@@fordesponja Actually, go look for the extremerate shells, they recently started making them and they actually made new molds, unlike the awful copies everyone else is selling.
That light pink is really sick. When you were putting the battery door on I really noticed how tight the tolerances are, too. It looks like a super-expensive flip phone when it's closed, and the hinge system looks less onerous than some of the SP flip cases you've done. The matte/sandblasted finish really tops it off imo. Great video as always!
I gotta say aside from the few nitpicks you had, and me thinking the buttons should have come with it, my biggest issue is the exposed cartridges. It scares me im gonna bump it too easily when putting it down
I can't believe almost no one's talking about that, ain't no way am i gonna bring any carts with me with the labels scratching up in my pocket... it goes from insta buy to absolutle no go for me, 100% form over function..
I got the prototype but I feel the real final design will make it look much better. They nailed the bottom half of the shell but I feel the top shell is still in need of serious improvement.
Yo for anyone thinking about buying one of these... just gotta say like, these boxy pixel metal shells are super cool, I bought the original unhinged shell a few years ago and I have to be honest, I feel like it was a huge waste of money. I just do, I didn't consider a lot of things when buying it, like the fact that using it outside in any kind of extreme weather REALLY SUCKS! Too cold, it hurts your hands, too hot... it hurts your hands... Not to mention I dropped like $400 on it and I won't be able to make that money back on a resale..... These are really neat, but if you're thinking about buying one please give it some real practical though, because I didn't and that was a huge mistake.
@@plumb3311 This Nacho guy really sells these things lol, made me not even consider the practical usage of it. "Metal GBA? Sounds awesome, it'll last forever!" But turns out, they make these things out of plastic for a reason, and it's not just because it's cheaper. It's kind of the ideal material for a handheld console like this. Another thing I forgot to mention was, my boxy pixel shell had some nasty sharp edges where your hands go, not like enough to cut you but enough to leave a painful imprint on your hands after a fair bit of use. Like I'm not trying to be a downer or rain on anyone's parade. If you're just gonna use this at home and never take it anywhere, maybe you'll like it, but they're really expensive and not being able to use it outside in the winter because it'll get so cold it hurts my hands really sucks.
Thanks for sharing, it's helpful to hear from someone who's actually used one of these things. Sometimes it feels like they exist just for people who want to post Game Boy glamour photos.
I totally agree with you on the additional weight giving it a premium feel. I like my EXPENSIVE products to feel like a quality product, and this looks nice... I'm gonna look in my "retro closet" and see if I can find my old SP's and actually try this mod. edit... OH MAN, if they did one for the DS or DSi XL I'd totally get that.
I love that thing so much. I recently ordered all Boxy Pixel Shells that i didnt own to make my collection complete. The only one thats missing now is the hinged SP. I m so excited about it and i definitively need to add this one day to finish my whole Boxy Pixel collection. Great Video Tito, i love your Videos.
So cool, Tito! Hey, I would love if they could even do clear plastic hinge covers in red, then have clear red shoulder, volume, etc. That would be so cool!
I can't help but wonder how many SP's could have been spared broken screens if they were originally built out of metal. Then again, I really don't know if it would have prevented the same outcome. Either way, it's amazing what they've done with these shells.
The 2 hinges themselves are still plastic pieces and are able to break, and will probably tear the screen ribbon cable. Best to just not drop your SP at all.
@@VanguardRaven I'm refering to the shell itself and possibly being more protective of the back of the screen if it gets bumped into something, as I've seen with a few screens when it was closed
I'm hoping Boxy Pixel makes a metal Analogue Pocket shell but I imagine that's very unlikely given the number of them in the world vs GB/GBC/GBAs and the RnD costs involved. A man can dream though!
I really hope the final design does away with the angular corners. I would prefer the rounded OG corners. Curious why they went this route in the first place.
Let's goooo! That looks great. I've got an old SP that hasn't worked in years. If I can get around to opening it up and seeing if I can repair it I'd love to do this mod.
I love your videos Tito! The intros are always really cool and the install tutorials are always so relaxing. You always make me want to go out and do these myself lol
i think the biggest flaw is the back cover does not extend far enough to protect the game cartridge like the original does. When you inserted the cartridge only about 1/4 of the game was protected. I could see a potential issue where the cartridge could snag onto clothing and crank it out damaging the cartridge.
Another fun one to watch. I have a few of the retro consoles myself (more because packrat things and not because collector things), but no extra funds to splurge on upgrades like these. Still, always very neat to see these, and I enjoy your explanations about them.
Cons: has his logo on the start and select buttons. And the battery door cover (No one should be doing this it looks stupid). Doesn't have metal L and R buttons, or power slider of volume slider. Unnecessary changes in design (I just want a metal GBA sp with no design changes). No Nintendo logo slot on front.
