One of Nintendo's greatest strengths with its handheld consoles were their battery life. Nintendo did not necessarily pursue the most advanced technology that could be packed into a portable gaming device but balanced performance, features, screen type with their drain on the battery technology of the time. In the beginning, its consoles ran on disposable batteries or via AC to DC adapters. As time progress and battery charging technology became sufficiently compact, Nintendo started making consoles with batteries built into them. But in today's blog article I will go over all the official ways Nintendo devised and products Nintendo sold to power its portable gaming consoles.
A note before we begin, when I discuss the the DC output ratings for a device, I will use the US/Japanese ratings. European versions of these products could differ somewhat. North America and Japan use similar AC ratings and the same wall connectors (Japan 100-110v, 60/50Hz, North America 110-120v, 60Hz) and their adapters are interchangeable. European adapters use a variety of wall connector shapes and require 220-240v, 50Hz outlets.
Game & Watch (Classic)
Most of the Classic Game & Watch consoles sold between 1980-1991 typically used a pair of LR44 coin-cell batteries. These batteries can be sold under a variety of names, Energizer calls them 357s. Earlier devices may refer to LR43s, but they are the same size and capacity as LR44s but possess different chemistry. The Table Top series use a pair of C-cell batteries. Game & Watch devices do not have on-off switches, they are always on due to the watch function until the batteries die or are removed.
Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda35th Anniversary Editions use built-in rechargeable Lithium Ion batteries and can be turned off.
Game Boy
The original Game Boy took 4xAA batteries and had a pin/sleeve port for DC power input (center negative).
DMG-03 Rechargeable Battery Pack - Outputs DC at 4.8v (5.3v for Europe), 150mA and charges in 8 hours. This device used 4xNi-Cd AA-cell size batteries and can be accessed by unscrewing the enclosure with a "gamebit" screwdriver. The original batteries are likely no longer able to hold a charge after so long a period of time and should be replaced. It also has a clip to put on your belt or pants and a detachable wire with the wall plug. As this device can power a Game Boy even when the Ni-Cd batteries are depleted, this is Nintendo's official AC adapter for the Game Boy.
DMG-05 Battery Case - Shaped similarly to the much more common DMG-03, this device held 4xC batteries and plugged into the DC power input. C cells have higher capacities than AA cells.
DMG-10 Rechargeable Battery Pack II AC Adapter + DMG-11 Rechargeable Battery Pack - Released in Europe only, slimmer than DMG-03 but otherwise functions the same.
Virtual Boy
The Virtual Boy is technically a portable console, not a handheld console (more like a head-held console), but it is included here for completeness:
VUE-007 Battery Pack - Takes 6xAA batteries and is inserted into the Virtual Boy's Controller.
VUE-011 AC Adapter Set/Tap + SNS-002 AC Adapter - Adapts power connector on Virtual Boy controller to connect a SNES SNS-002 AC Adapter (included)
Game Boy Pocket/Game Boy Light/Game Boy Color
These handhelds also took batteries, 2xAAA for Pocket, 2xAA for Light and Color and share a smaller pin/sleeve port than the DMG for DC power input (center positive).
MGB-002 Pocket Battery Pack + MGB-003 Pocket Charger - Released only in Japan, (MGB-002) Outputs DC at 2.4v, uses Ni-Cd batteries and requires a special wall charger (MGB-003).
MGB-005 AC Adapter - Outputs DC at 3V, 300mA
Pokémon Pikachu & Pokemon Pikachu 2 Virtual Pets
Use a CR2032 battery
Game Boy Advance
The original Game Boy Advance took 2xAA batteries.
AGB-003 Battery Pack + AGB-004 Charger - This is a pack of 2xAA rechargeable NiMH batteries, DC Capacity 2.4v, 1200mAh, in a plastic cradle (AGB-003) with a special charger (AGB-004). May have only been released in Japan. Can also be used with Nintendo Wavebird controllers.
AGB-008 DC Power Module + AGB-009 AC Adapter - This device consisted of an AC to DC converter and a special connector on its cable (AGB-009) and outputs DC at 3.3v, 350mA. It plugged into an included adapter (AGB-008) that filled the battery compartment of the GBA.
