Folks have been running classic game console emulators on Raspberry Pi hardware for ages… and every now and then we see projects that let you use the tiny computer as the brains of a handheld game console.

Don’t want to go through the hassle of building your own game system? Robot Loves Kitty has you covered.

The independent video game company has stepped into the hardware market with the kind of Raspberry Pi project that you’ve seen on Instructables a hundred times. Only, these guys are willing to 3-D print and assemble the project for you for $139.

GameKid

The idea came from a brother who, for Christmas, gave another brother a Raspberry Pi running RetroPie stuffed into a GameBoy. The brothers’ friends all wanted their own, but didn’t want to make it themselves. Thus, the GameKid was born.

The GameKid comes with a 3-D printed brick style case with a D-Pad, four front buttons, a start and select button, and two trigger buttons on the backside. It has built-in stereo speakers and a headphone jack. There is also an HDMI out if you feel like projecting the screen onto something bigger. And, there are four accessible USB ports so you can connect standard game controllers, too.

It also includes a Raspberry Pi 2 with RetroPie already installed, a 16GB SD card, and a soundtrack ROM and MP3.

If you feel that this device completely defeats the purpose of the Raspberry Pi DIY ideology, don’t worry. Robots Loves Kitty has a kit, so you can include your own Raspberry Pi with whatever software you want in it.

Robot Loves Kitty is looking for crowdfunding to get their hardware project off of the ground. For $99, you can invest in the kit alone (no Raspberry Pi or SD card), or you can pledge $139 for a fully assembled GameKid.

It should probably be pointed out that you can still buy actual GameBoy devices just about anywhere for around $30 to $50. However, the game cartridges might set you back a little more, whereas the GameKid uses RetroPie, which lets you run hundreds of games from one device.

via /r/Raspberry_Pi

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10 replies on “GameKid is a Game Boy clone made from a Raspberry Pi (crowdfunding)”

  1. This is awesome 😀 I have been waiting for something like this, and there could also be a arcade cabnet part for it as well, but maybe that is wishful thinking xD

  2. Definitely would love to see a well supported app store for the Pi.

  3. I wish they offered a service to do the mod to an actual GameBoy chassis. I have one I could send in…I’d do it myself, but I’m not getting any younger, and my fine motor skills aren’t up to the task.

  4. Err, i could have sworn that Nintendo has a trademark out on that dpad shape…

      1. That’s just the design side. If the project becomes prominent enough, Nintendo may very well send them a cease and desist letter because with the inclusion of the emulator, their product enables the piracy of copyrighted GameBoy games. While they may be legally on the right side of the law if they don’t link or otherwise point users to pirated ROM sites, it would likely cost them more than their entire Kickstarter campaign total to defend themselves in court.

        Nintendo could also go after them for infringing on their GameBoy trademark — and they would likely win that one, given the near identical appearance of the GameKid.

        1. We don’t have to include the gameboy emulator, we could just set something up so its easy to download and install. However, gameboy emulation is completely legal and we are not selling the emulator, the software is freely downloadable. We wont be linking to ROM sites. As game developers ourselves, we’re mostly interested in getting new Indie games, and homebrew roms on the Pi.

          The Gameboy look is covered under a design patent, which has also expired. As far as we’ve been able to determine, we’re completely covered legally.

          If you’re a lawyer and know differently, we’d be happy to talk to you about it. 🙂

          1. Not a lawyer, but you might run into trouble with the name, no matter what the status of the design patent. Gameboy is a trademark owned by Nintendo. If Nintendo was to decide to vigorously defend it (claiming the name GameKid is too close) then you may have to change it or defend it in court.

            I have no skin in the game either way — just making an observation. If you have already talked to a lawyer about it, then I would assume you have already discussed the issue with them.

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