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Raspberry Pi Gameboy

Posted by Soulskill on from the what's-old-is-new dept.

An anonymous reader writes: An enterprising hacker took on a project to rebuild a broken Gameboy using emulation software, a Raspberry Pi, and a few other easily-obtainable parts. The result: success! The hacker has posted a detailed walkthrough explaining all of the challenges and how they were solved. "Using a Dremel, I cut out a most of the battery compartment as well as some posts that on the case for the LCD that would no longer be needed. Doing so, the Pi sits flush with the back of the DMG case. ... The screen was the first challenge. The screen runs off 12V out of the box which wouldn't work with the USB battery pack. The USB battery pack is rated at 5V, 1000mAH so the goal was go modify the screen to allow it to run at 5V. ... I finally got it to work by removing the power converter chip as well as soldering a jumper between the + power in and the resister on the top right."

39 of 60 comments (clear)

  1. Now I wish.... by bobbied · · Score: 1

    I had kept my old gameboy.... Imagine dragging that thing out and streaming a movie on it for your friends.... How did you do that?

    --
    "File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
    1. Re:Now I wish.... by bobbied · · Score: 1

      None of those things had a video display....

      But I get your point..

      --
      "File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
    2. Re:Now I wish.... by TheCycoONE · · Score: 2

      Yes, it would have been interesting if he used at least some original game boy parts, but nope, all new hardware inside the case.

      Hopefully someone posts a followup where they actually rig up the original screen and inputs.

    3. Re:Now I wish.... by Narcocide · · Score: 1

      ... and then maybe hollowing out a stone and showing how cool streaming could have been in the Neolithic...

      Sarcasm mode off

      Wait, that was sarcasm? That was a great idea!

    4. Re:Now I wish.... by Blaskowicz · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The story is misleading in this, but see TFA and a lot of the article is how he fitted a brand new 3.5" 640x480 screen (which is impressive in res and price by the way)

      The summary didn't make sense anyway : Game Boy runs at 6 volts, not 12 volts so it was not about using the Game Boy's screen at all.

    5. Re:Now I wish.... by GTRacer · · Score: 1

      To paraphrase:
      Arthur: Who would want a computerized rock?
      Ford: Another computerized rock?

      I'll take my towel and be off now...

      --
      Defending IP by destroying access to it? That makes sense, RIAA/MPAA. Go to the corner until you can play nice!
    6. Re:Now I wish.... by Dogtanian · · Score: 1

      The point that he is a humorless old bastard? Yeah, we all got that point. There was nothing wrong with your original comment. Some people just hang here that are not really nerds.

      Not sure how you come to that conclusion. If anything, I'd expect nerds to be the ones more likely to care that the underlying tech was the authentic original, beyond its external appearance.

      Or perhaps this is one of the differentiators between a "nerd" and a "geek".

      Either way, whatever one thinks of this sort of thing, it isn't really a story. People have been shoving small-form factor PCs inside old computer cases for years now, leading to stupid headlines like "upgraded Commodore 64 runs 10,000 times faster" when it should say "midrange Micro-ATX PC shoved inside gutted and mutilated Commodore 64 case (with holes cut for ports and slimline DVD drive) runs at its usual speed, supports C64 emulator like every other PC, doesn't even use the original keyboard".

      I doubt this is even the first time something like this has been done with a Raspberry Pi. I'm not attacking this submitter in particular, and I don't dislike it as much as I would had he destroyed a much rarer retro device for such purposes, but it's still not news.

      --
      "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
    7. Re:Now I wish.... by _anomaly_ · · Score: 1

      He did use the original inputs (control pad and buttons, power slider).

      --
      "I have no special gift, I am only passionately curious." - Albert Einstein
  2. Is it still a Gameboy? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I don't think the Ship of Theseus metaphor really applies when you change parts.

    1. Re:Is it still a Gameboy? by tepples · · Score: 2

      The games are either A. dumped using a Retrode adapter or B. pirated.

    2. Re:Is it still a Gameboy? by omnichad · · Score: 1

      Considering he had real Gameboy already and probably real cartridges, I refuse to believe that downloading ROM dumps digitally identical to the same cartridges are piracy - regardless of what Nintendo's lawyers believe.

