Handheld games consoles are more than just a means of playing things on the move – as objects we hold and stare at for hours on end, they need to be aesthetically pleasing as well as comfortable to use, and that can certainly be said of the Game Boy line.
We've always felt that the Game Boy Pocket, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance are some of the most visually appealing portable games systems ever made, and now we can gaze at their beauty from the comfort of our office wall, thanks to the efforts of Grid, a studio which takes old pieces of technology and places them in attractive frames, ready to be mounted wherever you fancy.
Everything from smartphones to MP3 players is on offer, but Grid doesn't just take the device itself and frame it – that would be too easy. Instead, Grid's artists take the device apart and tastefully lay out its innards within the frame, so you can see exactly what made the magic happen inside some of your most beloved pieces of consumer technology.
Grid kindly sent us samples you see on this page, and they're pretty stunning. Each console is deconstructed in incredible detail, highlighting various parts such as motherboards, volume dials and buttons. The effect is remarkably pleasing on a visual level, and these do look really nice on your wall. We've had plenty of admiring comments since we popped them up in the office.
The catch? At around $200, Grid's framed consoles aren't cheap. It's also fair to question the wisdom of taking these consoles out of active circulation by tearing them apart and putting them in a frame (we'd imagine they can be reassembled if need be, but the point stands). While all of these systems are available in abundant numbers right now – Nintendo sold millions of these things, after all – there may come a time when they're in shorter supply; certainly, the price of second-hand Game Boy systems is rising all of the time. We'd imagine Grid is making these framed systems in relatively small batches, but we can totally see why some people might feel this is an unwise use of otherwise valuable consoles.
(UPDATE: We've since spoken to Grid and it has confirmed that the units it uses in these products are faulty and not working consoles. Phew!)
Despite such concerns, there's no denying the fact that these framed Game Boys look gorgeous. When you consider that many people will happily spend thousands of dollars on artwork for their wall, we'd like to think that these offer a much more appealing alternative to gamers and geeks all over the world.
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Comments (27)
Yea, I saw the company advertising their products on Instagram and it was the first ad I probably ever enthusiastically clicked on to learn more. Unfortunately, they're sold out of the game boy ones. Beautiful artwork, indeed.
The purpose of video game consoles is to feel, interact and be played. Ok, it was probably broken. Still a working version in the frame that you could be taken out and played with, would made it complete.
He’s missing gba sp
kek F THAT. "taking these consoles out of active circulation" another scumbag seller
As far as I know, the units they use are non-working units that have been cleaned up.
Ooh, they are really nice. I might be tempted to nick the idea and make my own though, it would be a fun hobby-project.
These are so pretty omg
Yet more Etsy tat....
What I would like is a picture frame to display my fully working GBAs, one that keeps them out on display but makes it easy for me to take out and play when I want to.
These look nice.
At least he's not using them to make lamps and coasters and pencil holders and sh*t.
i was going buy one of these pics. Then stopped and thought i have a 6 and 8 year old who will then try make one of their own. hopefully they will still be making them when the buggers leave home
AW Yeah Baby
Even if the units were non-functional that is still a lot of spare/replacement parts being taken from circulation.
These look fantastic, but the price says no.
Make your own for literally quarter the price, or less. What a scam.
I’m tempted to get the gameboy one for my office
If the gameboy is NOT coming to switch, do we have a same situation as with the 4K rumors?
@Moistnado build one
I saw one of these on Angry Video Game Nerd's wall during their new weekly podcast. I was wondering what it was and where they got it.
That’s pretty cool, actually. Would buy.
They just look like a waste of Game Boys to me.
@Guitario I was thinking about doing that. Pretty much a picture frame with some kind of foam cut out or something. I 3D printed a stand, which came out OK, but not great.
@Moistnado I think it would turn out awesome👍
@Andigaming I would imagine most of them would have ended up in a junk yard otherwise.
I wonder what they are doing with the screens.
Faulty consoles could be repaired... but I guess nobody would buy a Game Boy for $200.
@Mountain_Man You've clearly never heard of 8bitaestetics:
https://www.8bitaesthetics.com/collections/frontpage?page=1
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