A DIY Arduino-powered handheld game console
Inspired by greatness
dotMG is a hackable, Arduino-powered, DIY handheld game console inspired by the original Nintendo Game Boy (the DMG, which stands for “dot matrix game”). dotMG is currently in development, and the photos above are only of a prototype. Currently, we’re looking at these awesome features*:
- Brilliant 16-bit color 160x128 pixel TFT display
- Swappable, programmable game cartridges with:
- SAMD51 chip (32-bit ARM, 120MHz, 512KB flash, 192KB RAM)
- 2MB external QSPI flash
- 4KB EEPROM
- Beautiful shells for both console and game cartridges (with public CAD files for customization)
- Adjustable volume knob
- USB-C for charging and programming
- Hack to your heart’s content with “EXT” pins (SPI, I2C, DAC)
- Real Game Boy Pocket buttons
- Arduboy game compatibility
- Self-solder and pre-soldered versions
- Optional breakout board for turning cartridges into general Arduino devices
Additionally, we’ll create a full assembly guide and online tutorials for getting started with coding!
* Subject to change.
Arduino libraries
If you’d like a sneak peek at some of the library functionality so far, check out our GitHub repos:
- DotMG Library: The recommended dotMG library
- Arduboy2DotMG Library: Port and theme your favorite Arduboy games!
- ArduboyTonesDotMG Library: Port of ArduboyTones for dotMG
Stay in the loop
For real-time updates, be sure to follow us on Instagram. We’ve already got a ton of images and videos of dotMG posted there.
dotMG was featured on sudomod.com! Be sure to check out their January 2020 Update Video! Many thanks to them for the fantastic shot featured on this site.