Imagine if Nintendo made a Game Boy Advance with out the Advance half. That’s what online game console and handheld modder Obirux did: they created a reimagined original Game Boy handheld that retains the aesthetic language of the 1989 mannequin but reoriented it as a horizontally dealt with system akin to the Sega Game Gear, original GBA, and plenty of trendy handheld techniques, together with the Nintendo Switch (by way of Gizmodo).
This creation is known as the Game Boy DMG-0B “Prototype,” a homage to the original mannequin variety of the Game Boy DMG-01, the place DMG stands for Dot Matrix Game. Obirux has a short listing of what went into this modification: it required the sacrifice of two original Game Boy shells plus further plastic, padding, and paint / dye. Then the original display / entrance PCB board was eliminated and changed with a modified model of the PCB that comes with a substitute IPS display package — a contemporary display improve that gives a a lot clearer picture together with backlighting. It’s a stable improve over the fine-for-its-time Dot Matrix display and its odd distinction high quality. The display may output completely different hues, permitting for a semi-colorized look, together with a inexperienced pallet that echoes the original Dot Matrix show.
Not solely was the display upgraded, but so was the battery. Obirux shed the 4 AA battery association and changed it with a Li-ion battery, which not solely saves a ton of area but additionally means the cells wouldn’t need to be separated into reverse ends of the handheld like how Sega’s Game Gear had six AA batteries break up in two housing sections. Other parts like the buttons and ports had been reused and moved round the case. It even has a barrel energy connector as an alternative of a USB plug that different Game Boy modders have used, including to the genuine retro exterior look of the handheld.
Obirux describes themself as “an artist building unique playable works” and works in development in London. Many mods constructed by Obirux find yourself on the market on their web site, seemingly together with the HugeBoy we simply checked out — although, like every part else on the website, it’s already “sold out.”
I personally would love certainly one of Obirux’s GameDice PC mods, as I’m a stickler for all issues GameDice: like this spice orange Switch dock made by Littlewolf128 or the WaveBird joycons constructed by Shank. Also, it might be actually cool to see one other certainly one of these GameDice handhelds with an precise working slot-load disc drive.
