Monochrome Fantasia: Life in the Age of the Game Boy
The third best-selling video game system of all time never got the respect it deserved
If you’re not part of the hardcore retro scene, you might not have heard of the Analogue Pocket. The device, one in a new wave of FPGA-based handhelds, is compatible with all games from the Game Boy family, as well as a range of other systems through the use of adapters. The idea is to replicate the experience of playing a Game Boy as accurately as possible while also incorporating the features that modern consumers expect. That fidelity doesn’t come cheap, but for the serious enthusiast it’s as close to time travel as one can get.
The interest in devices such as these is a sound reminder that there is still some passion for the old Game Boy. The family of systems (including the Game Boy Color) sold 118 million units, making it Nintendo’s second-best selling system (after the DS line), the second-best selling handheld system and the third-best selling game system of all time.
Yet the Game Boy is — and has always been — treated as something of a sideshow. It was a supporting act to the main…
