Nintendo Did not Must Go This Laborious

Nintendo invited me to a “holiday showcase” to play upcoming Switch 2 titles like Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2, Hades 2, Pokémon Legends: Z-A, and Kirby Air Riders, however the one factor I can’t cease fascinated by is the Lego Game Boy that was on show on the entrance. 

Announced at SDCC 2025, the Game Boy set is even higher in particular person than in on-line renders. The brick-sized handheld, which is fabricated from 421 brick items, prices $50 and comes out on Oct. 1. As a show piece, its practically 1:1 dimensions rekindled nostalgia for my all-time favourite gadget, the machine that obtained me hooked on expertise and gaming.

The pink A and B buttons, in addition to the Start and Select buttons, are totally pressable (the D-pad is surprisingly not); the distinction and quantity dials on the left and proper transfer; and the facility change on the highest left slides into place identical to the true factor (although it doesn’t lock the Lego recreation cartridge in place). Sadly, the hyperlink cable cowl doesn’t come out.

Speaking of the cartridges, there are two—one for Super Mario Land and one for The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening—which you could slot into the Lego model of the Game Boy.

Pop off the panel on the again of the brick handheld and carry up a joint, and you may swap between three included lenticular playing cards—the enduring Nintendo emblem sliding down on bootup and one depicting every of the 2 video games—that present movement whenever you view the toy at completely different angles.

It’s a wonderful brick recreation of Nintendo’s 8-bit handheld that I couldn’t cease enjoying with. For collectors, the #72046 set even comes with stands to prop the Game Boy and cartridges up on a bookshelf or show case.

I assumed Nintendo went onerous with the Lego NES set, full with a brick TV with a wind-up Super Mario Bros. stage, that was launched in 2020. (Fun reality: I used to be the first person to mod the Lego NES set to be playable utilizing an affordable display and NES Classic guts once I labored at Input.) But this Lego Game Boy goes simply as onerous (if not more durable). It’s pure nostalgia and Nintendo doing what it does finest: print cash. I can’t wait to get my palms on one to construct… and mod. Anybody have concepts on one of the simplest ways to transform this unhealthy boy right into a playable Game Boy?