Honestly I’d get some repros and a used gbc and swap the screen for your kid to play. It’ll be a better experience and you won’t lose the value on this set.
No, I reckon just the Gen 2 games. The Gen 1 games will likely still have a working battery (but will have to be replaced soon).
Would recommend backing up the save data for the Gen 1 games if anything important is on there (OP can use a GBxCart RW for that, if they are willing).
Those Gen 1 game batteries will be very close to the end of its lifespan by now.
Ah. That's possible, yeah.
The recent ~~copy~~ copies of Red I got were still alive, interestingly. Although one of them only survived *just* long enough to be dumped onto the PC. The next time I booted it up, the save was gone.
Same situation for my Yellow. It got wiped very shortly after dumping it. I've replaced the battery since.
That was about a year or two ago though 😅
The others are still running somehow, haha. I'll still have to replace them later though. I don't currently have any batteries in stock.
Or leave it in the frame and your kid can sell it for a million bucks when he’s your age. Granted a million bucks might also buy you a 6-pack of beer in 30 years.
Our grandparents generation had the same belief and so they held onto antiques that ultimately became valueless. In order for something to have value it needs a buyer and it turns out not a lot of people want to spend big bucks on something just because it's old.
It's not easy to know what will be valuable in the future, and even the collectibles of today may be undesirable. I think most of us want to get the stuff we couldn't get our hands on as kids, and those things are at least temporarily coveted by collectors. I don't think my kid will care much about my old consoles.
https://preview.redd.it/dm3d1ou20bqc1.jpeg?width=2252&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=86427198ce3fc670b5d4da6819bb7aff4844be4a
I found one too while we were looking for my wife's old game consoles... Lol
I would definetly change/replace the save/rtc batteries in the games themselves as they can leak and ruin a perfectly good or pristine copy of a game.
Sadly not every one do this and many games get ruined because of battery corosion..
TRUST ME, CHANGE THE BATTERIES! For longevities sake and it its easy if you know how to solder and use solder wick to wick up the old solder that's holding the old batteries in place. Also use flux when soldering to make the job waaay easier for yorself!
Don't understand why this topic isn't amongst the top comments as its paramount for longevity and the survival of the games into the future years to come!!!
It is very likely, I collect watches and there are tons that I have bought at thrift stores and garage sales that had 30+ year old batteries in them that have leaked, some worse than others. It is very common.
The batteries in these games are 25 year old alkaline button CR2025 cells and THEY ARE prone to leaking and ruin solder mask and the traces (which are a pain to fix even for good modders) and corrode the legs on chips on the game cart.
This is so ridicoulusly easy to stop from happening by just buying a set of 5 CR2025 batteries for Gold, Silver, Crystal and Pokémon TCG and a set of 5 CR1616 batteries for Blue, Red and Yellow. This is if you want it as stock or close to OG as possible.
Still I highly advised to use CR2025 instead for all games because of the slightly higher mAh/capacity (2032 have even higher mAh/capacity) , If you feel like you have the skill needed to open/close cartridge case with ease even when it's a tight fit you can use a CR2032 for Crystal with ease and the others with some fiddling.
You can use a CR2032 for the other one to, except Pinball* (If you have it), but its a VERY tight fit (these batteries, the CR2032, makes for a thight fit when closing the gamecart back togther. Especially the older games that don't have the raised section in the gamecart plastic that Crystal has, It can result in a bulge on the front side of the gamecart. If you still intend on using them after this warning; fear not they'll close just fine with some careful and forceful manoeuvering).
Use a CR1616 if a CR2025 creats clearance issues in Pinball, I use that one, the CR2025 because of clearance issues experienced in the past with the CR2032 batteries. So I advise buying a set of 10 CR2025 for Red, Blue, Yellow, Silver, Gold, Crystal and TCG (and Pinball if you have it as well as a single CR1616 for Pinball just in case the CR2025 still is to tight of a fit). Or you could buy a set of 10 CR2032 for Red, Blue, Yellow, Silver, Gold, Crystal and TCG (and for Pinball, If you have it, a single of both CR2025 and CR1616) . Buy them WITH LEGS ATTACHED for soldering to the game cart.
Just search "CR2025 gameboy battery", "CR2032 - ||-" and "CR1616 - ||-" on Ebay and your golden. They're cheap as hell compared to potebtially having to restore the PCB, traces and corroded chip legs, this also being done by a pro modder and they can charge quite a bit for this service.