  3. AGAIN WITH THIS by Crashmarik · · Score: 3, Insightful

    http://build.slashdot.org/stor...

    wasn't all that interesting the first round, just how many raspberry pin a cutesy box stories are needed ?

    1. Re:AGAIN WITH THIS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      http://build.slashdot.org/stor...

      wasn't all that interesting the first round, just how many raspberry pin a cutesy box stories are needed ?

      The stories will continue. They delight and amuse the masses of Slashdot readers. You may go if you wish. Good day.

    2. Re:AGAIN WITH THIS by amiga3D · · Score: 1

      citation?

    3. Re:AGAIN WITH THIS by Charliemopps · · Score: 1

      http://build.slashdot.org/stor...

      wasn't all that interesting the first round, just how many raspberry pin a cutesy box stories are needed ?

      Right? This is like the 4th RaspberryPI gameboy on slashdot this year.

    4. Re:AGAIN WITH THIS by fellip_nectar · · Score: 1

      It's 'settled science', you ignorant doubter!

      --
      Worst. Signature. Ever.
  4. Let me save the editors the trouble then by Crashmarik · · Score: 1

    https://www.google.com/search?...

    All the Raspberry Pi in a gameboy box stories you could ever want.

    You have to wonder what the progression of these will be

    Raspberry Pi does Coleco Football
    http://www.evl.uic.edu/aej/526...

    Raspberry PI does Merlin
    http://upload.wikimedia.org/wi...

    Probably not this
    http://retrothing.typepad.com/...

    Seeing as people are still selling and making new ones and I am sure the people doing so actually guard their rights.

  5. The golden question.. by xushi · · Score: 1

    Can it play Zelda? :)

    1. Re:The golden question.. by Bing+Tsher+E · · Score: 5, Interesting

      The important question for me would be: can I plug in any of my Gameboy carts and expect it to play the game? That would actually be fairly trivial but nobody seems interested in something like that. It's just a Z80 and the whole schematic is published.

      I bought a Zelda Gameboy Advance cart at a used game store just last night. The Gameboy Advance SP still rocks, esp. if you get a model 101 version. It's so perfectly balanced, and plays any Gameboy cart going all the way back to the earliest that I fail to understand why anybody would even bother 'emulating' it with new hardware.

    2. Re:The golden question.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      "...I fail to understand why anybody would even bother 'emulating' it with new hardware."

      That is because you are not a nerd. Nerds do not just go buy solutions, they create them. Getting the job done is not always as important as how you got the job done.

    3. Re:The golden question.. by wed128 · · Score: 1

      Not to be a grammar nazi, but why did you single-quote the word 'emulating'? Did you mean it ironically or something? The word itself seems to be used correctly...

    4. Re:The golden question.. by bluefoxlucid · · Score: 1

      William Strunk covered this in 1914. You're never supposed to put quotes around words like that, as it puts on airs to show the audience that you're using some vulgar slang, but we're all better than that.

      Quotes are used when referencing a term. We call this "using quotes". If you otherwise "use quotes" around "things" in your "sen-tance", you look like a "huge jackass" like Dr. Evil.

      --
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    5. Re:The golden question.. by Abstrackt · · Score: 1

      ... I fail to understand why anybody would even bother 'emulating' it with new hardware.

      The simplest reason would be to avoid carrying more hardware. I love my SP but since it's a unitasker I usually leave it out of my bag. Other potential reasons include, but are not limited to, ROM hacks, developing a deeper understanding of the technology and simply overcoming the challenge of emulating something correctly.

      --
      They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it's not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance. - Terry Pratchett
    6. Re:The golden question.. by Blaskowicz · · Score: 1

      But a GBA with a little "magic" cartdrige (I mean flash / linker) will allow more uses out of it, like carrying 20 games (with the option of them being legit, though Nintendo never liked that and always pretended ripping your cartridges is wrong), running your ROM hacks on real hardware and then miscellaneous homebrew programs and media readers.

