On Friday evening – like every few weeks – I visited mine just before closing time favorite games store in Nuremberg. Not a chain, but a real, independent shop owned by a real, committed gamer. A great start to the weekend, there between all sorts of current games and consoles some great retro games and some gaming rarities to discover. One of them immediately caught my eye: a game boy color, my first handheld as a kid in the 90s. But it was no ordinary device, but a console mod – for the extremely hefty price. Since then I’ve been asking myself the question: are Nintendo fans really ready, that much a lot of money for an old Game Boy to pay?
This Game Boy amazed me
The modified Game Boy Color is a device that converted by a local hobbyist was, as the shopkeeper explained to me when I asked. Okay, so there is real craftsmanship involved, I thought to myself, even regional! That’s worth an extra charge to me, even with good food.
In addition, he sees modded Game Boy Color just fantastic looking in his pitch-black housing. And then the display! Not a normal screen, on which something can only be recognized reasonably well with a bright light in the back. No, this Nintendo handheld has one modern display with a modern lighting Of the screen. And one battery pack instead of the old-fashioned disposable batteries that USB-C easily charged with a mobile phone charging cable. What a great part!
A lot of money for an old Nintendo console
I had that in my mind’s eye Purse already drawn. The Game Boy Color was my first Nintendo handheld, which I got for Christmas back then. In this respect I am in favor of this one iconic Nintendo console extremely vulnerable and quite irrational. But when I looked at the price tag, reality suddenly set in again and my mind came to its senses. 250 euro should cost the (great) Mod Game Boy Color. Uff.
Is Nintendo nostalgia worth that much money?
In short: I had a nice chat with the shop owner and expressed my enthusiasm for the impressive Nintendo handheld in his range – yes I didn’t buy the part. In times of rampant inflation and exorbitant rents, 250 euros is no longer a lot of money. Still, I’m not ready for the satiation of my craving nostalgia so much money to spend
Maybe I’ll buy the Game Boy next time…
Especially since quite a few recently Games from Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance migrated to the Switch as part of Nintendo Switch Online. But sure, with such a great mod it’s less about the actual games and much more about that device itself. Maybe I’ll think about it again in peace and hope that the device will still be in the shop on my next visit. If the Game Boy Color makes another nostalgic Nintendo fan happy by then, that’s okay with me too.