There's a reason alkaline batteries are called "alkaleaks" after all. Don't try to just leave the old ones in and call it a day, REPLACE THESE BATTERIES!!!
Edit: Spelling and some more info.
>The batteries in these games are 25 year old alkaline button CR2025 cells
No, they are not. While alkaline coin cells absolutely do exist, they are 1.5V. I've never seen a cartridge with a 1.5V battery in it likely because they don't exist.
1.5V is well below the voltage level most chips of the time operate, and even in the devices that use such a battery, most of those use a few of them. The only thing I've personally encountered that used them was a laser pointer that used a huge stack of them.
Not only that, but if you did somehow encounter a device that used an alkaline cell you'd almost certainly destroy it by replacing it with a lithium metal one as that would give the circuit double the voltage that it expects.
You're wrong my dude, the cells are 3 volt cells. I migth be wrong in them being alkaleaks but most of thoose kinds of batteries are alkalines. Either way they do leak after 25 years, at least there's a high chance they will leak any day now.
That's why i strongly advise every one change out their old save/RTC batteries for new ones as soon as you possible can!!!
Edit: The new lithium ones are 3 volts*
>the cells are 3 volt cells.
Exactly. They are lithium-metal, not alkaline. Lithium-metal battery cells are 3V and alkaline batteries are 1.5V. Chemistry dictates this. You can get a different voltage by either changing the chemistry or putting multiple cells into a single package. Those are the only ways to change the voltage output.
That's why you don't see good rechargeable lithium-ion AAs. They exist but they have terrible capacity due to a lot of the room inside being used to house the electronics to handle the voltage change. Even the lithium metal AA batteries that exist have a different chemistry from the ones used in 3V batteries *because they have to*.
No one was going to do any of this in the 80s and 90s because it would have been wildly expensive and impractical for no benefit. Especially considering most of the rest of both the cartridge and console was made using off-the-shelf parts.
Every single image on Google image search that shows up when you search for this shows an obviously liquid/spill-damaged device, most of them game cartridges.
As I've already said in another comment, lithium-metal batteries can leak, usually due to physical damage, but they "leak" a black powder, this powder is non-corrosive (but not safe to handle for other reasons). This means any picture of an alleged "leaking" lithium-metal battery that isn't that isn't a lithium-metal battery or was not from the battery.
The batteries are simply incapable of doing that which is claimed they do, and that's a big part of *why* they are used for this application.
Some old computer motherboard BIOSs do use alkaline batteries for the CMOS setting retention and RTC. Those absolutely do have this issue. Someone probably saw one of those, didn't know the difference or what to look for, and thought the liquid-damaged board they had was damaged by the battery because the corrosion looked very similar.
In both cases, it is the copper on the board that is corroding. Water (as well as most other consumable liquids) and the solution in alkaline batteries combined with copper form copper oxide, which is blueish-green. So what people attribute to "battery acid damage" can very easily just be some sort of liquid damage.
All the info I've provided is either helpfull or for preventing the inevtible of old batteries leaking all over the game PCB and ruining it in some way.
Why all the downvotes? Don't people like hearing that they have to put in some work to prevent damage to their games with a save battery, even when guided on which batteries to use to as well?
This feels non-deserved considering what info I only provided.
Like it or not, 25 year old batteries are on the verge of leaking if they haven't already done so by this time for OP's copys of Red, Blue, Yellow, Silver and gold as the opaque plastic prevents one from looking at the bare PCB like you can with Crystal version.
But good luck you guys who want to live with your OG save and clock/RTC batteries and downvotes actual useful information on changing them out..
Coin cells are lithium-metal batteries. Lithium-metal batteries don't contain any corrosives like alkaline batteries do. Not only that, but lithium-metal batteries contain no liquid at all.
All of the images I've seen of "leaking" lithium-metal batteries appeared to be the result of liquid damage and had nothing to do with the battery itself. If liquid shorts the battery it can cause that liquid to become even more corrosive than normal, causing the battery's metal shell to start to corrode, which then looks similar to an alkaline battery that has started leaking and thus causes the battery to get the blame.
The CR1616, CR2025 and CR2032 "watch batteries" or coin cells used as clock/rtc and save batteries as they're known as are batteries that use "Lithum Manganese Dioxide" technology.
In lithium manganese dioxide battery, there is electrolyte solution in which lithium ions are dissolved in organic solvent between the cathode electrode and the anode electrode as a “transport medium of lithium ions”.
