In Depth: The Game Boy Printer

#1

Post by gullyfur » Tue, Apr 07, 2020, 4:14 PM UTC

In Depth: The Game Boy Printer
shonumi.github.io

Re: In Depth: The Game Boy Printer

#2

Post by gullyfur » Tue, Apr 07, 2020, 5:22 PM UTC

The end mentions that it's supported by GBE+ ... though getting paper for the Game Boy Printer is a bit of a challenge for enthusiasts. Some have taken to cutting non-official thermal paper to the right size.

While, we're on the topic, GBE+ just had a birthday (both GBE and GBE+ were released on April 1).

https://emulation.gametechwiki.com/index.php/GBE%2B

Re: In Depth: The Game Boy Printer

#3

Post by empo_simo » Tue, Apr 07, 2020, 5:44 PM UTC

dsdsad

Re: In Depth: The Game Boy Printer

#4

Post by joshu » Tue, Apr 07, 2020, 6:25 PM UTC

anyone know what connector the gameboy link cable uses? i actually have a gameboy printer and it would be fun to print to from a PC

Re: In Depth: The Game Boy Printer

#5

Post by monocasa » Tue, Apr 07, 2020, 7:09 PM UTC

joshu wrote: post #4

anyone know what connector the gameboy link cable uses? i actually have a gameboy printer and it would be fun to print to from a PC

AFAIK it's only the gameboy link cable. It went on to inspire firewire, but it's it's own connector.

Re: In Depth: The Game Boy Printer

#6

Post by monocasa » Tue, Apr 07, 2020, 7:11 PM UTC

A part that's not super clear here is that the gameboy link cable comms are basically SPI. Running this over an Arduino is probably the easiest way to use this today.

Re: In Depth: The Game Boy Printer

#7

Post by realslimjd » Tue, Apr 07, 2020, 7:27 PM UTC

monocasa wrote: post #5

joshu wrote: post #4

anyone know what connector the gameboy link cable uses? i actually have a gameboy printer and it would be fun to print to from a PC

AFAIK it's only the gameboy link cable. It went on to inspire firewire, but it's it's own connector.

FireWire predates the Game Boy by three years.

Re: In Depth: The Game Boy Printer

#8

Post by thomasswift » Tue, Apr 07, 2020, 7:37 PM UTC

gullyfur wrote: post #2

The end mentions that it's supported by GBE+ ... though getting paper for the Game Boy Printer is a bit of a challenge for enthusiasts. Some have taken to cutting non-official thermal paper to the right size. While, we're on the topic, GBE+ just had a birthday (both GBE and GBE+ were released on April 1). https://emulation.gametechwiki.com/index.php/GBE%2B

I have take thermal paper and cut it down to size, but then you need to double it up to produce the right thickness

Re: In Depth: The Game Boy Printer

#9

Post by monocasa » Tue, Apr 07, 2020, 8:29 PM UTC

realslimjd wrote: post #7

monocasa wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

AFAIK it's only the gameboy link cable. It went on to inspire firewire, but it's it's own connector.

FireWire predates the Game Boy by three years.

It started development in 1986, but didn't finish development to be released into a product until 1994, five years after the release of the GameBoy.

Edit: Also Michael Johas Teener, the one time chair of the FireWire working group, says here in slides from a presentation about the history of firewire, hosted on his personal website, that the "Connector based on Nintendo Gameboy". http://www.johasteener.com/docs_files/1394HistoryAndMarket.p...

There's some what would be hilarious if it wasn't so sad commentary on the GameBoy Link Cable wiki talk page about how that isn't enough of a reference for some reason. The deletionists have certainly won wiki.

Re: In Depth: The Game Boy Printer

#10

Post by serf » Tue, Apr 07, 2020, 8:42 PM UTC

When I was a kid I had a gameboy camera and a gameboy printer.

It was basically a low-res instagram/polaroid hybrid.

Take a selfie (the camera rotated, pretty revolutionary at the time), add borders and effects in-software, print out a instant photo.

It was sort of like an instant portable photobooth, what with the borders and frames and decals and so on.

It felt pretty magical when I was young. As an older person it feels as if it's a niche that could probably still be filled profitably by someone with the right stuff and marketing.