FunnyPlaying Announces FPGB Mini, a Smaller and Cheaper Game Boy Cartridge Handheld
FunnyPlaying has announced the FPGB Mini, a pocket-sized handheld that plays Game Boy and Game Boy Color cartridges and ROMs. It costs less than the Analogue Pocket but does not support GBA or Sega Game Gear cartridges.
That limitation makes the FPGB Mini less capable than the Analogue Pocket, which also supports the Game Boy Advance and Sega Game Gear. What makes the FPGB Mini a tempting alternative, according to The Verge, is its extremely pocketable design: the handheld is only slightly wider than a Game Boy cartridge.
The price difference is significant. Following recent price hikes, the Analogue Pocket costs $239.99. The FPGB Mini was discounted from $89.99 to $69.99 for a first batch of just 20 units, which quickly sold out.
The company may release more units after some hardware improvements, according to Retro Dodo, which has been testing the handheld for a few days. Retro Dodo said it has so far been impressed with the FPGB Mini’s design and capabilities.
Like the Analogue Pocket, the FPGB Mini uses field-programmable gate array, or FPGA, technology to play Game Boy and Game Boy Color games as accurately as Nintendo’s original hardware does. The FPGB Mini adds a 2.98-inch, 800x720-pixel LCD display, an 1,800mAh rechargeable battery, and a microSD slot for storing game saves, screenshots, or ROMs that can be played through emulation.
Its compact size prevents the use of cartridges with rumble motors or other hardware additions, The Verge reported. Apart from that limitation, The Verge said the FPGB Mini looks to be about as small as the Game Boy is ever going to get.