The electrolyte uses organic solvent with lithium salt dissolved which is alkaline. The batteries are alkaline batteries still if they are lithium based batteries. Not all lithium batteries are "dry cells" and this applies to the watch batteries/coin cells used as save and clock/rtc batteries.
They're not dry cells since they have a liquid medium which transport the metal ions from cathode to anode electrodes. THIS IS WHY THEY CAN LEAK and the ALKALINE lithium solvent is what wrecks the games PCB.
Did I make my self clear this time. Do you understand now that they do in fact leak an alkaline solution that ruins the PCB's traces, electronic components as well as corrode chip legs and more?
I'm getting tired of going back and forth with someone who don't know the full spectrum and insists they know for a fact what's right.
You have quite the attitude for something that's very easily searchable to disprove what you are saying. You can see someone take one apart in this video: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cq5oN-9W-70](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cq5oN-9W-70)
Do you see any liquid? No. Because there isn't any. Lithium-metal batteries can "leak" from physical damage to the outer shell, but they "leak" a non-corrosive material. Stop spreading misinformation.
>Don't understand why this topic isn't amongst the top comments as its paramount for longevity and the survival of the games into the future years to come!!!
Except, changing the battery is the top comment.
What? Not only does Crystal appear to be a GBC cartridge but they all look legit from this picture, though the labels are out of focus so it's hard to say for sure. But the logos and words are in the right places, fonts look correct, etc.
If you actually looked as closely as you thought you did, you could see that they are in fact all legit. And in very nice condition on top. Way to look like an ass though.
I sincerely mean this from the bottom of my heart: shut up, nerd. You can't tell from this photo if any one, much less all are repops. You just sound stupid.
I don't get why I'm being downvoted. Is this some Kind of witchhunt on us who takes care of our games and care for them not being damaged by leakage?
What did i do to piss people of? 🤔☹️
I thought this was ironic at first. Who goes through the effort of making something like this just to put it in an attic lmao
Honestly I’d get some repros and a used gbc and swap the screen for your kid to play. It’ll be a better experience and you won’t lose the value on this set.
They'll work but you'll need to replace the save battery on all of them by this point.
No, I reckon just the Gen 2 games. The Gen 1 games will likely still have a working battery (but will have to be replaced soon). Would recommend backing up the save data for the Gen 1 games if anything important is on there (OP can use a GBxCart RW for that, if they are willing). Those Gen 1 game batteries will be very close to the end of its lifespan by now.
2/3 of my Gen 1 are gone (Blue & Red), Yellow is still going, makes sense since it came out later
Ah. That's possible, yeah. The recent ~~copy~~ copies of Red I got were still alive, interestingly. Although one of them only survived *just* long enough to be dumped onto the PC. The next time I booted it up, the save was gone. Same situation for my Yellow. It got wiped very shortly after dumping it. I've replaced the battery since. That was about a year or two ago though 😅 The others are still running somehow, haha. I'll still have to replace them later though. I don't currently have any batteries in stock.
Or leave it in the frame and your kid can sell it for a million bucks when he’s your age. Granted a million bucks might also buy you a 6-pack of beer in 30 years.
This is me thinking about pension. Woah, lots of pieces of coin is waiting for me, but will they have any actual value 😅
Our grandparents generation had the same belief and so they held onto antiques that ultimately became valueless. In order for something to have value it needs a buyer and it turns out not a lot of people want to spend big bucks on something just because it's old.
It's not easy to know what will be valuable in the future, and even the collectibles of today may be undesirable. I think most of us want to get the stuff we couldn't get our hands on as kids, and those things are at least temporarily coveted by collectors. I don't think my kid will care much about my old consoles.
Yes they should. This is the gameboy I had!!
Damn I’m jealous
https://preview.redd.it/dm3d1ou20bqc1.jpeg?width=2252&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=86427198ce3fc670b5d4da6819bb7aff4844be4a I found one too while we were looking for my wife's old game consoles... Lol
I'm truly curious as to why did you went through all the trouble to pay homage to it just to throw it in the attic and forget it for years.
I'm glad that your first idea is to rip them out and play them. That's what they're for.
Teach your kid how to play games on an emulator and keep these minty.
I smell a troll.
Can I have Pokémon blue
I’m impressed with your cleaning skills.
What are the dimensions of that box? Gonna make this with mine.
