Game Pie Advance Brings Retro Gaming To Your Fingertips

We love our Game Boy and RetroPie mods here at Hackaday because the Raspberry Pi Zero has made it easier than ever to carry a pocket full of classic games. [Ed Mandy] continues this great tradition by turning a matte black Game Boy Advance into a RetroPie handheld.

Details are scant on how [Mandy] built his Game Pi Advance, but we can glean a few details from the blog post and video. A Raspberry Pi Zero running RetroPie appears to be piggybacking on a custom PCB that slots neatly into the GBA case. This provides easy access to the Pi Zero’s USB and micro HDMI via the cartridge slot to connect to an external screen, as well as a second controller to get some co-op NES and SNES action on. It’s worth noting here that [Mandy] has foregone adding X and Y buttons in the current version.

The Game Pie Advance is turned on by holding the power button until the green light flashes. It’s powered by via micro USB, or two 2500mAh 14500 Li-ion rechargeable batteries which last about 1.5 hours. Unfortunately the batteries don’t charge while it’s plugged in. You may find yourself caught in a moment of nostalgia as the Game Boy dies and you are forced to swap the batteries out for a fresh pair. We think this is a feature that completes this compact, retro experience.

Don’t forget to check out some other RetroPie mods and Game Boy hacks we’ve covered over the years!

[Thanks for the tip, Ed Mandy!]

13 thoughts on “Game Pie Advance Brings Retro Gaming To Your Fingertips

      1. Neat, thanks, but I think it had more fried than just the screen, wasn’t powering up at all. Also can’t remember whether I had “plans” before and it’s past the point of no return to be a gamegear again.

  1. $300? At least plug up the holes in the case and put a bezel around the exposed pi ports. Also that it can’t charge it’s own batteries is a huge downside.

    Those negative critiques aside, I love it and think it’s a really clean build.

    1. We auctioned the first one, and it sold for $302. On this attempt, we tried a “fixed price” with the “Buy It Now” price set at that same price. We fully expect (and encourage) people to make offers lower than the listed price. It’s something of an experiment to see what people think it’s worth.

    1. The screen is powered from that as well, and may draw more power than the stock GBA screen.hat sa
      That said, I hope he posts source files for the PCB so others can have them made for their own projects, or at least has runs made to sell.
      This is a rather slick build.

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