Add a GBA Cartridge Slot to PC Linux or Mac with GB Operator

The Game Boy line of systems and games may be one of the most timeless points of gaming history, at least to me personally. Plenty of the titles still hold up incredibly well and several art styles are frequently adapted by indie games or revisited by larger publishers. Game Boy emulation, hacking, translating, and preservation have been prominent for over a decade but a new tool might streamline playing these games for a wider group of users. With the GB Operator from a new company called Epilogue, users can play their physical cartridges on a PC, Mac, or Linux machine with features common to emulation programs. 

To start this article, I have to make a quick shout-out to the team at Retro Dodo, a media outlet that focuses on modern approaches to emulation and hardware. Their coverage of emulation handhelds is unparalleled and I often discover cool gadgets in the retro-gaming spaces through their articles and videos. Anyone interested in this sort of tech and gaming content should give this team a follow on their various social platforms and check out their main website. 

Back to the GB Operator, this simple device houses a GBA cartridge slot, outputting via a USB cable. Users input a game, connect it to their computer, download the software, and within moments the game is available for play with a keyboard or controller. The software’s core is the emulator mGBA, one of the best available. What’s interesting is that the software creates an easy-to-use pathway for users to download their saves and rom files from cartridges or upload a game to a blank or rewritable cartridge, making it a great tool for preservationists and indie developers, particularly those using the GB Studio program. Epilogue’s website also highlights users looking to upload their Game Boy Camera photos, something the software is fully capable of doing. 

Additionally, the GB Operator’s software can be used to detect reproduction or counterfeit cartridges, something that is becoming far too important as the market is flooded with fakes. For counterfeit detection, we also recommend the Bootleg Buddy, a handy tool kit from Pink Gorilla. 

All in all, it’s always a pleasure to see more solutions to game preservation problems. There are plenty of archived roms out there but legitimacy and safety are often a concern. The team at Epilogue is apparently getting good feedback from outlets and testers that have led them to further improve the tool’s software, so we can assume that the tool will be supported over time. If this works out well, it would be awesome to see a similar tool for other types of game cartridges. The software can be downloaded for free for those looking to experiment with it.

More information can be found on the official Epilogue website. 

For more retro hardware, check out our news piece on the Neo Geo MVSX. For another way to enjoy Game Boy classics, read up on COLLECTION of SaGa FINAL FANTASY LEGEND on Switch.