In context: After the Game Boy was launched in 1998, it built up several accessories. Some were somewhat sensible, such as adjustable screen magnifier. Others were not as practical as the Game Boy Printer. The WorkBoy is without a doubt the most useful (and rarest) device ever created for the handheld.
Game historian Liam Robertson has unveiled a never-released accessory for the Nintendo Game Boy that could turn the handheld console into a full-fledged PDA. In a recent episode of his YouTube series “Game History Secrets” (below), Robertson lost sight of the peripheral, for the past 28 years.
The accessory, called WorkBoy, is a simple keyboard that connects to the Game Boy via a connecting cable. WorkBoy has several built-in productivity programs, including an address book, calculator, database, appointment book, world clock, calendar, and more. In fact, there are 12 programs in total.
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WorkBoy was designed by the British company Source Research and Development and was covered as a brand in 1992, with the start of Washington, Fabtek Inc., to manufacture the device. Both companies have now been shut down. The peripherals appeared in several game publications from the 1990s and even made an appearance at CES 1992. However, it did not disappear completely long after that and never heard from him again.
After months of digging, Robertson, founder of Source Research and Development, tracked down Eddie Gill. Gill was also the chief designer behind the device. Gill said the WorkBoy would be released in late 1992 or early 1993 for about $ 80 or $ 90. However, several issues prevented WorkBoy from ever reaching production.
There are only two prototypes of the extremely rare Game Boy peripherals that Gill knows – one is probably held somewhere by Nintendo, and Frank Ballouz, founder of Fabtek, owns the other. Nintendo would probably not make information about an unreleased product available, and Robertson contacted Ballouz.
Ballouz generously agreed to send the WorkBoy prototype to Robertson to see if he could make it work. Robertson connected the device to several first generation Game Boys, but could not make it work. Although Ballouz does not remember that he needed separate software, they determined that it had to run a pattern that was in the Game Boy.
Luckily, Robertson was able to find the exact ROM he needed to get the WorkBoy up and running. The code was included in that Nintendo “Gigaleak” just earlier this year. Robertson flashed the software to a blank ROM pattern, and the WorkBoy certainly came alive and worked flawlessly.
Robertson cites a shortage of D-RAM caused by an explosion at a foundry in Japan as the main cause of WorkBoy production. It is also considered too expensive for a peripheral device, and costs just 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 are now standard with everything the WorkBoy has to offer.