SGBC is an FPGA box in development that puts Game Boy, Color and Advance cartridges on a TV over HDMI

An independent project promises 1080p output, integer scaling, a link port, SNES controller support and cartridge-to-microSD backups. There is no price or date yet.

AI-drafted from 2 sources. This story was written with AI from the outside reporting listed under Sources, and checked by automated tools before it went up. The originals have the full detail.

SGBC is a small box for the TV that takes original Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance cartridges and sends them out over 1080p HDMI. It is an FPGA console, so the hardware is programmable, and its site labels the current design Rev C and in development. The page gives no price, no release date and no FPGA chip name, only a wishlist button.

Retro Dodo reports that the maker is Thomas Sanfourche, a French electronic engineer studying in Taiwan, and that SGBC began as a university graduation project. A warm response from Taiwan's retro community then turned it into a plan for a wider release. The site itself says only that it is an independent project, not affiliated with Nintendo.

What it promises

The picture is enlarged in whole-number steps, which keeps pixel edges sharp and proportions intact. There is a fast-forward mode, a port for a SNES controller, and an on-screen menu for display and speed settings. A link port connects the box to a compatible handheld for multiplayer and trading in supported games, given the right cable.

The microSD card does the most work. It holds a ROM library you pick from in the menu, and the site says the console can copy a cartridge's ROM straight to the card as a backup of a game you own, which would make the box a cartridge dumper as well as a player. Retro Dodo adds that firmware updates go in through the same slot.

Still a design for now

The pictures published so far look like 3D renders rather than photographs of a finished unit, and the site calls them an enclosure study. It is also plain about what is unproven: "Game compatibility, link cable support, and final feature availability are still being validated." The feature list is best read as a set of goals until someone outside the project has one on a desk.

Sources

• SGBC: FPGA console for Game Boy, Game Boy Color and GBA (SGBC)
• SGBC Is An Independently Made FPGA GAME BOY Console Coming Soon (Retro Dodo)

Image: Image: SGBC