IPS Screen Mods for the Original Game Boy

Saw this video from Colin at Does Not Compute on YouTube and it definitely got my excited. I am and always have been a huge GAME BOY fan. I still collect and play and play game boy games and currently working on a big SNES Game Boy Advance series project. I have done the classic Backlight and divert mod too to a few Game Boys now, including one for my own dear oldest brother Guy. The fact that the backlight kits are even a reality is an engineering feat itself in my opinion – bringing new life to older hardware is fun in so many ways. 

As technology advances in all directions, it means certain components like better quality screens become available, at cheaper prices. Say a hi-res screen panel from a BlackBerry phone a few years back that cost hundreds of pounds, is now cheap enough for someone to utilise in updating a 1980s games console. So using modern components and a little engineering, clever souls can put together new advancements and package them up ready for guys like us to recreate. This new mod is bringing an IPS quality screen with improved colour contrasts to the original DMG bad boys and it looks so good.

Comparing the traditional Backlit & divert mod DMG to the new IPS panel

The full kit takes away a lot of the pain points that a lot of people face when doing the traditional backlit kits. In fact, you remove the entire front PCD where the original DMG screen is permanently attached too. Removing the risk of damaging the original screen and creating the vertical lines seen or breaking it completely, as the old screen is quite fragile. Some will argue though that as you are removing half of the original hardware, you may as well just buy a Raspberry Pi kit like the RetroFlag ones. But, I definitely see the value in this for enjoying original Game Boy cartridges without adding to the frown lines on my soon to be middle-aged face. Check out the video below from ‘

Availability is still rolling out I believe so not widely available in the obvious and usual modding stores yet, but I have found it on eBay here in the UK already for £55. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Game-Boy-Backlit-Screen-LCD-IPS-Color-Kit-Speaker-DMG-Original-V2/254556087461?hash=item3b44b9a4a5:g:wQYAAOSwI5FeguKh

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