Handheld Preservation

[marlowe221]

I am a big fan of handheld video gaming. I have owned many different handheld systems over the years since I got my gray brick Game Boy in the late 1980s and I plan on continuing to buy them as long as dedicated handheld gaming consoles are produced.

But I am also very interested in video game preservation. The idea that video games on any console might be lost to the ravages of time and be unavailable to us 20 years from now or a couple of (human) generations from now is very distressing to me.

Lately, I have been thinking a lot about preserving the handheld systems. The older systems actually concern me somewhat less than the newer ones - an old Game Boy will work just as well with AA batteries from 2015 as it did on AAs from 1989. But the rechargeable, cell phone-style systems are another matter entirely. The batteries in those systems will only hold a charge so many cycles before they no longer function. Meanwhile, the batteries for these systems are often fairly unique and replacements are not easily found.

What is the answer here? Emulation? I know that the Game Boy family and the Game Gear have decent emulators available. I suppose many of the newer handheld systems will work on their AC adapters plugged into the wall socket.

Any thoughts, Racketboy community?

[KalessinDB]

Wall sockets, like you said. The rare piece like SGB/GBP that lets you officially play them on another system. RetroN5-type clone systems. Hacking the living hell out of systems to make them work on TVs (I have a GBA hacked to work on a TV with a controller, Tim Worthington/VileTim sells a board to get RGB out from a Game Gear, etc).

And yeah, emulation if it comes down to it. It lags behind, but the demand seems to be good enough to make sure things keep getting done.

[Purkeynator]

I found an adapter at Hastings for $5 that has cable endings for GBA/NDS, PSP (all 3 series), and 3DS and charges via usb. You could easily buy a portable usb charger battery and maintain portability (albeit tethered) even after your lithium ion batteries die off. By the way I bought a launch DS (2004) a few weeks ago and tested the battery life. I got like 6 or 7 hours at full sound volume before it finally died!

[J T]

I'm hoping that the future continues to bring things like the Retron consoles, and that these products get better over the coming years.

[CRTGAMER]

Lately, I have been thinking a lot about preserving the handheld systems. The older systems actually concern me somewhat less than the newer ones - an old Game Boy will work just as well with AA batteries from 2015 as it did on AAs from 1989. But the rechargeable, cell phone-style systems are another matter entirely. The batteries in those systems will only hold a charge so many cycles before they no longer function. Meanwhile, the batteries for these systems are often fairly unique and replacements are not easily found.

I suppose many of the newer handheld systems will work on their AC adapters plugged into the wall socket.

Be sure to dispose of that dead battery and jumper the terminals. It might leak acid inside years later.

Rechargeable proprietary batteries for all the current system game controllers also can be this same issue in years to come. However, for systems that have a huge consumer inventory (GBA or PS3 for example), the replacement batteries will be around for decades thru online sites. Yes, eventually the batteries will become scarce so the AC adapter could be an option.

AC Mod
An easy mod to the handheld to a matched voltage power brick by wiring in a mini plug to the removed battery terminals. Just avoid the power transformers for cell phones, may not have enough amps for older handhelds. Wireless Game controllers can get power from the console. REMOVE the rechargeable dead battery and jumper the terminals if this is long term.

DC Mod
For internal mod, the same thought could be applied by combining standard AA or AAA or AAAA (no kidding) batteries to match the needed voltage. Each battery is 1.5 volts and can be mounted in a pack, though the more compact AAAA might themselves become scarce after a few decades.

[samsonlonghair]

AA or AAA or AAAA (no kidding)

There's also such a thing as 1/2 AA. They were popular in cameras for many years.

[Purkeynator]

The DC mod is a good point. I remember looking for many years for something called the PSP Max Go battery adapter. It was made by Datel early in the PSP's life and essentially was a psp battery shaped shell that could house 3 AAA batteries in the PSP in leiu of a regular PSP rechargeable battery. I do remember there was a hack to do the same with a regular battery but I never tried it.

Lately, I have been thinking a lot about preserving the handheld systems. The older systems actually concern me somewhat less than the newer ones - an old Game Boy will work just as well with AA batteries from 2015 as it did on AAs from 1989. But the rechargeable, cell phone-style systems are another matter entirely. The batteries in those systems will only hold a charge so many cycles before they no longer function. Meanwhile, the batteries for these systems are often fairly unique and replacements are not easily found.

I suppose many of the newer handheld systems will work on their AC adapters plugged into the wall socket.

Be sure to dispose of that dead battery and jumper the terminals. It might leak acid inside years later.

Rechargeable proprietary batteries for all the current system game controllers also can be this same issue in years to come. However, for systems that have a huge consumer inventory (GBA or PS3 for example), the replacement batteries will be around for decades thru online sites. Yes, eventually the batteries will become scarce so the AC adapter could be an option.

AC Mod
An easy mod to the handheld to a matched voltage power brick by wiring in a mini plug to the removed battery terminals. Just avoid the power transformers for cell phones, may not have enough amps for older handhelds. Wireless Game controllers can get power from the console. REMOVE the rechargeable dead battery and jumper the terminals if this is long term.

DC Mod
For internal mod, the same thought could be applied by combining standard AA or AAA or AAAA (no kidding) batteries to match the needed voltage. Each battery is 1.5 volts and can be mounted in a pack, though the more compact AAAA might themselves become scarce after a few decades.

[Nemoide]

I always imagine someone in the distant future trying to replace an integrated circuit by building logic gates out of vacuum tubes... what you would need to even reproduce a Game Boy makes me think they probably don't have a future that stretches to infinity.

[KalessinDB]

I always imagine someone in the distant future trying to replace an integrated circuit by building logic gates out of vacuum tubes... what you would need to even reproduce a Game Boy makes me think they probably don't have a future that stretches to infinity.

There's an xkcd along those lines, building a mechanical computer out of rocks given an infinite amount of time/rocks...

http://xkcd.com/505/

[Exhuminator]

Emulation is the only sure fire method of handheld or console preservation when looking into the far future. There are many components on the circuit boards of these devices that will eventually fail given enough time.

Proprietary lithium ion batteries annoy me also though. They all have a limited lifespan and once the manufacturers stop making them that's that. It would be much better for device manufacturers to adopt standard small size rechargeable batteries interchangeable across the spectrum. If AAA batteries are too large, battery manufacturers as a consortium need to come together and develop a new era of small and flat type batteries specifically geared universally towards handheld and smartphone devices. For decades most portable electronic devices relied on industry standard battery sizes with no issue, I believe this could be the case once again.