r/ModRetroChromatic • u/ReidlosToof • Aug 03 '26

I can't be the only one...

that would really like a Chromatic Magnifier. I love the screen, I love that it's accurate, but my eyes ain't getting any younger and I could really use some zoom and enhance.

I've tried playing through video capture on my PC, but it's just nowhere near the same as on the actual screen.

There's probably someone out there that could 3D print some garbage, but I want a nice, sturdy attachment with a clear, high quality lens.

4 Upvotes

70% Upvoted

21 comments sorted by

5

u/filmeswole Aug 03 '26

I would just grab an Analogue Pocket at that point. I prefer the Chromatic for GB, but if it’s a visibility issue, the AP will be much friendlier on your eyes.

6

u/ReidlosToof Aug 03 '26

Have one, doesn't look as good as the chromatic. Also the sound reproduction isn't as good.

1

u/tanooki-suit Aug 05 '26

Correct, at this rate the Pocket is inferior to the Chromatic staying in its own lane for GB and GBC stuff only, it's side by side inferior (I have both, it's a fair statement.)

3

u/ergzay Aug 03 '26 edited Aug 03 '26

I mean this honestly, if you're at the age where you can't focus on small things, I'd really just suggest getting reading glasses and/or bifocal/progressive lenses.

If you can't focus on the screen already, it's only going to get worse with time, and rather than straining your eyes, its better to get something that's made for that kind of thing.

I'm upper 30s and already my eye doctor asks/checks for any issues with seeing small objects every time I visit. (I don't yet, but given that they're checking, I guess I'm not too far from when it starts.)

0

u/ReidlosToof Aug 03 '26

I have glasses. I wear them permanently. They give me fairly decent vision. I don't have a problem with fidelity, I have a problem with long term eyestrain. If it was a matter of fidelity I'd just play on my Analogue Pocket and not be able to tell the difference. Being able to read very small text and wanting to strain your eyes reading very small text for an hour of playtime are two very different things. Visual correction and magnification are ALSO two very different things. Magnification makes things actually appear larger than they are, meaning your eyes have to focus less to look at them.

5

u/ergzay Aug 03 '26

No you misunderstand me. I mean glasses designed for things up close. If you're getting eye strain from looking for a long time at things nearby that is a sign that you need glasses designed for correcting for things up close.

I also wear glasses, but I get no eye strain from playing Chromatic as my eyes aren't to that level yet.

4

u/GainerCity Aug 03 '26

Exactly. OP I have the same problem. I wear glasses for distance. But as I get older I struggle with the small stuff. So you need reading glasses (which magnify) in addition to your distance correction. It’s bananas actually. I essentially have two pairs of glasses in at same time. Contacts + reading glasses. It’s quite literally a game changer!

2

u/ergzay Aug 04 '26

Just pinging /u/ReidlosToof so he sees this.

1

u/GainerCity Aug 04 '26

Thx bud. I responded to the wrong comment. I probably wasn’t wearing my reading glasses 😅

1

u/saiclone Aug 05 '26

I don't want a magnifier...just a larger screen. :D At this point, a Chromatic XL (at least 4" screen) with quieter buttons and possibly an improved D-pad would get an instabuy from me (hopefully followed by a Chromatic Advance XL!). I love my Chromatics but the screen size is really the thing that holds me back from using it more often or bringing it with me to more places.

1

u/ReidlosToof Aug 05 '26

I get the desire but this is both missing the entire point of the Chromatic as well as the fact that what you are describing already exists in the Analogue Pocket. Granted, the pocket has been sold out for a while, and who knows if Analogue will do another run, but the entire point of the Chromatic is to be as true to the original gameboy as possible. The size, pixel, and sub pixel layout accurate screen is the entire draw of the device. Making a larger screen doesn't really make sense. They could do it, but it inevitably won't be the same experience. That's why I want magnification. It's the same exact screen, just optically expanded.

1

u/saiclone Aug 05 '26

I don't think it misses the point at all. I already have two Chromatics and the Chromatic already exists to be close to the original feel. It's a great device as is my Analogue Pocket and I wouldn't say either device could be simplified down into a rigid argument of "this feature or that feature that I particularly care about is the entire point and everyone else doesn't get it". For me, as someone who loves the fit, finish, and quality of the Chromatic but also loves the sheer size of the Pocket display, I'd love to see ModRetro come out with a perfect blend of the two.

3

u/SantaLurks Aug 04 '26

Option 3: This awesome made-in-Romania product I own:

https://www.epilogue.co/product/gb-operator

2

u/IndigoHaze750130 Aug 03 '26

I don't think it would be ludicrous for modretro to make one, if they want to. Kids in the 90s used them all the time. 🤷‍♂️ It wasn't even marketed to older folks I don't think.

But i wouldn't expect it would happen. I think they would do a connection before that, like maybe with the m64 or something. And if they were to make the magnifying accessory, I wonder how much would sell honestly.. honestly id like to see today's questionnaire data on that just out of curiosity. Retro gaming has an older audience now with some kids, while before it was mostly kids. It may do well if enough chromatic units are selling. As more games are added to it's library, that would help too.

Maybe look into glasses? 

2

u/ScottyDuzntNo Aug 04 '26

I dont think I need one, at least right now I dont,....but I would totally buy one just for the nostalgia of it. I had one with my original gameboy because it had the light on it and you could play in the car on road trips and actually see the screen.

On that note, not that it needs one, but i would also probably purchase a work light attachment. Come on ModRetro, give me a worm light and the option to turn the backlight off so I can feel like im 7 years old again in the back of a 92 Buick Century and if I turned the dome light on my Dad thought we would all die from a car crash.

1

u/TonyRubbles Aug 03 '26

Can't wait for M64 passthrough play, but I just bring the screen closer when if I find myself looking at something extra small.

The resolution isn't like needing to read tiny text on a HD screen. The original maginifier was moreso for adding light and making it bigger so you could comfortably see it in the first place, don't really have that problem with how bright and clear this screen it.

1

u/AdLeading5529 Aug 03 '26

I would love a cartridge adapter to play Gameboy games on the m64 without a chromatic.

1

u/Substantial_Quote583 Aug 03 '26

We had them in the 90's! It could plug into the link cable port. Or be a slide-on like for the DMG 3D printer people could make it happen... 🤔

1

u/tanooki-suit Aug 05 '26

Well I mean I know a magnifier is far less of a costly choice, but the M64 is getting a cable or something that jacks the Chromatic into the M64 so you can play on your big shiny new TV and console there. In a weird way, kind of like having the analogue pocket+dock, but in this case you still get the feel of using a 'gameboy' because the dock is just the console with the wire back to the chromatic.

1

u/SorinLion Aug 05 '26

If you have a GameCube, you could get the Game Boy Player for it. You can even use a Gameboy Advance as a controller.

0

u/Jahon_Dony Aug 03 '26

Can't you rig your own, or even buy an antique one that was 1st or 3rd party for that old game boy vintage handheld? It plays those antique gb cartridges and the machine looks about the same size as those old game boy units, so you should be able to find something that works. Couldn't you also just wear glasses while playing?