Demo Boy 1?

[M Moogle]

Could anyone tell me anything more about this (seemingly unusual) Demo Boy? Everything I can find discussing the Demo Boy seems to always talk about the "Demo Boy II" or "Demo Vision", neither of which are what I have. It was intended to go into a Game Boy store display unit circa 1990ish, but was never installed - a family member brought it home for me to play with as a kid. It's been in my possession since then. Only recently did I decide to figure out what exactly it is, to find out that I can't find any images of anything exactly like it.

[Archangel]

I would not know personally the difference between the Demo boy and the DBII except possible revisions with the hardware/software. Either way it should be pretty rare if you have a version 1 which by my guess Nintendo probably got rid of once the DBII came out..

Also, I do not know weather or not this belongs here or prototype central...

[kai123]

Oh I remember these in stores. I am jealous....I think there was one for the game boy pocket as well.

[cooky560]

what is the DemoBoy for? I mean the SuperGameBoy can play Gameboy games on a TV

[ccovell]

That's cool that you have a Demo Boy 1. As for differences, I really have no idea, except that the Demo Vision I have has a reset timer, and it's also a double-GB unit. (Single-GB units of the Demo Vision possibly exist, if the stickers are anything to go by.) Obviously, considering the seeming lack of RF output, reset buttons, etc... perhaps that's what revisions of the Demo Boy added?

Some other pics (using Google):
http://beeep.jp/img/img0172_02.jpg
http://beeep.jp/img/img0172_01.jpg

And my web pages for info:
http://www.disgruntleddesigner.com/chrisc/images/IMG_0915sm.jpg
Demo Vision (http://www.disgruntleddesigner.com/chrisc/demovision.html)

http://www.disgruntleddesigner.com/chrisc/images/wideboy06.jpg
Wide Boy (http://www.disgruntleddesigner.com/chrisc/wideboy.html)

And to answer cooky560, the Super Game Boy was released in 1994. For the 6 years prior to that, then, the Wide Boys and Demo Boys were the only ways for developers and magazine writers to test games without losing their eyesight and sanity.

[neuropolitique]

Demo Boys and Demo Visions are all very similar, and yet it seems no two are exactly alike. Some display the Game Boy screen inside the Game Boy screen matte, others don't. Some support two Game Boys, some don't. Yours is interesting in that I've never seen one in a case that small. Usually, a single board Demo Boy/Vision is housed in the same case as a two board. Doesn't surprise me though.

Each of these were made with a specific purpose in mind. A lot of displays used Demo Boys/Visions, so yours could have been made for a display with a smaller form factor than most.

[MarioMania]

Can the DemoBoy,DemoBoy II & Demo Vision play Game Boy Carts??

[ccovell]

Yes, and the Wide Boy too, on a TV. That's what they're designed to do.

[rbudrick]

I have a demovision and I have been trying for years to get good pics of the contact points where the Gameboy itself was connected. I have the main unit, but no modified GB to go with it. Can anyone help a brother out?

-Rob

[Pantechnicon]

what is the DemoBoy for? I mean the SuperGameBoy can play Gameboy games on a TV

Right, but the the Demo Boy precedes the Super Game Boy by quite a few years. This is an in-store demo unit for the original Game Boy. It was never intended to be available in mass quantities to the consumer market like the SGB, hence owning one is pretty nifty.

[Aussie2B]

http://beeep.jp/img/img0172_01.jpg

Somebody seriously needs to modify one of those displays to make the giant buttons actually function as real buttons. :)

[Pantechnicon]

Somebody seriously needs to modify one of those displays to make the giant buttons actually function as real buttons. :)

It's been more or less already done. (http://gameman.loungespot.com/play/index.html)

[rbudrick]

Soooo, no one wants to take apart their GB and show me where the solder points go? Pretty please? :-D

-Rob