Nintendo's Game Boy is no doubt the most successful handheld game console that was ever released in the market during the 80s. Now, another version of it will definitely fit your pocket, the Tiny Game Boy.
The original version of Nintendo's Game Boy sold 200 million units worldwide since it was first release in 1989. Subsequent follow up on the Game Boy were released, Game Boy Pocket and Game Boy Micro, having the original design but in a smaller version. However, Tiny Game Boy is the new one to beat in terms of the size and Nintendo did not create it.
Tiny Game Boy is a keychain-sized handheld functional game console built by a hacker named Jeroen Domburg aka Sprite_TM. The Tiny Game Boy is first introduced in 2016 Hackaday SuperConference. The conference is an annual event which gathers hardware hackers, builders, engineers and other enthusiasts who build new interesting systems from scratch.
According to The Verge, Jeroen Domburg was inspired when he saw a Tiny Game Boy keychain which is used for a clock. He decided to build the Tiny Game Boy and make it fully functional like the usual Game Boy does. The Tiny Game Boy now probably holds the record of the smallest working Game Boy ever created.
The Tiny Game Boy features a 96 x 64 color OLED display screen and runs with ESP32 chip. The chip is integrated with Wi-Fi which allows it to transfer ROM to the Game Boy. Also, the small game console is built with custom-3D printed case with built-in speakers.
Moreover, the Tiny Game Boy has installed GNUboy emulator tweaked by Jeroen Domburg to make Game Boy games run on the small console. It is even reported that it can run the game "Doom," Kotaku reported.
Meanwhile, Jeroen Domburg will be releasing the code and build process of how he did Tiny Game Boy possible via his website. The Hackaday project of Domburg seems cool and hopefully the Tiny Game Boy will be developed more.
