Game Boy Battery Pack/AC Adaptor

This is the first battery pack that was available for the Game Boy (at least in the US), and also doubles as an AC adaptor. It was manufactured by Nintendo, released right after the initial launch of the Game Boy, and sold for about $30 US. The main body of the pack is about 3" long and 2" wide and 1/2" thick, grey with purple lettering, which matches the Game Boy's color scheme, a few shallow grooves on the front, and a large clip on the back for attaching to your belt. On one end is a 2' long attached cord, which ends in a 3.5mm female phone plug, for insertion into the AC Adaptor jack on the Game Boy. The other end has a standard dual pin male jack for connecting an AC cord which then plugs into the wall outlet. On the back of the pack, underneath the belt clip, is the accessory's ID number, plug polarity, and other information along those lines.

According to Nintendo, it was good for several hours of gameplay per charge, and could be recharged 1000 times or so. The batteries inside are NiCad, and do last about 4-5 hours per charge, which is how long disposable alkaline batteries last. This device works very well, and is very durable; I dropped it several times and it didn't get so much as a visible scratch. You can also use the pack as an AC adaptor; just plug in the AC cord into the pack, and the pack cord into the Game Boy unit, and turn the power on. I assume even if the batteries die over time from charging and recharging, it can still be used an AC adaptor, but I can't verify that.

However, this device is very bulky, weighs as much as 4 or so 'D' size batteries, and won't exactly fit in your pocket like the Game Boy units can. Also, this device has one prominant weakness to be aware of. There is a serious flaw in the design of the phone plug at the end of the pack, it is very large and sticks out prominently. Because of the strain that the cord attached to the pack places on the plug, as well as bumping the plug now and then during everyday use, the plug tip can become loose and not make proper contact inside the body of the plug. If you have ever had a Walkman and gave it lots of use, it is the same problem you may have had with the headphone jack becoming loose. I only got 75 or so charges out of it, for about 1 year, before the plug came undone, and I had to throw it in the junk drawer, never to be used again. Sad part is, the batteries are probably still good! Oh, well. It is really a nice accessory, just be careful!

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