Lego’s new set is a perfect Game Boy replica

Lego’s newest set is a replica of a Nintendo Game Boy, and it’s designed to tap into the millennial nostalgia that’s ruling the cultural zeitgeist.

The 421-piece set is the latest in a series of collaborations between Nintendo and Lego, which have included builds based on the Super Mario, Animal Crossing, and Mario Kart worlds. Currently, the Game Boy is available for preorder at a price point of $60; it will be purchasable online and in stores starting October 1.

According to a press release, the collectible is an almost one-to-one replica of the original Game Boy, standing at just over 5.5 inches tall and 3.5 inches wide. It comes complete with a control pad, A and B buttons, a contrast adjustment, and a volume dial—essentially, all the elements you’d find on the original device.

The main drawback is that, tragically, the brick-based Game Boy is not playable. However, it does come with a Game Pak slot and two Game Paks (also made of Legos, of course) based on The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening and Super Mario Land. The Game Paks come with lenticular screens—or screens that use light deflection to mimic movement—replicating scenes from the respective games, so you can briefly pretend that it’s a functioning electronic.

Lego’s Game Boy replica comes as ’80s and ’90s IP has flourished in pop culture. Movies like Barbie and Twisters, fast-food menu throwbacks, and the return of ’90s fashion (like via the long-dead J.Crew catalog) have all brought millennial nostalgia into the limelight.

There’s also renewed interest in retro tech aesthetics, even among younger generations who weren’t around during the products’ heydays. In 2024, that meant product releases like Anduril founder Palmer Luckey’s ’90s-esque portable gaming device and a pager by Sega that only sends emojis.

So far this year, the Commodore 64 PC has already made a comeback and the iPod Nano got turned into a design object. Now the Game Boy is on sale again—if only in Lego form.