Like... I've been thinking (famous last words) and would it make sense for it to be an FPGA Game Boy?
If someone wanted to play any Game Boy game, isn't the best way to do so now with a modded OG GBA with a backlight (or cheaper/easier option a GBA SP)?
I'm just curious on what it would actually be, and what it does that makes it a convincing buy.
I guess it would kinda make sense if it was a multi-system thingy since they already can do Game Gear games (on the Mega SG) and Game Boy and GBC games (on the ntmini unofficial firmware), but I think the cartridge adapters would be... "weird" for a portable. Also, I don't know much about how FPGA systems work but I'll see comments like "not enough room" and wonder how capable it could be.
Well, one advantage that Analogue has over an original Gameboy is that the hardware isn't ~30 years old. Plastic ages, buttons get worn, and screens get scratched. There really isn't any way to get around that, even if you disassemble the device, give everything a scrub and buy replacement parts in some cases.
And with modern hardware comes niceties like rechargeable batteries, a screen that's actually visible, and a sleeker, more ergonomic design. And with the prices Analogue charge I would hope the materials feel a bit more premium then the ones used on the original hardware, especially after 30 years of age.
That's really the key selling point of Analogue's hardware - sure, you can take the time and effort to mod some original hardware to have the same features, but that's a lot of time and effort for something most people aren't going to be interested in doing, and no matter what you do the device is never going to look and feel as good as it did when it was first built, let alone in comparison to modern devices.
Most original SNES's have probably gone completely yellow by now simply because that's a inherent problem with the plastic they used - trying to remove that yellowing simply weakens the plastic and is really just a temporary fix. The Super NT on the other hand not only looks better then the original hardware (subjectivity), it also looks as good as new, because it is. Whether that's worth the premium is up to you.
