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Showing posts from September, 2019

Neo Geo Pocket Color Backlight

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In the world of handheld retro gaming the frontier of portables without backlit screen options seems to be shrinking by the day. The Neo Geo Pocket Color was released in 1999, more or less competing with the Gameboy Color.  It had several advantages such as the horizontal arrangement and semi-contoured back making it easier to hold, and a micro-switch joystick rather than a D-Pad, and a slightly larger screen.  But like the GBC, it's screen was reflective so you could only comfortably play it in well-lit areas. Older handhelds like the Game Boy and the Game Boy Pocket could have their native screens upgraded by removing the reflective layer behind the screen and replacing it with a backlight, however the GBC and NGPC were manufactured with the reflective layer encased in the glass of the LCD itself with no way to remove it (believe me, I tried). Up until a couple of years ago, there were no real options for installing a backlit screen into a GBC, but the cottage industry that