001. Microsoft partnered with Nokia in April 2014 and there have been phones bearing the Microsoft’s logo since November of that year. Notice a name missing from this short list?

Nintendo has never been in the mobile business and for years they refused to even consider games for cell phones. However, that hasn’t stopped Nintendo fans mocking up and dreaming of a mobile phone made by their beloved game company. Most have been hilariously bad, but a recent design by the tech website Curved has plenty of good things going for it.

Despite stating in a press conference earlier this year that they would release mobile applications in the future, we have yet to see Nintendo’s logo flashing up on smartphone screens. While this could all simply be down to Nintendo’s notoriously strict quality control and wanting to ensure that such applications are worthy of its company logo, is it possible that Nintendo is in fact quietly developing a phone of its own in the meantime? It’s a bit of a stretch, certainly, but it would be pretty great if they were developing something like this.

nintendo 9

YouTube/Curved

nintendo 7

YouTube/Curved

This mock-up would run an Android OS that was designed with the Wii U in mind. A button would release a pair of pop-out controls in either an NES-style two-button or Wii U-style four-button configuration. Curved, like the rest of us, would also expect streaming capabilities that would enable the user to play Wii and Wii U games from the console on the phone. Coming in white or black, the phone would match up well with the color scheme of the Wii U.

While this is all but a Mario pipe dream, it’s probably one of the best mock ups we’ve seen of a Nintendo-made mobile phone. Let’s take a look through history and check out a few of the others.

▼ We love the color scheme and retro look of this phone, and it’d probably be a big hit with the fanboys. But look at how little space there is for the buttons—this thing would be a bit of a nightmare to hold.

nintendo 6Tumblr/Hokori

▼ This was an early concept way back in 2010, barely even any indication that this would be a Nintendo phone.

nintendo 1Mogu Mogu Blog

▼ Definitely has a nice retro Nintendo feel, right down to the battery looking like a Gameboy cartridge. I’m not a huge fan of the plug-in controller though; how often have you seen someone take a controller out of their bag just to play a game on their phone?

nintendo 5design by pierre cerveau

nintendo 8design by pierre cerveau

▼ This design seems a little baffling…apparently there are three screens here? How many breakable screens do we need on our phones? Might as well just add an LTE receiver to a 3DS and call it a day.

nintendo 4Concept Phones

nintendo 3Concept Phones

▼ We can really feel the implementation of the original Wii design on this phone concept, but not exactly sure how this would allow us to play games. According to the video it just seems like another way for Miis to wiggle their way into our lives.

nintendo 2YouTube/T3 – The Gadget Experts

Some interesting ideas overall, but there is still no indication that Nintendo will ever jump into the mobile phone business. Both Microsoft and Sony had to merge with or buy an existing phone business to really make an impact and there aren’t too many floundering cell phone companies left for Nintendo to even try to team up with. That said, Blackberry has been awfully quiet lately hasn’t it? Is Research in Motion about to become Nintendo in Motion? Probably not, but at least we can dream.

Which of these concepts would you buy if Nintendo ever made a phone? Let us know in the comments section below.

Source: Hachima Kiko H/T Kotaku Japan
Top Image: YouTube/Curved