The power of social networks generated a new need among video game players, and it is none other than to show the games to other players, either through video recordings or live broadcasts. The problem is that capture video on retro consoles It is not something especially simple, and much less in a laptop. But it seems that someone has created the solution.
From Game Boy to Twitch
Sebastian Staacks is a technology enthusiast who, with the help of his incredible knowledge, is able to create some really interesting devices. After giving the old Game Boy a cartridge with WiFi connectivity, his latest creation is nothing more and nothing less than a video grabber in cartridge form that allows you to enjoy a native video output on the Game Boy.
Finally released: The GB Interceptor.
An open source rp2040-based adapter that goes between your (unmodified) Game Boy and the game cartridge to record or stream your gameplay via USB.
Video: https://t.co/oFfnMs0fOn
Details: https://t.co/xxyjXCZWRs pic.twitter.com/cfaDQ5QuUm—Sebastian Staacks (@diconx) December 20, 2022
The idea may sound quite strange at first, and you may not see the need to have a capture device of this type, but as its creator well explains, taking into account the great Tetris tournaments that exist, the power stream directly from a Game Boy to Twitch that would be especially useful. Not to mention the gameplay that could be extracted natively and without the need to use emulators.
The best thing about the system is that it connects directly to the portable console slot, and thanks to a USB-C port, we can send the signal to a computer, which with the appropriate software can capture the video. Of course, due to a series of technical complications, in the case of Tetris, the captured blocks do not look the same as those on the console screen, but it is a lesser evil that many would not mind assuming. So, this capturer fails to get the identical image of the gamebut it is currently the most complete solution to capture video without modifying the original hardware.
How does it work?
The cartridge in question acts as a bridge between the original game cartridge and the console slot. In this way, it intercepts (hence its name) the data to make a copy and send the signal to the screen. This is done with the help of a Raspberry Pi Pico, although the whole process is more complete than you might imagine, since you have to synchronize the CPU cycles with the emulator that runs on the Raspberry, control the memory BUS, create a new virtual RAM… in short, a very complex project only available to very few.
In any case, if you control the subject and want to investigate and learn from the project, its creator has shared everything you need on different platforms so that you can create your own license plate interceptor and program it from scratch with great detail.
