The Nintendo Game Boy: A Deconstructed Look

As I sit down to work on this project, I'm excited to see what's inside one of the most iconic handheld consoles of all time - the Nintendo Game Boy. To begin, I need to remove the screws that hold everything together. It's surprising how few there are, just four in total, which makes me wonder why they're still holding it together with such ease.

As I start to take apart the Game Boy, I'm struck by its simplicity. Unlike modern electronics, which seem to be held together by a plethora of screws and adhesives, this old console is surprisingly straightforward. Just a single Philips screwdriver is all I need to get started, and yet, I can already see that there's a lot more complexity beneath the surface.

The Game Boy used four AA batteries, which may seem like an odd choice today, but it was certainly not uncommon back in the day. Some old consoles had even worse battery life, lasting only six or eight hours at best. So, with six screws exposed and two underneath the battery door, I'm starting to get a better idea of how this thing works.

As I work my way through the screws, I have to admit that I've never opened a Game Boy before. It's amazing how much you can learn about a device just by taking it apart. My first Game Boy was actually a hand-me-down from my older brother, and I remember being so excited to finally get my hands on one. I had to save up for months to afford it, but when I did, I didn't have enough money to buy a game. So, I had to go ask my grandma for help, and she handed me $30, which was more than enough to buy the entire Pokémon Red cartridge.

As I carefully remove each screw, I'm starting to get a better idea of what's inside this little device. There's a fair bit in the front half, with the display and speaker proudly on show. The main buttons are also easily visible, along with the contrast switch, which is where the magic happens when you adjust the brightness.

One thing that strikes me as I work through the screws is just how different electronics were back then. Today, it's all about gluing things together, whereas the Game Boy has a very straightforward approach - just screws and wires. And yet, despite its simplicity, this little console still manages to pack in a surprising amount of complexity.

As I finally remove the last screw, I'm left staring at the board itself. It's amazing how much they managed to fit into such a small space. The screen is built into one single board, and the buttons are actually all connected to a little silicon piece that you can see. It's astonishing just how much of the action happens right here, with no spring or mechanism to speak of - it's just the rubber kind of bouncing around.

One of the interesting things I notice as I look at the circuit board is the stereo sound feature. The Game Boy was actually touted for its ability to produce high-quality stereo sound, despite having only a single speaker. It's a testament to the ingenuity of the designers that they managed to achieve this feat using dot-matrix technology.

As I continue to explore the board, I come across the headphone jack daughterboard, which is easily removable by unscrewing it. And then there's the 4.194304 megahertz processor, which may seem ancient today but was still a marvel of engineering back in the day. The amount of data that can be packed into such a small cartridge is simply astonishing.

As I work my way through the board, I start to appreciate just how much thought and effort went into designing this little console. It's not just about throwing some components together - it's about creating something truly special, something that brings joy and excitement to those who use it. And that's exactly what the Game Boy does.

When I finally put everything back together, I feel a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment. It may be a small device, but it's one that has had a huge impact on our lives. And as I pop in the Pokémon Red cartridge and start to play, I'm reminded just how much love and care went into creating this little icon of gaming history.

And so, that's my experience with the Nintendo Game Boy - a deconstructed look at one of the most iconic consoles of all time. It may be simple on the outside, but it's a true marvel of engineering and design on the inside. If you have any suggestions for future projects or topics you'd like to see covered, please let me know in the comments below. And if you enjoyed this article, don't forget to subscribe for more content just like it!