Agreed, all the chamfers aren't doing it for me. I'd much rather have round and slightly eased edges, like Nintendo's shell. Also I don't understand the appeal of making a handheld device heavier, I prefer my handhelds and controllers to be as light as possible (to the point that I open up new controllers and rip the rumble motors out of them since I always disable rumble anyway). But hey, to each their own.
Alternative name idea: Re-hinged SP. Would've also liked if they included metal hinge covers to match the new shell, a clear plastic pannel fastened to the metal edges of the GBA slot to function as the original dust cover but still keep the game viewable, and some metal looking screw cover stickers for the outside top shell.
As far as I know, the addition of the usb-c and audio port openings and the tighter hinge cover design so that the ribbon cable is less visible are the primary changes. Also, the plastic hinge bushings should be easier to install
I'd get the red one as it gives me mad Drill Dozer vibes, but i'm really bummed out by the non protected cartridge port, it seems way too easy for carts labels to get scratched when the whole point of a metal shell is letting it get some wear and tear over time, but having to baby it by not leaving a cart in kinda makes it a no go for me, GBA games can be expensive so it's kind of creating a problem here that the OG never had.
Looks very cool... but I think I would need to find some third-party hinges. I know from experience that getting the hinges out of a SP is not as easy as it looks.
Now that you mention it, they should do a metal shell for the DS. The original 2004 model needs it more than you think, the plastic shells on those earlier models are starting to deteriorate, crack, and in some cases crumble. By way of contrast, the DS Lite and DSi were both made from higher quality plastics and are therefore a lower priority.
The first Boxy Pixel shell i would actually consider. I hate how SP screens don't use the SP's lighting button by default, it seems like a waste to not wire everything to that 8nstead of a touch sensor.
Nice vid! I want to do this mod so bad >:) haha, side note though, am I the only one that sees weird artifacts on your face in some shots? Like it looks like overprocessing or something :/ could just be on my end but I think I saw another one of your vids with the same artifacts
This looks more like a showpiece SP than anything actually practical to be quite honest. The major amounts of extra weight, while certainly "premium" feeling, is probably gonna get annoying after a while when you've been holding the console up for over 30 mins. Furthermore, the metal is gonna get hot really damn easily since, of course, metal is a very good conductor, and it will be uncomfortable to hold on cold days as well. Also, since the body is now made of hard metal, if there's anything in your pocket that could get scratched, that metal SP body is probably gonna do it. And finally, as a side note that isn't really relevant to the metal body but more to modded SPs in general, AGS-101 screens (backlit) suck up twice as much juice as an original AGS-001 screen, and further, have a bit of ghosting to them as well. I also hear the screens have more input lag to them, but I'm not able to confirm that. EDIT: It's also been brought to my attention that the cartridge is not fully supported in the front as it is with a regular SP. This is probably fine, but even so, I'm sure a lot of people probably don't like that.
Looking forward to a new 'ultimate SP' video once the mods are available. Some metal hinge pin caps would have been nice too. But what I really want to see from boxy pixel is a 'Macro' plate that has the 4 face buttons. I don't get why that's not an option. If using a Macro for emulation that just limits what you can play.
@@MachoNachoProductions im hoping it wont ether i want to get one so badly but i noticed my og gba sp cartridge reader doesnt seem to work anymore so i might have to replace it with a new one
I love BoxyPixel’s work, but I just have to wonder why they don’t cover the shoulder buttons with their packs. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve got the unhinged SP built and love it, so I do support their work, but it’d be a perfect finish to have the shoulder buttons match the face buttons.
They made metal buttons but did not include metal L-R shoulder buttons? For a premium product that's a bit of an oversight. I wonder if there is a reason those were missing.
If they added ds lite housing that would be cool. Because of the cracked hing problem. DS lite had brighter screen. But with that problem i regret trading the ds.
Oh wow... with an ips backlit screen, i wants this. Could we get a top panel with the nintendo logo? Are there plands to make metal shoulder buttons? I'd definitely buy a metal ds lite casing, i love that console.
Love all the boxy pixel stuff tito I got 4 of them myself, just curious if you think a Bluetooth screen mirroring mod could be possible for a gameboy? I know that there are wired video output mods but screen mirroring would be the best
I would actually lose my mind if he comes out with a metal shell for the DS. My favorite handheld of all time, and there are just no good aftermarket shell options.
i wish they would add a full custom part to their website. i know i can change most things but i also want the body to be different colors. i want purple battery cover, brass bottom case, purple inside on the bottom with brass buttons, brass inside top part, purple outer part, brass top plate and purple screws. but i don't want to buy 2 shells T_T
Almost perfect, love they finally added notches to the backside. The only issue i noticed is the stock battery, would have been nice if it used the 1700mAh battery used in the unhinged version. Just need a metal fatboy sp addon😉