      That said on the GBA SP, I think the form factor is pretty great but that the lighting is just bad, modding one to improve the lighting would be interesting if that can be done.

    7. Re:The golden question.. by Immerman · · Score: 1

      Possibly so that they permanently install their entire library of GB/GBA/GBC games and not have to lug around the carts? Not to mention being able to also add all their Nintendo, Sega, N64, retro-PC, etc,etc,etc games on the same device? If you like the shell why not put some far more capable guts into it. I'll admit I haven't seen many folks who care about balance, but that's nothing a couple strategically placed weights can't add.

      --
      --- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
    8. Re:The golden question.. by phorm · · Score: 1

      Yeah. Emulators for disc-based systems will often read original disks (although to be fair, they often do tend to work better with ISO's).
      For a GB hack, it would cool to see this with something like a USB/serial interface to the original cart slot.

  6. supprised it worked by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Given this guys lack of electronics expertise it is amazing it he got it to work.

    That sure is a strange looking resistor at the top right.

  7. Nice job by Animats · · Score: 1

    That's a nice job. Of course, the only original part is the case. Coneniently, there's someone who sells a board with buttons designed to fit in a GameBoy case and bring out the buttons for emulation purposes.

    If you 3D printed a new case, you would't need a Game Boy at all. I wonder if there's a decal set for that.

  8. Re:Computer emulator in a box is lame. by Immerman · · Score: 1

    Interesting, maybe. Practical? Not particularly. In the space of that ROM cart + reader you could fit most of a PC, including a flash card big enough to store every cartridge-based game ever released for any platform, though obviously you'd only install the games you've actually purchased...

    --
    --- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
  9. Re:screen by Immerman · · Score: 1

    That was my takeaway as well.

    --
    --- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
  10. this could in no way by MossStan · · Score: 1

    be more awesome.

    --
    It is what it is.
  11. UMG v. MP3.com by tepples · · Score: 1

    I refuse to believe that downloading ROM dumps digitally identical to [your own] cartridges are piracy - regardless of what Nintendo's lawyers believe.

    Nintendo's lawyers have nothing to do with it. The case law in the United States is UMG v. MP3.com .

    1. Re:UMG v. MP3.com by oldmac31310 · · Score: 1

      Whenever mp3.com is mentioned, I feel it is my duty to state that they still owe me $103.00

      --
      http://www.acetonestudio.com
    2. Re:UMG v. MP3.com by omnichad · · Score: 1

      Look at your own link:

      UMG argued, in part, that the copying was not covered by fair use because entire CDs were copied (instead of excerpts) and that the use was a commercial one (even though no fee was charged, it was supported by ad revenue).

      This use would not be commercial. It's the difference between a Slingbox and Aereo. Aereo is a commercial provider. Slingbox is DIY.

      And on top of that, I can't easily prove that I bought a ROM dumper on eBay/Craigslist (or borrowed one) and re-sold it once my collection was ripped. So I would hope the burden of proof that I didn't would be on them anyway.

      Furthermore, piracy is not a legal or case law term - it's more of an ethical term. And ethically, it is not wrong.

    3. Re:UMG v. MP3.com by tepples · · Score: 1

      Most ROM sites that I've seen are likewise supported by advertisement revenue.

    4. Re:UMG v. MP3.com by omnichad · · Score: 1

      I acquire mine via Bittorrent.

      And since I accidentally posted as anonymous, I now have to type a random disclaimer below to get Slashdot to let me post it.

  12. Capitol v. Thomas too by tepples · · Score: 1

    I acquire mine via Bittorrent.

    Which puts you in the same category legally as Jammie Thomas.

    1. Re:Capitol v. Thomas too by omnichad · · Score: 1

      Jammie Thomas was downloading copies of CD's she legally purchased?

  13. Super Game Boy by nensondubois · · Score: 1

    I still have all of my original games including the rarest of the lot! Tetris 1.0, Pokonyan and others. The most depressing thing about the Game Boy is that nobody really did anything that they could have with the Super Game Boy.

    --
    http://gamehacking.org/vb/threads/12747-nensondubois-codes http://twitter.com/nensondubois_