ModRetro just put its new transparent Chromatic model on sale. This Chromatic is, as far as I can tell from the time I’ve spent testing it, completely identical to the standard Chromatic model. The only two differences are from the consumer perspective and the aesthetic perspective. For the consumer, the transparent Chromatic is fifty dollars cheaper than the regular model, $150 compared to $200. That’s quite a discount, especially considering that ModRetro Tetris still comes as a pack-in game and strictly speaking, that’s the only game a lot of people even need.
But the aesthetic perspective is the more interesting one to me, as I happen to have grown up in the age of gaming where transparency was all the rage. Back in 1995, Nintendo started the Play It Loud! campaign, that sought to market the Game Boy as cool by offering a wide variety of colorful shell options. The most distinctive of these was the transparent, or clear, shell, because it allows you to see the inner working of the hardware itself. Nintendo continued to offer clear shells for future Game Boy models as well as their Nintendo 64 hardware with the Funtastic line.
For whatever reason, by the time we get to the age of the Gamecube and the DS, Nintendo decided they didn’t like transparent consoles anymore. Certainly, by the 2000s, they were out of fashion. But I can’t help but wonder whether, with the increasing prevalence of modding and piracy, Nintendo didn’t really like the idea of people getting a good look at their machines anymore. Gaming by this point was already starting to transition to its modern form, where instead of owning the machines, gamers were treated more like they had only purchased a license that allowed use of the consoles.
It should go without saying, but Nintendo®, Nintendo 64®, Game Boy®, and the 2-dimensional shape of the Game Boy® console are registered trademarks owned by Nintendo of America, Inc. Nintendo is not affiliated with ModRetro, nor does Nintendo sponsor, approve of, or endorse ModRetro. And this is because ModRetro is doing what Nintendont do anymore. Transparent devices that we own, not subscription services that hinge on Internet access.
The new transparent model of the Chromatic also comes out alongside a smattering of new Chromatic titles which, to be clear, you could also play on original Game Boys, just without the benefit of that excellent backlight and extended battery life. These include reprints of Earthworm Jim and Rayman 2, alongside the modern indie titles Pineapple Kid DX and Fall From Space, which I will be reviewing here in the coming weeks. Come for the nostalgia, stay for the appreciation of the wild, innovative ways creators continue to push the limits of the Game Boy’s 8-bit hardware, their expressions of lateral thinking with withered technology being something that would no doubt make Gunpei Yokoi proud.
