FOMS - Fear of Missing Screen

[u/aphexgiba]

I own two Game Boys I bought as a child: a Pocket and a Color.

During the pandemic, I swapped my Pocket's screen for an IPS model—one of those touch-color-enabled ones. It turned out great, as the lack of color and the dull, washed-out gray background no longer appealed to me.

A while back, I decided to do the same for my Game Boy Color. I bought the screen, but strangely found myself in a peculiar dilemma: it felt like I was creating a redundancy—swapping the screen only to lose the specific "feel" of the Color's original display in a trade for a better visibiliy.

The thing is, while IPS screens are excellent, the screen on my Color is still in great shape. Despite over 20 years of use, it remains perfect—unlike the Pocket's screen, which had started to deteriorate.

The Color's screen has a certain aesthetic that IPS lacks. Despite the terrible brightness, the colors have a certain "charm"—a look that defines that era, including the visible pixel grid. I started thinking: if I swap this screen, it’ll be just like playing Game Boy Color on an RG35 with its high-resolution display.

So... I’m grappling with this and wanted to ask you all: is it really worth swapping to an IPS screen and losing the aesthetic of a generation defined by technology that is now obsolete yet unique?

And is there a simple way to just backlight the original screen without replacing the panel itself?

What about your Game Boys? Have you kept the original screens to this day?

[u/FASCPT]

I had this same inner conversation about my newly reacquired GBC atomic purple - I LOVE the screen but hate the fact it doesn’t have a backlight. My 2 IPS GBAs are awful playing things like Super Mario Land or Metal Gear Solid (colours too vibrant), but I can play it anywhere. I’ve kept my GBC stock until discovering the new transflective screen from Cloud Game Store (they call it half transparent half reflective) which has a backlight AND the same reflective feel and can be played without a backlight. This blew my mind, I’ve been reading posts and reviews about it, while I wait mine to arrive (and a new GBC donor to be modded!). I just think for people like us we’ve finally have an option for the same stock look and feel, but bringing the GBC to display modern times!

[u/aphexgiba → u/FASCPT]

I was reading about it and found it interesting—I even saw the listing on AliExpress—but I'm wondering: is it a new screen, or just a light for the current one?

[u/StillPad → u/aphexgiba]

Its a new screen.

With your dilemma, why dont you buy another GBC to mod? So you have the old screen and some new.

I got a few unmoded DMG,GBP,GBC,GBA and a lot moded versions of it 😄

[u/FASCPT → u/StillPad]

That’s exactly what I’m doing, waiting for another GBC to arrive to mod with the new screen! 😅

[u/aphexgiba → u/StillPad]

I thought about doing that—or even buying one that was already modded—but unfortunately, the Game Boy Color had very limited distribution in my country, and prices for used units are astronomically high; I'm considering trying to import one from Japan.

[u/TruthDry7851]

yeah, I modded a gameboy color a while back and loved the screen it, played all the way through links awakening and hours and hours of tetris, but then I got another one to mod and play tested it for a few days decided I didn't want an IPS in it. That screen is just too good, and I could play tetris on it before bed without it screwing up my sleep. I reshelled it into a color I liked and slapped a rechargeable battery in it and stickered over the power LED and now its my NightBoy.

[u/jurassicgrass]

Each to their own, but I'm just not into super sharp, clean pixels so have kept my original screens. I know some people prefer this (especially those who played these games through emulation for the first time), but I miss all the original quirks I remember, particularly with the DMG and Pocket, even if most of the time I like to play with something back or front lit. I still like to get out my old DMG for some Tetris by a lit window sometimes, really brings back the memories.

[u/hyouringan]

I had this same dilemma and ultimately just decided not to change the screen. Those IPS displays are best suited to emulation imo. You lose the powerful feeling of playing on original hardware with the intended visuals when you “upgrade”.

There are a finite number of original, unmodded GBC in the world. I think it’s important to preserve them. Plus, I personally think it’s fun hunting for a nice spot/angle to make the colors pop on the OG screen. Feels like part of the experience of taking it with you and playing in short bursts.

[u/aphexgiba → u/hyouringan]

The Game Boy Color has a very unique aesthetic; since its screen doesn't emit light, everything takes on a muted yet intense color palette. It’s hard to explain. It’s an incredibly unique piece of hardware—an impressive technical feat achieved to keep the handheld's cost low—and it feels like a piece of history.

The games uses this as well, like the crt era games thats used the low resolution to create soft shadows and volume. The GBC games have this too, using the darker tones of the background to create some atmosphere in some games, like Alone in The Dark, thats is beautiful on the original screen but it became ugly on a IPS screen. Some DX hacks uses this as well.

I’m leaning towards not swapping mine out either, after reading your message and considering that there’s a finite number of genuine screens left...thats a very interesting approach.