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.

At the Nintendo World store, there is a Game Boy on display that survived an explosion in the Gulf War. While the screen had to be replaced, the internal circuitry was still operational without any modification.

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.

The Game Boy Pocket's link cable port is smaller than the original Game Boy's, requiring either an adapter or a special two-headed link cable to communicate. The Game Boy Pocket's link cable port would be later used on the Game Boy Light and Game Boy Color, and the link cable port on the Game Boy Advance and Game Boy Advanced SP is backward compatible with it when playing a Game Boy or Game Boy Color game.

Game Boy Light

The Game Boy Light.

The Game Boy Light was a system released exclusively in Japan in 1997. It was similar to the Game Boy Pocket, but with the addition of an indigo back-lit screen. The Game Boy Light uses two "AA" batteries, which provide approximately 20 hours of gameplay with the light off and 12 hours with the light on. It was the only backlit Nintendo handheld console until the release of the Nintendo DS in 2004 (the Game Boy Advance SP utilizes a frontlight, not a backlight). The Game Boy Light was available in two standard colors: gold and silver. A yellow Pokémon Center Tokyo special edition was also released.

Game Boy Color

Main article: 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.

Game Boy Advance

Main article: 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.

Game Boy Advance SP

Main article: 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.

Game Boy micro

Main article: 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.

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.