If your phone is an older model and can't handle Pokémon GO, this alternative might be useful. A user is working on a project that will let you play Pokémon GO via VMU.
A homebrew project for the VMU
Pokémon GO continues to be a hot topic. More than a month after its launch, the mobile phenomenon keeps gaining followers, but a surprising number of people who desperately want to play with Pikachu and friends can't due to technical limitations, such as not owning a smartphone new enough to run the game. For this group, here's interesting news: An Instagram user with the handle guacasaurus_mex is working on a project that will let you play Pokémon GO via VMU.
Those who have owned a Dreamcast, Sega's legendary console, will surely remember the VMU (Visual Memory Unit). This memory card, besides its basic function as removable storage, let you play several mini-games in some titles, such as the Chao Adventure from Sonic Adventure. And although it lacks raw graphical power, the VMU also doesn't have a GPS antenna or augmented reality camera like current smartphones, but guacasaurus_mex promises a randomly generated map grid to navigate on the monochrome 48x32 pixel LCD screen.
There will even be a small mini-game based on catching monsters with Poké Balls to replace those small taps we make on the phone's touchscreen. It's worth clarifying that this adaptation of Pokémon GO for VMU doesn't have the endorsement of Nintendo or Sega. Anyway, guacasaurus_mex clarifies that the game will only be available in 2017, given the time it will take to create sprites for all 151 Pokémon. The good news is that this user already has experience adapting mobile games for the VMU, like the controversial Flappy Bird. For now, we'll have to wait until next year to catch Pokémon on a VMU.
Source: Ars Technica
