A gamer and fan has done something impressive, converting a Poke Ball into a full-fledged gaming system. The impressive creation has gained attention from the Pokemon community, and the creator has shared a step-by-step process detailing how they did it.
Poke Balls are one of the most iconic and recognizable elements of the Pokemon franchise outside of the pocket monsters themselves. Though this build requires quite a bit of work, it starts out with a simple Poke Ball replica like the kind players can buy at stores.
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In a short demonstration video, Peter Tran revealed what they've dubbed "The PokeBoy," a working game system built into a Pokemon TCG Poke Ball tin. The system includes a screen built into the top half of the Poke Ball that can be easily viewed when the ball is opened, and the bottom half of the ball features a number of buttons that can be used to control a game. While there have been instances in the past of players building tiny versions of the Wii or other consoles using their original hardware, this one is made with a Raspberry Pi, and uses an LCD for the screen. The result is a gaming device that can be closed up and used as a Poke Ball display piece, or opened to game on. Players can theoretically play any game that the Rapsberry Pi is capable of supporting through emulation methods. The short video shows Tran playing games like Pokemon Emerald, Sonic, Super Mario Bros., and even Tetris.
Several fans in the comments of the Reddit post and the YouTube video have expressed interest in having one of these. However, Tran doesn't sell them. As the next-best thing, Tran has shared an extensive video detailing how the build was made, and even better, a full list of instructions that explain the process step-by-step. While it may not be something that every person is capable of doing, as it requires tinkering with electronics and buying a Raspberry Pi, those who are familiar with this kind of work may be able to make a PokeBoy for themselves.
This Pokemon creation not only looks great and would be an interesting conversation starter, but reuses a piece of Pokemon merchandise that might otherwise end up in the trash. There are some caveats and downsides to the build, like a short battery life, a lack of battery indicator, and it's not the most ergonomic gaming device. Nonetheless, it's a unique creation that's quite popular, no matter how impractical it might be.
- Pokemon
- October 20, 1996
