Modder Sebastian Stacks (known for his YouTube channel and website "There Oughta Be") decided he would like a wooden Game Boy, so much so that he made a Game Boy shell entirely out of walnut wood. He actually started by making wooden Game Boy cartridges before he moved onto the full unit, but you will also notice two Pokemon cartridges with fully wooden exteriors, replacing the original plastic casing.
Replacing the original Game Boy's plastic body with walnut wood and re-assembling the unit isn't the only thing Stacks did with this project, though. The D-Pad and buttons have all been replaced as well, and even the original Game Boy screen has been replaced in favor of an IPS screen mod that brings out the very best image quality this era of games can offer.
We've embedded a video breaking down the project and giving plenty of detail shots from the There Oughta Be YouTube Channel for those who want to see more. For those who want to make their own, step-by-step instructions are available on the There Oughta Be blog post.
Finally, a few of you may be wondering who this is for. Why waste all this woodworking and time on some ancient relic of a game system? There's obviously some demand for these types of custom handhelds; for instance, the Analogue Pocket, which is basically a $250 Game Boy with a 1440p screen, has almost always been sold out since it dropped in late 2019.
Truly great game design is timeless, even if the hardware isn't, and premium retro handhelds (especially custom projects like the Wooden Game Boy) help emphasize that. Plus, more naturalistic wooden designs are creeping into the PC space as well, so I doubt this is the last time we'll be seeing something like this.