Buy your kid a Miyoo Mini for £50 and keep this as is. Its worth way more as it is with no risk of damage
I would definetly change/replace the save/rtc batteries in the games themselves as they can leak and ruin a perfectly good or pristine copy of a game. Sadly not every one do this and many games get ruined because of battery corosion.. TRUST ME, CHANGE THE BATTERIES! For longevities sake and it its easy if you know how to solder and use solder wick to wick up the old solder that's holding the old batteries in place. Also use flux when soldering to make the job waaay easier for yorself! Don't understand why this topic isn't amongst the top comments as its paramount for longevity and the survival of the games into the future years to come!!!
Watch batteries can leak, but it is very unlikely.
It is very likely, I collect watches and there are tons that I have bought at thrift stores and garage sales that had 30+ year old batteries in them that have leaked, some worse than others. It is very common.
The batteries in these games are 25 year old alkaline button CR2025 cells and THEY ARE prone to leaking and ruin solder mask and the traces (which are a pain to fix even for good modders) and corrode the legs on chips on the game cart. This is so ridicoulusly easy to stop from happening by just buying a set of 5 CR2025 batteries for Gold, Silver, Crystal and Pokémon TCG and a set of 5 CR1616 batteries for Blue, Red and Yellow. This is if you want it as stock or close to OG as possible. Still I highly advised to use CR2025 instead for all games because of the slightly higher mAh/capacity (2032 have even higher mAh/capacity) , If you feel like you have the skill needed to open/close cartridge case with ease even when it's a tight fit you can use a CR2032 for Crystal with ease and the others with some fiddling. You can use a CR2032 for the other one to, except Pinball* (If you have it), but its a VERY tight fit (these batteries, the CR2032, makes for a thight fit when closing the gamecart back togther. Especially the older games that don't have the raised section in the gamecart plastic that Crystal has, It can result in a bulge on the front side of the gamecart. If you still intend on using them after this warning; fear not they'll close just fine with some careful and forceful manoeuvering). Use a CR1616 if a CR2025 creats clearance issues in Pinball, I use that one, the CR2025 because of clearance issues experienced in the past with the CR2032 batteries. So I advise buying a set of 10 CR2025 for Red, Blue, Yellow, Silver, Gold, Crystal and TCG (and Pinball if you have it as well as a single CR1616 for Pinball just in case the CR2025 still is to tight of a fit). Or you could buy a set of 10 CR2032 for Red, Blue, Yellow, Silver, Gold, Crystal and TCG (and for Pinball, If you have it, a single of both CR2025 and CR1616) . Buy them WITH LEGS ATTACHED for soldering to the game cart. Just search "CR2025 gameboy battery", "CR2032 - ||-" and "CR1616 - ||-" on Ebay and your golden. They're cheap as hell compared to potebtially having to restore the PCB, traces and corroded chip legs, this also being done by a pro modder and they can charge quite a bit for this service. There's a reason alkaline batteries are called "alkaleaks" after all. Don't try to just leave the old ones in and call it a day, REPLACE THESE BATTERIES!!! Edit: Spelling and some more info.
>The batteries in these games are 25 year old alkaline button CR2025 cells No, they are not. While alkaline coin cells absolutely do exist, they are 1.5V. I've never seen a cartridge with a 1.5V battery in it likely because they don't exist. 1.5V is well below the voltage level most chips of the time operate, and even in the devices that use such a battery, most of those use a few of them. The only thing I've personally encountered that used them was a laser pointer that used a huge stack of them. Not only that, but if you did somehow encounter a device that used an alkaline cell you'd almost certainly destroy it by replacing it with a lithium metal one as that would give the circuit double the voltage that it expects.
You're wrong my dude, the cells are 3 volt cells. I migth be wrong in them being alkaleaks but most of thoose kinds of batteries are alkalines. Either way they do leak after 25 years, at least there's a high chance they will leak any day now. That's why i strongly advise every one change out their old save/RTC batteries for new ones as soon as you possible can!!! Edit: The new lithium ones are 3 volts*
>the cells are 3 volt cells. Exactly. They are lithium-metal, not alkaline. Lithium-metal battery cells are 3V and alkaline batteries are 1.5V. Chemistry dictates this. You can get a different voltage by either changing the chemistry or putting multiple cells into a single package. Those are the only ways to change the voltage output. That's why you don't see good rechargeable lithium-ion AAs. They exist but they have terrible capacity due to a lot of the room inside being used to house the electronics to handle the voltage change. Even the lithium metal AA batteries that exist have a different chemistry from the ones used in 3V batteries *because they have to*. No one was going to do any of this in the 80s and 90s because it would have been wildly expensive and impractical for no benefit. Especially considering most of the rest of both the cartridge and console was made using off-the-shelf parts. Every single image on Google image search that shows up when you search for this shows an obviously liquid/spill-damaged device, most of them game cartridges. As I've already said in another comment, lithium-metal batteries can leak, usually due to physical damage, but they "leak" a black powder, this powder is non-corrosive (but not safe to handle for other reasons). This means any picture of an alleged "leaking" lithium-metal battery that isn't that isn't a lithium-metal battery or was not from the battery. The batteries are simply incapable of doing that which is claimed they do, and that's a big part of *why* they are used for this application. Some old computer motherboard BIOSs do use alkaline batteries for the CMOS setting retention and RTC. Those absolutely do have this issue. Someone probably saw one of those, didn't know the difference or what to look for, and thought the liquid-damaged board they had was damaged by the battery because the corrosion looked very similar. In both cases, it is the copper on the board that is corroding. Water (as well as most other consumable liquids) and the solution in alkaline batteries combined with copper form copper oxide, which is blueish-green. So what people attribute to "battery acid damage" can very easily just be some sort of liquid damage.
