Boxy Pixel recently released a brand new machined aluminum shell for the original Nintendo Game Boy. For those of you who don’t know, Boxy Pixel is a company that manufactures premium machined aluminum shells for mostly handheld Nintendo consoles like the Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance, but also makes shells for Joy-cons as well as shell-mods like the Game Boy Macro and the Unhinged SP.
One of the long awaited products (at least for me) was a machined aluminum shell for the Original Game Boy, and we finally got it! In addition to the shell itself, Boxy Pixel also sells machined aluminum buttons to replace the original plastic d-pad and 2 action buttons (A and B).
One of the most interesting features about this shell is that it allows for the use of 4x AA batteries. Typically, these shells from Boxy Pixel require you to mod the console to accept additional circuitry to use a rechargeable lithium ion battery. With the exception of Boxy Pixel’s Unhinged SP and Joy-con shells, which allows you to use the original lithium ion battery they came with, this is the first product released by the company that allows for the use of AA type batteries. I think this is a welcome change and I am really hoping that this option also get integrated into some of his older product (CGB and AGB). By allowing the use of AA batteries as originally intended, the installation process is quite a bit easier since you don’t need to modify the console to be able to use reachable lithium ion batteries.
Another notable feature is the use of a custom thumbscrew to keep the battery compartment door closed. While it is a fantastic solution, I can see a scenario where the thumbscrew could be lost or broken. We need to remember that aluminum is a fairly soft metal, so do not over tighten it or you will risk stripping the threads. Additionally, you do not want it to be too loose as it could fall out and become lost. Hopefully Boxy Pixel will offer spare thumbscrews for sale on his website in case one of these scenarios occurs.
Now the cost of these shells is another thing to consider. They are expensive. The shell itself will run you about $142. Getting other essential components will cost about another $12. This does not include the price of the metal buttons or and IPS kit should you want to install those as well.
So bottom line is, this is a pricey project should you want to do it yourself. But it is also really awesome!
You can pick up this shell and all the necessary components at the Boxy Pixel Website.
