Can You Play Gameboy Games on a Nintendo DS – Hidden Hack

Despite the Gameboy’s age, over 30 years old now and growing strong, it still to this day has a huge fanbase.

The value of these familiar devices has been growing recently.

The average price of a Gameboy is around $100 (£70, €80 or ￥14,800).

Due to its astounding record breaking popularity there are literally hundreds of thousands of Gameboy games out there in people’s collections, but not so many Gameboy devices.

As a result there are many who are looking for ways to play their beloved Gameboy games, and considering the Nintendo DS was the very next handheld console launched by Nintendo it has been questioned and asked many times whether Gameboy games can be played on a Nintendo DS.

For those who want the short answer we will provide it below, but read on for a more detailed explanation and how to game the games working in the best way.

Only Gameboy Advance games can be played on the Nintendo DS, but only the DS or DS Lite. Original Gameboy games can not be played on any Nintendo DS model and Gameboy Advance games can not be played on the Nintendo DSi or later versions, including the Nintendo 3DS.

Can a Gameboy game fit in a Nintendo DS cartridge slot

Whether a Nintendo DS is capable of playing a Gameboy game will, at least initially, come down to Gameboy cartridge size and Nintendo DS cartridge slot.

This is the Nintendo DS cartridge:

This is a Gameboy game cartridge:

As you can see, the Gameboy cartridge is a totally different size to the Nintendo DS cartridge, with different connecting pads.

This is even more obvious in the side by side photo below:

The dimension of a Gameboy cartridge is 65.5mm x 57mm x 7.5mm, whereas the dimension of a Nintendo DS cartridge is 35mm x 33mm x 3.8mm.

So based on this, and the measurements involved, a Gameboy game will not properly fit into a Nintendo DS cartridge slot.

How to play Gameboy games on a Nintendo DS

It is possible to play Gameboy games on a Nintendo DS but there are some caveats to be aware of.

It isn’t possible to play the original Gameboy games on a Nintendo DS. The original Gameboy cartridges do not fit within the slot of a Nintendo DS, and if it did, the Nintendo DS wouldn’t know how to read it..

It is possible to play Gameboy Advance games on the Nintendo DS, depending on the model of DS owned.

The original Nintendo DS, including the original Nintendo DS Lite, have a special cartridge slot for Gameboy Advance games.

This extra slot though was removed for the DSi and later variants, such as the 3DS.

To play Gameboy Advance games on the Nintendo DS simply switch on the DS and select GBA then insert the Gameboy Advance cartridge into the GBA slot on the DS. The DS will recognise the cartridge and load the GBA game.

Many console manufacturers add backward compatibility to their machines to allow gamers to continue to use their cartridges and discs from their predecessor whilst growing a new gaming collection.

Considering the DSi launched four years after the original Nintendo DS, and seven years after the GBA launched, it wasn’t deemed necessary by Nintendo to allow GBA games to continue to be played on the DSi and later models.

Why Play Gameboy Advance Games on a Nintendo DS

The Nintendo DS launched a staggering 15 years after the original and classic Gameboy, but only 3 years after the GBA launched.

15 years ago we saw the launch of the Dreamcast in Japan, so this gives some idea of the time between the console launches.

Nevertheless, many future versions of similar consoles were backwards compatible, meaning they were able to play games from their predecessor.

This wasn’t by chance either.

Manufacturers realized those customers who had built a large collection of games for their current console wouldn’t be too happy starting a brand new collection on a new release.

This meant gamers could continue to play their back catalog, whilst systematically building up a new collection with better speeds, graphics and gameplay, all on one console.

The original Gameboy was far too old to be considered for backward compatibility, but considering the GBA launched just three years prior, Nintendo felt it necessary to allow the option to play GBA games if it wanted to entice users to upgrade to the DS.

But, why would players want to play Gameboy Advance games on a Nintendo DS?

Well, it really comes down to the timing and availability.

As already mentioned, the Nintendo DS launched in 2004, which was only 3 years after the original Gameboy Advance.

This means there are more working and playable Nintendo DS consoles in people’s homes than a GBA.

Also, surprisingly, there were more sales of Nintendo DS than Gameboy!

A total of 154 million Nintendo DS were sold compared to 81 million Gameboy Advance units, so despite the fact that more people will still hold a Nintendo DS than Gameboy Advance due to age, there are more than 70 million more Nintendo DS out there.

This is why Nintendo DS is often the first thought of handheld that may be capable of playing old collections of Nintendo Gameboy Advance games.

Are Gameboy to Nintendo DS Converters Available

If it isn’t possible to play original Gameboy games on the Nintendo DS, has anyone devised a crafty convertor?

Unfortunately not.

Although there may be obscure products on marketplaces such as Alibaba, there are no known working converters helping the DS play those beloved original Gameboy games.

If you are determined to relive the old green screen memories there are a couple of options.

Epilogue has brought out the GB Operator, which for $49, allows Gameboy games to be ‘slotted’ into a PC!

It not only supports Gameboy cartridges, but also Gameboy Color and Gameboy Advance games too.

On the other hand, for the cost of $49, you may want to consider simply buying a second hand Gameboy from either ebay or Facebook Marketplace, which may set you back a little more but will be the truest nostalgic experience you can find!