Pokémon Mini
Pokémon Mini uses a single AAA battery, no AC jack is present.
Game Boy Advance SP/Nintendo DS
These handhelds (and all those that followed) included a lithium ion battery and use the same power port connector but the GBA SP had a combined headphone and power connector. The DS restored the 3.5mm headphone jack seen on prior consoles and added microphone input capability to the jack.
AGS-002/NTR-002 AC Adapter - Outputs DC at 5.2v, 320mA
AGS-003 Rechargeable Battery Pack - DC Capacity is 3.7v, 600mAh
NTR-003 Rechargeable Battery Pack - DC Capacity is 3.7v, 850mAh
Game Boy Micro
The Game Boy Micro has a unique unique port which doubled for Game Link and Power/Recharge capabilities.
OXY-002 AC Adapter - Outputs DC at 5.2v, 320mA
OXY-003 Rechargeable Battery Pack - DC Capacity is 3.8v, 460mAh
Nintendo DS Lite
The DS Lite changed to a smaller port from the original DS.
USG-002 AC Adapter - Outputs DC at 5.2v, 320mA
USG-003 Rechargeable Battery Pack, DC Capacity is 3.7v, 1000mAh.
Nintendo DSi/DSi XL/3DS/3DS XL/2DS/New 3DS/New 3DS XL/New 2DS XL
All these systems use an identical power port and adapter.
WAP-002 AC Adapter - Outputs DC at 4.6v, 900mA
TWL-003 DSi Rechargeable Battery Pack - DC Capacity is 3.6v, 840mAh
UTL-003 DSi XL Rechargeable Battery Pack - DC Capacity is 3.7v, 1050mAh
CTR-003 3DS, 2DS & New 2DS XL Rechargeable Battery Pack - DC Capacity is 3.7v, 1300mAh
SPR-003 3DS XL and New 3DS XL Rechargeable Battery Pack - DC Capacity is 3.7v, 1750mAh
KTR-003 New 3DS Rechargeable Battery Pack - DC Capacity is 3.7v, 1400mAh
The 3DS came with a charging cradle, but the charging cradles/stands for the other 3DS consoles were sold separately:
CTR-007 3DS Charging Cradle
SPR-007 3DS XL Charging Cradle
KTR-007 New Nintendo 3DS Charging Stand
RED-007 New Nintendo 3DS XL Charging Stand
Nintendo Switch/Switch Lite/Switch OLED
These systems use USB Type-C connectors for charging and come with the same charger. Switch and Switch OLED come with a Dock.
HAC-002 AC Adapter - Outputs at 5v. 1.5A & 15v, 2.6A, unlike every other AC Adapter on this list, these adapters can accept universal AC voltages (100-240v, 50/60Hz) although European versions come with plugs suitable for their country's mains sockets.
HAC-003 Switch/Switch OLED Battery - DC Capacity is 3.7v, 4310mAh
HDH-003 Switch Lite Battery - DC Capacity is 3.8v, 3570mAh
HAC-007 Switch Dock - Includes 3 USB ports, 1 HDMI port, forward compatible with Switch OLED
HEG-007 Switch OLED Dock - Includes 2 USB ports, 1 HDMI port and 1 Wired LAN port, backwards compatible with original Switch
It's sort of true that the DS added microphone input to the headphone jack, but it is not the TRRS/4-pole jack we're familiar with today. It is instead a proprietary (?) additional flat jack that goes side-by-side the 3.5mm.
ReplyDeleteThe Nintendo DS Headset (NTR-019) was the official accessory for this jack. It's mono-only, wrapping around one ear like some 2.5mm phone headsets.
The dual-jack persisted through DSi XL, then 3DS finally changed over to TRRS.
CTR-003 is also used in the Switch Pro Controller.
Thanks for the list, I'm not that familiar with the pre-GBA SP power adapters. They're supposed to be good for troubleshooting GBC, bypassing the battery contacts & fuse to see if the system works at all.