Game Boy

The logo to the Game Boy.

The Game Boy (Japanese: ゲームボーイ, Game Boy), Nintendo's flagship handheld console, was first released in 1989, and even today is the best selling handheld console of all time. Gunpei Yokoi is credited with playing a key role in its development and release.

Versions

Game Boy

The original Game Boy

The first Game Boy was released in 1989. This original Game Boy was large and gray, with a monotone dot matrix screen and monaural sound. It was playable for an average of 35 hours with four AA batteries. Many peripherals were released for it through its time, the more popular ones being the Game Boy Printer and Game Boy Camera. The Game Boy was also later released with five differently colored bodies. It was stated in one Nintendo Power issue that a Game Boy once survived an explosion, and the only thing that needed to be fixed was the screen.

Game Boy Pocket

The Game Boy Pocket.

The Game Boy Pocket was released in 1996 as a replacement for the original Game Boy. The Game Boy Pocket had a smaller frame, a larger screen, and a higher resolution display. Despite its screen improvements, the Game Boy Pocket display was still in monochrome and the sound remained the same as it was in the original Game Boy. Another somewhat minor improvement was that the system took two AAA batteries instead of four AA, effectively helping to lighten its weight.

Game Boy Light

The Game Boy Light.

The Game Boy Light was a system released exclusively in Japan in 1997. It was similar in all ways to the Game Boy Pocket with the main difference being an indigo back-lit screen. The Game Boy light uses 2 AA batteries, which give it approximately 20 hours with the light off and 12 hours with the light on. It seems that the Game Boy Advance SP got its lighting idea from the Game Boy Light, however, the SP has a frontlight as opposed to the Light's backlight.

Game Boy Color

Similar to the Game Boy Pocket but with a color screen. It can also support more pixels on the screen. Backward compatible with the Game Boy.

Main article: Game Boy Color

Game Boy Advance

An improved version of the Game Boy Color with a trapezoidal design and better graphics. It is also compatible with the GameCube.

Main article: Game Boy Advance

Game Boy Advance SP

It features a clamshell design and boasts the ability to be played in the dark without an external light source using its frontlight. It also has a lithium rechargable battery as opposed to previous models' AA battery requirement.

Main article: Game Boy Advance SP

Game Boy Micro

A second redesign of the Game Boy Advance which has been criticized due to its lack of capability of backwards compatibility and the fact that it was released after the Nintendo DS.

Main article: Game Boy Micro

Pokémon and the Game Boy

The Pokémon game franchise is widely considered to be one of the driving forces behind Game Boy sales, especially in the late 1990s and early 21st century.

Pokémon games for Game Boy

• Pokémon Red and Green
• Pokémon Blue
• Pokémon Red and Blue
• Pokémon Yellow
• Although designed for the Game Boy Color, Pokémon Card GB, Pokémon Pinball, and Pokémon Gold and Silver are also compatible with all variants of the original Game Boy.

Pokémon Specials

• Game Boy Light Pokémon Center Tokyo Edition

Trivia

• The Game Boy, along with its successors (the Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, and Nintendo DS), is not region-encoded. This means that a player could theoretically play a Game Boy game from any region in their own locally purchased console.