Recently, several major camera brands have respectively provided ways to enable its users to convert their digital camera to also function as a webcam for video conferencing. Adding to the list of cameras now usable for your Zoom or FaceTime sessions is something totally unexpected: a Nintendo Game Boy Camera.
The birth of this mod started off seemingly as a joke when Reddit user ‘eye_for_an_homonculi’ openly made this request on the r/Gameboy subreddit, which they stated was intended to troll certain individuals. Surprisingly, retrogaming and hardware modding enthusiast Bernard Capulong answered the call, and actually provided a solution on how to successfully convert a Game Boy Camera into a fully functional webcam. To further demonstrate its effectiveness, he also provided a video of it in action. And as expected, the final outcome blew everyone’s minds.
However, the process isn’t simple nor would it be cheap. In addition to the Game Boy Camera accessory, the modder listed other devices including a Super Game Boy 2 cartridge, an Analogue Super Nt or a Super Nintendo/Super Famicom with an upscaler (ie; Retrotink), a Capture Card (El Gato or similar), and an external microphone.
— bernard (@bernardcapulong) September 1, 2020
As you can see from the video above, the result achieved is rather impressive. Sure, the quality is nowhere close to the more eye pleasing, colourful and high resolution video quality from current webcams – let alone the digital cameras mentioned earlier. But the fact that a 22-year old handheld console accessory is actually pulling this off (albeit unofficially) is a marvel in its own way. Amusingly, Capulong advised others not to go for this approach due to how expensive and impractical it is.
(Source: Bernard Capulong [Twitter] via Nintendo Life / PetaPixel)
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