The topic Someone turned a GBA into a Switch controller, and it uses the OG Link Cable as the… is currently the subject of lively discussion — readers and analysts are keeping a close eye on developments.
This is taking place in a dynamic environment: companies’ decisions and competitors’ reactions can quickly change the picture.
One of the coolest ways people use SBCs and microcontrollers is to breathe new life into old technologies. We’ve seen plenty of cases where someone took something outdated (or even broken) and gave it a second life using a modern-day chip. But not all of them are as cool as using a Game Boy Advance as a controller for the Nintendo Switch using the original Link Cable as the cord, which is exactly what one ingenious tinkerer achieved with their own hardware.
As spotted by Notebook Check, this cool little feat uses an original Game Boy Advance, Switch, and Link Cable to turn the old portable console into a controller. In case you’re a little too young to know all of these things off by heart, the Game Boy Advance was released in 2001 as a successor to the wildly popular Game Boy, and the Link Cable let you connect two GBAs for multiplayer games and data transfer. It was how we traded Pokémon as kids.
Now, Robert Dale Smith over on X has found a way to use a Raspberry Pi Pico to modify the Link Cable and turn it into a controller for the Switch. And while that’s impressive by itself, Robert Dale Smith hints that even more could be done if he could get software running on the Switch side:
Yea as far as the console knows it’s a generic Switch controller. But I do have two way communication with the GBA on the pico adapter in the middle. More is possible if software for Switch were to be written. The way it works is the GBA link cable is able to sideload a small multiboot rom into memory and run it. Then it can be crafted to send and receive messages over the link cable to trigger actions. In this case the adapter just signals that it is in Switch USB mode when the Switch powers it.
To get the job done, Robert Dale Smith utilized their own open-source project, Joypad OS. The project claims it can connect retro controllers to modern consoles and vice versa, so it’s well worth a look if you plan on mixing your gaming generations around. Not going to lie, getting an original N64 controller working with the Switch sounds like it’d be a lot of fun.
Why allow the classics to fade away when you can revive them with a Pi?