Gunpei Yokoi, the late father of the Game Boy, famously embraced a design philosophy of "lateral thinking with withered technology," in which one found cool new ways to entertain with cheaper, older equipment. One can only wonder if Yokoi ever even considered the notion that, 25 years later, his iconic gray brick would be the subject of others' lateral thinking projects.
The hdmyboy project on Kickstarter is offering the means of converting the original Game Boy (sorry, no Pockets or Colors!) into its own little console capable of full HD and NES controller support. It's still classic Game Boy, but with the dottiest matrix and stereoist sound to be commonly found in this day and age. The device requires itself to be inserted between the front and back halves of the handheld, but the Netherlands-based designers say this is an easy and harmless modification to make.
You may perhaps be wondering to yourself whether displaying Game Boy graphics in full HD is really all that great an idea. This is understandable. The Mona Lisa is timelessly beautiful as well, you know, but that doesn't mean it'd be best to blow it up to the point where you can see her every pore and nosehair. The hdmyboy actually looks quite sharp on full display, though; at least judging from the offscreen-recorded footage that has been submitted. According to the design team, the direct connection to the digital signal means there's no need for blurring or emulation, and multiple colour palettes can be swapped in and out as well.
The designers are asking for €65,000 in funding for the project, with the goal about a quarter of the way met at the time of this post. Do you like the idea of playing Game Boy in high definition, or is tech like this just the definition of lunacy to you?
[source kickstarter.com]
Comments 31
What's the point?
@RedDevilAde
Apparently people throw money at anyone with an idea at Kickstarter, or so some may think.
I think it's a good idea. My Gameboy screen is fading and it would be nice to update it.
Sorta cool but it IS a bit pointless... I mean, why play it in HD? It doesn't look THAT better and you don't play GB games for the graphics anyway. Hmm I'm not sure.
Useless.
People who think this is useless must also think the Super Gameboy was useless.
1. Some people like to play their handhelds on their TV rather than hunched over a tiny, dim screen.
2. It's presented in a clarity that we've never had access to before, even if it's not a huge difference.
3 Some people just find this stuff fun. Lighten up, people.
A bit too rich for my blood personally. Not really, but I already spent too much on Flash carts to consolidate all my retro systems...
Either way, I wish them luck!
That video was the HD version? I didn't really notice a difference...
Interesting project. It will be interesting to see if they can pull it off
Played the Smash demo of the first Kirby game just to see what Game Boy would look like on a modern television and it was surprisingly nice. I doubt I'd spring for this personally, but it is a cool idea.
It's be great if I had a Gameboy but I just, don't LOVE Gameboy games THAT much. I always wanted one when I was a kid and I respect what it did for the industry and love it. Now that I'm grown and can afford all the games I want, I'm quite happy with playing my fav Gameboy games on my 3DS XL
I'll stick to the Virtual Console.
@redivgamer90 Yeah, you did.
The next level of HD obsession... and of course it costs a lot, but offers nothing substantial.
A cool idea. Yeah, there's other ways to play Gameboy games on a TV, but have you ever booted up a GB/C/A emulator and ran it full screen on an HD monitor with no ugly blurring filters? It looks really nice and sharp, much nicer than using a Super Gameboy or Gameboy Player on an HDTV.
That said, I wouldn't be willing to pay that price even if I still had an original Gameboy, and the device itself looks like it fattens up the Gameboy considerably., providing a thick midsection between the Gameboy's two original halves. Is it still easy to play on the device itself?
I never owned the original GB so i can't say if i'm impressed. It just looks the same to me would have been better to update the GBA like on Wii U
This already exists for those who managed to pick up a Retron 5 system. It already does a surprisingly good job of converting old Gameboy games to play on the big screen.
Wow, those games look amazing compared to their standard def counterparts! I'm usually put off from GB games simply because of how dated they look, and don't give me wrong they still look dated but it just looks so much better in high definition- it's unbelievable!
THIS is how I wish they'd sell GB VC games, granted it would have to be on Wii U for it to be in HD but still. If they sold a Gameboy capable of hooking up to the TV in high definition for $50 I'd totally buy that thing
IMHO it doesn't matter how well they can scale up the graphics to a television, these games always look better and feel better on a handheld screen. This is why I refuse to buy GBA VC games on Wii U. I just want to play Golden Sun in the bathroom, dang it!
@AshFoxX haha, this a thousand times!
Seeing the video on the kickstarter page...
It's actually super cool, I want one.
Thats a good idea to fill up your wallet, and run away with it in the end^^
IMO this it not worth supporting on Kickstarter. I'd rather throw my money at some new indie game I'd like to play. That being said, I'm not against the idea or anything, it's just not something I'd want. I like my handheld games on a... well, handheld, it's not just about the graphics but they were made for playing on the go. That's why I'm one of those who cannot understand why GBA games are on the Wii U shop and not the 3DS.
$80,000 to make my Game Boy games look uglier? No thanks. I already got the RetroN 5 for that purpose.
Great idea, let's take cult classic portable console and make it not-portable. Seems like these guys saw PlayStation TV device and thought it would be cool to do the same with GB. And 65 thousand euro? That's a lot of money for TV adapter.
Interesting though I don't really play many GB games as I never got into the console much.
Yes, because thats absolutely necessary. I always thought to myself "man, if only my original GameBoy had an HDMI out"
In all seriousness, thats a waste of time, as the GB is the last Nintendo system that needs something like that. What would be MUCH more appreciated is a N64 that is buffed up to work with a modern TV set. And / Or a more relyable source of N64 controllers (original shape) with a proper analog stick.
@Beechbone The thing is, the PSTV actually improves some games, as the Vitas button layout, its wonky shoulder buttons and that abomination of a back touchpad are a pain to use sometimes.
And (if they are compatible, which is the systems biggest and most stupid fault) it lets you play PSP games fullscreen on your TV, instead of the letter box mode the PSP itself put out.
Not to mention that you still have a second analog stick, which makes games like Monster Hunter so much more playable.
This project on the other hand is a waste of recources. Gamecube+GB Player+Proper Cable and youre set.
I liked the idea of playing your Game Boy games on a nice big HDTV...until I realised you actually have to mod the Game Boy itself and turn it into an even bigger brick.
I mean the graphics clearly looks retro-great when perfectly scaled up on a nice bit HDTV but I would never want to actually hack apart a Game Boy system to achieve this.
I kinda like this idea. Taking the screws out of my GB sounds a bit ominous but he says it's a simple job and all.
Well it might work for some, but personally I find that using 3DS Virtual Console is the better option here because of retained portability... And GameBoy games blown up to my 37" LCD would look like a wall mosaic or something. Keep in mind that this console renders everything at 160x144 pixels. But I guess if they get funded then that would mean that there are people thinking otherwise, so... To each his own. ;]
I'm not interested in the product, but I think it's great to have choices. More than once, I've found myself in the position of wanting product that did not exist and I've also had uses for products made in very small quantities. For those who have an interest in something like this, I think it's a great thing. It's not practical for me or for most, but it's cool. On a side note, I've always liked portables but find them harder to use with some neck issues I've developed in recent years. While portables are meant to be used on small screens, being able to play them on TVs might be very convenient for some. I know there are easier ways to do that.
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