In March, a mobile phone case suddenly swiped on various game sites and communities.
A company named Wanle Cases has launched a mobile phone case priced at 506 yuan, and this expensive and a bit scary case, the biggest effect is to make the iPhone series models become Game Boy handheld game consoles in seconds (hereinafter referred to as the GB).
When a friend recommended the news to me, I replied very politely, "The legend of Li Du's poems has been passed down through thousands of mouths, so far it's not new."
Nothing else, it seems that every year before the new iPhone is released, there will always be similar news. By the way, on the model that is about to be replaced, for users who are not ready to buy a new phone, they will give a sense of presence.
But I have to say that this kind of creativity is indeed a good business, otherwise it is impossible to stir up every year.
I remember that just 2 years ago, there was a company that made all kinds of game-themed peripheral accessories. On April Fool's Day, they released a concept image of a GB-themed mobile phone case, which can be inserted into the GB game card you put in the old suitcase. Play directly.
As a result, this joke was sought after by users, and the company also took advantage of the trend to launch this mobile phone case at the E3 exhibition held in June of that year, and immediately bought a lot of money.
why? ? If you are familiar with the history of Nintendo's handheld consoles, you may say that from its release in 1989 to its discontinuation in 2005, this game console sold 200 million units, which is the feelings and memories of the post-80s and post-90s.
Just this, there will be a lot of ashes to pay, after all, that generation of game boys is now the main consumer group of iPhone.
You can think of this idea as a sentimental effect for a specific group of people or a fan economy, but this is not enough for companies to brush GB phone cases every year.
The experience of a player named Gabbelago may be more telling.
Also in 2016, this player deeply felt that playing games on a mobile phone was not enough for touch alone, so he deliberately spent several months exploring, but he was stunned to use 3D printing technology to toss out a GB-shaped mobile phone case. And it is specially made for playing the AR game "Pokémon Go", which can be regarded as keeping pace with the times with Nintendo's products.
Well, apart from admiration, there are not many ways to imitate such a personal geek mode. After all, 3D printing and trial and error specially adapted to games are still a bit far from ordinary players.
At this time, it is time to go back and talk about the 506 yuan mobile phone case at the beginning of the article. Maybe many people will make up their minds. This is just to replace the touch screen with the button, and then change the mobile phone case to a different way of playing, similar to this personal product that can be used in "Pokémon Go".
But the answer is not the case. This case as a peripheral for mobile phones is not only retro and restoration, but also sells peripherals and sells supporting games as peripherals.
The company named Wanle Cases, while selling mobile phone cases, also provides users with 10 ultra-classic games including "Tetris" and "Snake".
In other words, your phone case is not a decoration. If the user base is large enough, maybe it can become a GB game console by itself, customizing and selling exclusive games in the name of the platform.
This is quite similar to the gameplay of many AR, VR and Bluetooth peripherals that are suitable for various types of mobile phones, but it seems to have a black technology flavor and a retro feeling.
I just don’t know if this copycat has a GB shell with some classic games attached. Is there any copyright issue... (Published in the "Leyouji" column 186 of "People's Posts and Telecommunications" on March 30, 2018)
Zhang Shule People's Network, People's Posts and Telecommunications columnist, Internet and game industry observers