This $6.50 Mod Board Updates the Classic Nintendo Game Boy Advance SP with USB Type-C Charging

Maker, developer, and retrogamer James "Jamosaur" Wallen-Jones has released a compact board designed to bring Nintendo's classic Game Boy Advance SP firmly into the 21st century by ditching the proprietary charge port in favor of USB Type-C.

Released back in 2003 and discontinued five years later, the Game Boy Advance SP (GBA SP) was a clamshell handheld console serving as the direct precursor to Nintendo's later dual-screen DS family. Designed to play original Game Boy and Game Boy Advance titles, the gadget is still beloved today thanks to a front- or back-lit display in place of the reflective-only screens of many of its predecessors.

Its internal lithium-ion battery, however, must be charged using a proprietary power adapter from Nintendo itself — unless you choose to mod the console. "Do yourself a favor and remove the waste of space charging port that comes with the console and replace it with something future-proof," Wallen-Jones cries. "Honestly, I can't believe this didn't come as standard on the original console. (Imagine if USB-C was around then, huh?)"

While not the first USB Type-C adapter board for the Game Boy Advance SP, it is one of the smallest thanks to the use of compact 0402-footprint resistors. A 3D-printed spacer is provided with each board, designed to fill the gap left by the removal of the original charging port and its replacement with the considerably more compact USB Type-C port.

Installation, Wallen-Jones claims, takes around 30 minutes and includes desoldering the original port and soldering its replacement. "You're modding your console at your own risk," the maker warns, I can't be held accountable for any damage caused."

Those not put off by the warning can find the mod board for $6.50 on Wallen-Jones' Tindie store.