While Nintendo and its development studios focused on games for its little portable, other companies sought to turn the entertainment device into a productivity tool. And here we find the WorkBoy, the lost Game Boy accessory that would have turned it into a PDA.
Released in 1989, Nintendo's Game Boy redefined portable gaming for fourteen years. While the big N and its development studios handled games, other companies sought to turn the entertainment device into a productivity one. InfoGenius had a line of organizer, spelling corrector, travel guide, and other varied game packages that turned it into a semi-PDA (personal digital assistant), but it was Fabtek that wanted to make an extra effort and turn the Game Boy into a proper mobile workstation.
The WorkBoy
Here we find the WorkBoy, the lost Game Boy accessory that would have turned it into a PDA. This peripheral, which we don't know if it was ever sold anywhere, consisted of a QWERTY keyboard connected via the Game Boy's extension/link port and a plastic clip to store the keyboard behind the Nintendo portable. It also included software that let users enjoy features such as a clock, agenda, thermometer, a calendar, and even a unit and currency converter. Quite complete for the era, considering this accessory was planned to launch in 1990.
The WorkBoy would have cost around $80. There were even plans for a WorkBoy 2, even more unreleased, which would have included a word processor tool. All nice, but as intriguing as the idea might be, we must not forget that the Game Boy was largely seen as a toy for children during the anticipated height of the WorkBoy. Most kids don't need a unit or currency converter.
Ahead of its time
In a way, it's a pity, because the WorkBoy was really ahead of its time, considering the ubiquity of today's smartphones with their many productivity applications.
