“What if” is all the time a enjoyable query to ask, and over on the YouTube channel Gameboy Customized, they just lately questioned what the Nintendo DS would have seemed like if it took a bit extra design inspiration from the Game Boy Advance SP. We expect Nintendo made the correct selection, however it’s fascinating to see what others doubtlessly needed to play with in different dimensions of the multiverse.
Critics had been fast to query how the Nintendo DS, which featured two small screens oriented vertically, may presumably compete with the Sony PSP’s superior 3D graphics and far bigger singular horizontal show. Nevertheless, the DS would go on to promote virtually twice as many models as Sony’s transportable PlayStation. The DS went by way of a number of revisions through the years, and even gained a glasses-free 3D display screen in its sequel console, however its primary design stayed the identical: two stacked screens with gameplay break up throughout each of them.
With the clamshell GBA SP just lately celebrating its twentieth anniversary this previous Valentine’s Day, it looks like nearly as good a time as any to experiment with its {hardware}. So Gameboy Customized determined to mod a DS’ internals into a kind issue that makes use of two GBA SP screens aspect by aspect.
A very humid local weather in Australia this time of yr prevented the staff from Gameboy Customized from counting on a 3D printer to create the shell and physique for this construct, in order that they needed to do many of the work by hand, beginning with a pair of sacrificial GBA SP housings that had been hooked up side-by-side after which closely modded to alter the place the D-pad and buttons had been positioned. It took hours and hours of filing and sanding to attain a end that seemed like {hardware} Nintendo itself would launch, however the degree of polish right here is spectacular.
Loads of modifications needed to be achieved on the DS Lite’s mainboard as nicely to accommodate the a lot wider housing, together with including wire extensions so cartridge slots, quantity management, and the ability change could possibly be positioned nearer to the sides of the customized construct. However whereas it’s enjoyable to see this transportable Frankenstein(‘s monster) come to life, really making an attempt to play any DS video games which can be depending on the touchscreen seems to be an enormous ergonomics problem. As an illustration, it looks like the hinged touchscreen would all the time need to fold again when tapped with a finger or stylus. Possibly Nintendo’s designers really knew what they had been doing with the DS, or possibly we merely must go even greater with our DS mods.