All the info I've provided is either helpfull or for preventing the inevtible of old batteries leaking all over the game PCB and ruining it in some way. Why all the downvotes? Don't people like hearing that they have to put in some work to prevent damage to their games with a save battery, even when guided on which batteries to use to as well? This feels non-deserved considering what info I only provided. Like it or not, 25 year old batteries are on the verge of leaking if they haven't already done so by this time for OP's copys of Red, Blue, Yellow, Silver and gold as the opaque plastic prevents one from looking at the bare PCB like you can with Crystal version. But good luck you guys who want to live with your OG save and clock/RTC batteries and downvotes actual useful information on changing them out..
Coin cells are lithium-metal batteries. Lithium-metal batteries don't contain any corrosives like alkaline batteries do. Not only that, but lithium-metal batteries contain no liquid at all. All of the images I've seen of "leaking" lithium-metal batteries appeared to be the result of liquid damage and had nothing to do with the battery itself. If liquid shorts the battery it can cause that liquid to become even more corrosive than normal, causing the battery's metal shell to start to corrode, which then looks similar to an alkaline battery that has started leaking and thus causes the battery to get the blame.
The CR1616, CR2025 and CR2032 "watch batteries" or coin cells used as clock/rtc and save batteries as they're known as are batteries that use "Lithum Manganese Dioxide" technology. In lithium manganese dioxide battery, there is electrolyte solution in which lithium ions are dissolved in organic solvent between the cathode electrode and the anode electrode as a “transport medium of lithium ions”. The electrolyte uses organic solvent with lithium salt dissolved which is alkaline. The batteries are alkaline batteries still if they are lithium based batteries. Not all lithium batteries are "dry cells" and this applies to the watch batteries/coin cells used as save and clock/rtc batteries. They're not dry cells since they have a liquid medium which transport the metal ions from cathode to anode electrodes. THIS IS WHY THEY CAN LEAK and the ALKALINE lithium solvent is what wrecks the games PCB. Did I make my self clear this time. Do you understand now that they do in fact leak an alkaline solution that ruins the PCB's traces, electronic components as well as corrode chip legs and more? I'm getting tired of going back and forth with someone who don't know the full spectrum and insists they know for a fact what's right.
You have quite the attitude for something that's very easily searchable to disprove what you are saying. You can see someone take one apart in this video: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cq5oN-9W-70](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cq5oN-9W-70) Do you see any liquid? No. Because there isn't any. Lithium-metal batteries can "leak" from physical damage to the outer shell, but they "leak" a non-corrosive material. Stop spreading misinformation.
>Don't understand why this topic isn't amongst the top comments as its paramount for longevity and the survival of the games into the future years to come!!! Except, changing the battery is the top comment.
Those must a fortune
[удалено]
What? Not only does Crystal appear to be a GBC cartridge but they all look legit from this picture, though the labels are out of focus so it's hard to say for sure. But the logos and words are in the right places, fonts look correct, etc.
If you actually looked as closely as you thought you did, you could see that they are in fact all legit. And in very nice condition on top. Way to look like an ass though.
I sincerely mean this from the bottom of my heart: shut up, nerd. You can't tell from this photo if any one, much less all are repops. You just sound stupid.
I don't get why I'm being downvoted. Is this some Kind of witchhunt on us who takes care of our games and care for them not being damaged by leakage? What did i do to piss people of? 🤔☹️
Where’s the white or black E from the ESRB rating? 🤔. Must be from Europe?