"...getting to enjoy these classics on your home television is even better."
Game Box Systems Make HDMI Capable Consolizer Kits That Provide Crisp Images on Your HDTV
The original Game Boy and Game Boy Color handhelds are two of the most beloved gaming consoles of the retro generation. With a huge library of great games, satisfying retro visuals, and wonderful design, these lightweight portable consoles defined many gamers’ childhoods. While it’s fun enough to play Game Boy games on the tiny built-in screen, getting to enjoy these classics on your home television is even better. While other handheld-to-television solutions have been available in the past, they don’t always look the best on modern HD televisions. Luckily, there are two new consolizer mod kits from the indie company GameBox that promise to transform your standard Game Boy into an HDMI-ready console!
"Both kits come packaged with all the appropriate ribbon cables, custom boards, and a nice shell.."
The New GBHD Color and GBHD Retro Consolizer Mods
The GBHD Color and GBHD Retro consolization mods from Gamebox are two wonderful kits that take your Game Boy experience into the modern era of visual display, providing clear HD visuals on a wide variety of televisions. Both kits come packaged with all the appropriate ribbon cables, custom boards, and a nice shell, so you’ll have everything you need to get started. Installing these mods requires a bit of soldering skill, so we recommend this kit for modders with some experience. However, the somewhat advanced installation is well worth it, as both the GBHD Color and GBHD Retro consolization kits can drastically improve your quality of play.
The installation process for either consolizer mod is slightly different, but should be easy enough for those with a decent level of experience. You’ll need to isolate the motherboard from an original Game Boy or Game Boy Color console by removing the screws and appropriate cables. After doing some light soldering to both the original motherboard and custom PCB, you’ll have to attach a few wires and begin assembling the final product in its shell. While it might sound simple when described like this, we highly recommend checking our Step-by-step GBHD Color and GBHD Retro video.
"Despite the overwhelmingly positive experience we had with these kits, they are not without their faults."
The Pros and Cons of the GBHD Color and GBHD Retro Conzolizer Mods
Once you’ve got everything all set up and are ready to game, it’s important to note the features that this fantastic mod enables. In addition to letting you play your Game Boy with a Super Nintendo controller (or Wii Classic Controller, depending on the kit) and displaying perfectly on your HD television, these kits have a few bonus features as well. By activating the on-screen display, you can select between 480p and 720p resolution, alter the image scaling, and fiddle with various cosmetic options. These mod kits also let you remap your button controls, providing an ideal setup for your thumbs. The GBHD Retro kit also includes a palette swap feature, giving you 16 unique color variances to test out.
Despite the overwhelmingly positive experience we had with these kits, they are not without their faults. Luckily, many of these negative issues will likely be resolved soon, as only pre-production test kits were available at the time of writing. In addition to the somewhat involved installation process, both the GBHD Color and GBHD Retro don’t have great compatibility with capture cards. We also experienced some issues getting proper audio from either device, but this is an issue that will surely be fixed before the final product launch.
"The custom shells are also well-designed, looking sleek and fun in your retro gaming setup."
Our Final Thoughts on the GameBox GBHD Consolization Kits
Despite the small number of hiccups we had with the pre-production kits, we highly recommend checking out either the GBHD Color or GBHD Retro if you’re in the market for a consolizer solution. The quality of the video output is of immense quality, displaying the gameplay without any sign of blurriness or imperfection. The custom shells are also well-designed, looking sleek and fun in your retro gaming setup. While more simple solutions exist for getting your Game Boy on the big screen, the GBHD Color and GBHD Retro are worth the small amount of hassle.
