Game Boy Around the World
A number of years ago when my son was much younger, I began to notice that a handful of the pictures that I took of him while traveling contained him playing his Nintendo Game Boy. It’s not that he played it the entire time we traveled (well, he kinda did), but the timing of my pictures happened to coincide with him playing. After the first couple of pictures, we began to purposefully pose him in famous locations playing his Game Boy and then posting them on Flickr under the title Game Boy Around the World.
Our Game Boy Around the World series lasted for a little over a year and became mildly famous. The photo series erupted on Digg and was also picked up by Joystiq (with a follow up a year-and-a-half later). Someone even took the images and put them to classic Super Mario Bros music on YouTube (although it’s since been removed by the author). Eventually the Nintendo Game Boy Advance SP console evolved into the Nintendo DS line. We did a few photos with the Nintendo DS, but shortly thereafter my son had graduated to using Apple’s iPod Touch and we abandoned the project all together. It was fun while it lasted and the Game Boy Around the World pictures are still some of the most popular on my Flickr feed.
How Low Can You Go?
Game Boy at the Dead Sea, the lowest point on Earth.
Game Boy Around the World
Here are some of my favorites, complete with a bit of commentary and quotes from Flickr users.
Petra, Jordan.
Isn’t that in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade? If so did you see the knight?
Kid sure does like his sleeveless t-shirts.
Buckingham Palace, London
Hey, with guns like that, who wouldn’t go sleeveless as often as possible?
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
He’s like the dwarf that travels around the world from Amelie.
Honestly, when I went to Stonehenge I wish I brought my Gameboy…you couldn’t even get close! 🙁
Stonehenge, England
Times Square, New York City
Product placement? I don’t know.
This slab is claimed to be the place where Jesus’ body was prepared for burial. Superstitious pilgrims from around the world come here to kiss the stone and rub common-day items against the rock in order to “suck up” some sort of blessing or holiness.
It’s the only way to unlock god mode.
Church of the Holy Sepulcre, Jerusalem
Check out the entire Game Boy Around the World series on Flickr.