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enHey guys, this is Austin.The Nintendo Game Boy isprobably the most importanthandheld console of all time.But what I want to know iswhat happens when you deconstruct it?Alright, so it is timeas I do a few more clapsfor the first episode of Deconstructed.And what better way to startthan with the original Nintendo Game Boy?Unlike some of the other thingsI may be taking apart soonthis is pretty simple.Just a single Philips screwdriver.So the Game Boy used four AA batterieswhich seems kinda crazy todaybut some of those old consoleshad crazy terrible battery life.You would get six or eight AAsthat would last you two or three hours.So we've got six screws hereso we have four that are exposedand we have two underneaththe battery door.I've got to say I've actuallynever opened a Game Boy.I've owned Game Boys since I was six?I mean this console is 25 years old?No, it's even older than that.It's 27 years old.What was your first Game Boy, Ralphy?Game Boy Color, there you go!My very first Game Boy Iactually ended up saving moneywhich is really hard whenyou're six years old.So I ended up having tosave my birthday money.I saved allowance for a few monthsand I finally had enough tobuy myself a Game Boy Color.But I didn't have myselfenough money to buyan actual game for it.So I remember and I still feelbad about this to this day.I went to my grandma and I kinda just saidoh it's been so hard to beable to save so much moneyto be able to get this Game Boybut I just don't have enough for a game.She handed me 30 dollars and the next dayI went and bought Pokemon Red.Still feel bad about thatbut you know you gotta do what you gotta do.Alright.Number five.And let's see if we can get this.Uh oh, uh oh. Here we go.OK, maybe not the moment of truthbecause there's stillstuff holding it togetherbut it's kind of apart.We've got the display and the speaker.Alright.So the Game Boy is apart.So we've got actually afair bit in the front half.So basically this is where the screen is.We've got the main buttons.We've got the contrast switch.We've also got the speakerwhich is pretty big.Let's see if we can kinda ease this out.Oh, there's more screws.Of course there are.It's crazy how differentelectronics are these days.I mean today this would allbe glued into place.There would be maybe like a screw or two.You'd have to remove anddestroy all kinds of stuff.I mean not destroy.Depends on if you're me or not.I don't know.It's just something kindalike therapeutic about it.It's like you spend somuch time with technologybut it's nice to just take a lookand see what actually makes it work.I've got to say there area lot of screws in here.Every time I think I'm about doneI see like five more screws.Alright.The board is free.Let's see what we've got.Alright, wow.That is cool!So basically the screen is kinda comeit's all built into one board.We've got all the buttonswhich actually come out.So there's this little silicon piecewhere the buttons.Oh, wow!It actually feels like a button.I never actually realized this.There's no spring.There's nothing.Literally the entireaction of what you feelwhen you press a Game Boy buttonis just the rubber kindof bouncing a little bit.So if you look at theactual circuit boardyou can see that all it's doingis making contact right here.Can you guys tell I'mhaving fun right now?So there's a little daughterboard herefor the headphone jack.I could probably detach thatbut I think it's probablyeasier to just unscrew it.So one of the things iswith the original Game Boyone of the big things they toutedwas it had stereo sound.You actually see dotmatrix with stereo soundwhich is funny because it actually hada single speaker.So if you ever play like someof the older Game Boy gamessome of them would have a optionto turn the stereo soundwhich you actually only realize thatwhen you had headphones plugged in.And that's the rest of it.So this is actually theguts of the Game Boy.So on this side we can seewhere the display connects.We've also got the daughterboard.We've got some of the connectors.And we flip it over.This is the heart of the Game Boy.Wow.So it's 4.194304 megahertz.I like how they had to be very specific.We've also got 64 kilobytes of RAM.It's crazy to think what was on these.Like I know these Game Boy cartridgesthey were so tiny.Like the amount of data and stuffthat they actually were able to packinto such a small cartridge is crazy.And speaking of the cartridgewe actually can see thisis where it plugs in.So if I drop it in right here.There we go.So when you think about itthe board is actually fairly compact.So we've got quite a bit of stuff.We've got the link cable port.We've also got the switch here.That satisfying (click).(click)I always appreciate beingable to open up electronicsand really kinda understandwhat's inside of them.And the Game Boy is.It's something special.Like it's simple.There's not a lot here.I mean like one small Philips screwdriverand you're through it inlike ten minutes or so.But it's a really special thingto be able to kinda appreciateall the engineering and all the ingenuitythat went into it especially backover 20 years ago.So that's it for thisepisode of Deconstructed.Let me know what you guys thinkin the comments below.And if you guys wantto see me do more stuffgive me your suggestions.Whether it's new stuff, old stuff,whatever it is.Let me know.And yeah.I'm gonna go put this back togetherand play some Pokemon Red.See you guys next time.