As much as we wish it did, the Lego Game Boy does not play actual cartridges. The inevitable next step is to fix that error. Yes, that picture shows off a fully working Lego Game Boy built using a custom PCB (printed circuit board) that plays actual Game Paks or any of your modern homebrew titles. What’s more, the modder who created the working Lego Game Boy promised fans she will release a kit to turn the $50 Lego set into the best—or perhaps first—operational brick-based handheld. Tetris playing on a handheld made of blocks is likely the most ironic experience you can have with gaming hardware.
See Game Boy at LEGO
Australia-based modder Natalie the Nerd has been making waves in the retro handheld modding scene for long enough that when she claimed in July she would make the Lego Game Boy play actual cartridges, people paid attention. The modder proved that, occasionally, dreams do come true. She showed off a functional Lego Game Boy, complete with actual controls and a cartridge slot. To put it in the simplest terms, it’s damn glorious.
“I know from experience of routing Game Boy CPU PCBs that there isn’t much to it. There’s the RAM, CPU, some decoupling capacitors, and power regulation,” Natalie the Nerd wrote a blog post. She opted for the MGB (Pocket) CPU, the same as the one found in the 1996 version of the Game Boy line, versus the DMG launched in 1989. Space is tight when the external shell is made out of thick Lego bricks, so using the more recent chip made more sense, she said. “The DMG CPU has external VRAM, the MGB CPU has internal VRAM and in a very space-conscious build, that was the biggest factor.”
So no, this isn’t one of the many software emulation devices or even an Analogue Pocket running a custom FPGA (field-programmable gate array) board. In almost every way, it’s a real Game Boy. The working Lego Game Boy buttons and USB-C port are hooked up to 3D-printed parts. As far as mods go, this one seems relatively doable even for the newcomer with little DIY experience. On Discord, Natalie the Nerd confirmed she plans to release a mod kit. “It just needs to be refined a touch,” she said.
Lego told Gizmodo it worked closely with Nintendo to design the toy handheld, and it shows. The Lego Game Boy is very similar in scale compared to the real handheld that first debuted in 1989. Instead of a screen, it uses lenticular cards to offer a simulacrum of the famous green-shaded dot matrix display. The device also comes with a false cartridge slot to shove in brick-based Game Paks. Lego and Nintendo designed it as a display piece. If you intend to use it as a working handheld, you may need to break out the “Kragle,” aka superglue, to keep it from falling apart in your hands.
Lego rarely makes working, mechanical devices. I’m still hoping beyond hope that one designer’s working Lego film camera becomes a reality. If you’re not patient enough to wait for this mod kit and you need a working Lego gaming console right now, you can always jam an entire NES motherboard into the Lego version and relive the retro delights of the late 1980s.
See Game Boy at LEGO
Source link
#Modder #Nintendo #Didnt #Hack #Lego #Game #Boy #Play #Real #Cartridges
![‘Project Hail Mary’ Won’t Be Coming to Streaming Any Time Soon
With all the excitement of movies to come this week thanks to CinemaCon, it was almost easy to forget that MGM provided an interesting update on one of our favorite movies of the year that’s already out: Project Hail Mary will head back to IMAX theaters this weekend for an extended theatrical run. But that extension also means one thing: you’ll have to wait to stream it at home for a good while longer. During its presentation at CinemaCon this week MGM confirmed that Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s sci-fi hit would make its return to IMAX screens for a limited-time, one-week run starting this weekend, a move that will likely inch Project Hail Mary ever closer to crossing the $600 million box office mark. But to put a finer point on the news, Miller took to Twitter yesterday to confirm specifically that the extension means you won’t be able to watch the film at home for the forseeable future.
We announced yesterday that MGM is extending the exclusive theatrical window for PROJECT HAIL MARY so it won’t be on streaming anytime soon. This is a movie that needs to be seen on a big screen – and w a full return to IMAX screens for 1 week only starting this weekend, make… https://t.co/suK8NYpgWM — Christopher Miller (@chrizmillr) April 16, 2026 “It won’t be on streaming any time soon,” Miller’s tweet reads in part. “This is a movie that needs to be seen on a big screen […] Bring friends and loved ones. It’s an experience to share with others.” Project Hail Mary launched on March 20, so it’s not too surprising that it’s not headed home just yet—it’s just shy of a month into its theatrical window, which has now been extended by at least another week with the return to IMAX. But as studios begin to try realigning towards more theatrical releases with longer exclusivity windows again (one of the lingering aftereffects of covid’s impact on movie theaters), we should probably expect some of the biggest films of the year and beyond to try and hold off of hitting streaming for as long as they can.
At least in Project Hail Mary‘s case, you can still go and see it somewhere, even if it’s not at home. Good things come to those who wait, but for now, you can head to a movie theater to get your fix again. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who. #Project #Hail #Mary #Wont #Coming #Streaming #TimeAmazon MGM,Project Hail Mary,Streaming ‘Project Hail Mary’ Won’t Be Coming to Streaming Any Time Soon
With all the excitement of movies to come this week thanks to CinemaCon, it was almost easy to forget that MGM provided an interesting update on one of our favorite movies of the year that’s already out: Project Hail Mary will head back to IMAX theaters this weekend for an extended theatrical run. But that extension also means one thing: you’ll have to wait to stream it at home for a good while longer. During its presentation at CinemaCon this week MGM confirmed that Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s sci-fi hit would make its return to IMAX screens for a limited-time, one-week run starting this weekend, a move that will likely inch Project Hail Mary ever closer to crossing the $600 million box office mark. But to put a finer point on the news, Miller took to Twitter yesterday to confirm specifically that the extension means you won’t be able to watch the film at home for the forseeable future.
We announced yesterday that MGM is extending the exclusive theatrical window for PROJECT HAIL MARY so it won’t be on streaming anytime soon. This is a movie that needs to be seen on a big screen – and w a full return to IMAX screens for 1 week only starting this weekend, make… https://t.co/suK8NYpgWM — Christopher Miller (@chrizmillr) April 16, 2026 “It won’t be on streaming any time soon,” Miller’s tweet reads in part. “This is a movie that needs to be seen on a big screen […] Bring friends and loved ones. It’s an experience to share with others.” Project Hail Mary launched on March 20, so it’s not too surprising that it’s not headed home just yet—it’s just shy of a month into its theatrical window, which has now been extended by at least another week with the return to IMAX. But as studios begin to try realigning towards more theatrical releases with longer exclusivity windows again (one of the lingering aftereffects of covid’s impact on movie theaters), we should probably expect some of the biggest films of the year and beyond to try and hold off of hitting streaming for as long as they can.
At least in Project Hail Mary‘s case, you can still go and see it somewhere, even if it’s not at home. Good things come to those who wait, but for now, you can head to a movie theater to get your fix again. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who. #Project #Hail #Mary #Wont #Coming #Streaming #TimeAmazon MGM,Project Hail Mary,Streaming](https://gizmodo.com/app/uploads/2026/04/project-hail-mary-ryan-gosling-1280x853.jpg)
Post Comment