In context: After the Game Boy was released in 1998, he accumulated several accessories. Some were somewhat sensible, like dockable screen magnifiers. Others were not as practical as the Game Boy Printer. The WorkBoy is arguably the most useful (and rarest) device ever created for the handheld.
Gaming historian Liam Robertson has discovered a never-released accessory for the Nintendo Game Boy that can turn the portable gaming console into a complete PDA. Robertson revealed the peripheral, a thought lost in the past 28 years, in a recent episode of his YouTube series “Game History Secrets” (below).
The accessory, called WorkBoy, is a simple keyboard that connects to the Game Boy via a link cable. The WorkBoy has several built-in productivity applications, including an address book, calculator, database, appointment book, world clock, calendar and much more. In fact, there are 12 applications in total.
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Designed by the British company Source Research and Development, the WorkBoy was registered in 1992, with the startup Fabtek Inc, in Washington, commissioned to manufacture the device. Both companies are extinct. The peripheral was featured in several game publications from the 90s and even made an appearance at CES 1992. However, not long after that, it disappeared completely, never to be heard again.
After months of digging, Robertson located Source Research and Development founder Eddie Gill. Gill was also the main designer behind the device. Gill said the WorkBoy was scheduled to launch in late 1992 or early 1993 for about $ 80 or $ 90. However, several problems prevented the WorkBoy from reaching production.
There are only two prototypes of the Game Boy peripheral ultrararo that Gill knows about – one is probably held somewhere by Nintendo, and Fabtek founder Frank Ballouz owns the other. Nintendo was not likely to provide information about an unreleased product, so Robertson contacted Ballouz.
Ballouz generously agreed to send the WorkBoy prototype to Robertson to see if he could get it to work. Robertson connected the device to several first-generation Game Boys, but was unable to get it to work. Although Ballouz did not remember the need for separate software, they determined that it must have worked with a cartridge inserted in the Game Boy.
By a stroke of luck, Robertson was able to find the exact ROM he needed to get the WorkBoy up and running. The code was contained in that Nintendo “Gigaleak” earlier this year. Robertson upgraded the software to a blank ROM cartridge, and the WorkBoy certainly came to life and worked perfectly.
Robertson cited a lack of D-RAM caused by an explosion at a foundry in Japan as the main reason why the WorkBoy never went into production. It was also considered too expensive for a peripheral, costing as much as the Game Boy itself. However, the design of the device later inspired other devices, such as the Nokia 9000 series. And, of course, modern smartphones now come standard with everything that the WorkBoy offers.