Earlier this year, I reviewed the USB-compatible Game Boy flash cart created by chiptuner, BleepBloop.  The cart's USB connection and huge amount of on-board memory made it the best one on the market.  But not even a year later, he's working on an even better model.

Hit the link for the new specs.

Like BleepBloop's last cart, firmware will be easily updatable and the USB port is still a feature.  Speaking of firmware, the platform is so flexible that it would be possible to create USB add-ons for the device.  GameBoyDev.org lists motion sensors and MIDI reception as examples.

The ROM and SRAM of normal old flash carts have been replaced by a single 16Mb MRAM chip, which replicated the feature of both ROM and SRAM, while being non-volatile, so you're data won't be lost when you turn off your Game Boy.

The best part of the new cart is the inclusion of an SD card slot.  The interchangeable card is meant to hold your chiptune programs, like LSDJ, as well as all the files you save from that program.  This allows for a near limitless amount of storage space.  And on top of that, the cart will never have to leave your Game Boy as long as you have a memory card reader.

The expected price is $40 - much less than the USB cart.  Plus, you can trade in your old cart for a discount of up to $20.  The carts should be out soon, too.  Prototypes were made a few weeks ago, but a production error impeded the progress.  Keep checking GameBoyDev.org for updates.

[GameBoyDev.org, image via Robopoke @ 8BC]

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