A modder by the name of Allison Parrish has developed a very unique mod for the Game Boy Pocket. Over the past couple years we’ve seen mods that convert the clamshell design of the Game Boy Advance SP into one that is a more reminiscent of the original Game Boy’s candy bar form factor (ex Boxy Pixel Unhinged and Mahko’s Slate Mods). Allison thought it would be cool to do the reverse of that to the Game Boy Pocket and convert it to a clamshell design. And with that idea, the PocketSP was born.
This is gorgeous (Game Boy Pocket SP):https://t.co/ztZDO2kdq4 pic.twitter.com/KmqrJynsqq
— GB Studio Central (@gbs_central) November 4, 2022
Essentially, Allison cut a standard Game Boy Pocket shell in half, right below the cartridge connector, and then connected the two halves together with a couple custom designed flex ribbon cables. To modernize the the whole project, she also installed an aftermarket backlit IPS screen as well as a USB-C rechargeable lithium ion battery. This was all housed in a beautiful custom shell that she 3D printed in an ultra clear, almost glass like resin, which allows her to show off all the cool stuff going on inside the console!
Now, what I love about this mod is that it is very much a passion project. The PocketSP is certainly not the most practical mod, rather, it makes the Game Boy Pocket a bit less “pocketable”. This is what I would classify as a “because we can!” project. No one needs a Game Boy Pocket that’s foldable, and yet, here we are. Honestly, these are my favorite types of mods because it really shows just how creative the modding community can be.
If you’re interested in building one of these on your own, Allison has open-sourced the project which can be found on her GitHub along with a great set of instructions which can be found on her blog.
