Game Boy Printer
The Game Boy Printer (Japanese: ポケットプリンタ Pocket Printer) is a thermal printer designed for the Game Boy and Game Boy Color. The Game Boy Printer was released on June 1, 1998 in the United States[1] alongside the Game Boy Camera. It prints images from compatible games on small rolls of thermal paper. Individual sheets are adhesive-backed and 3.8 cm (1.5 in) in diameter. The Game Boy Printer uses six AA batteries. It is compatible with all Game Boy models except for the Game Boy micro. A Game Link Cable is required to connect the printer to a Game Boy. Nintendo stopped manufacturing the Game Boy Printer in 2003.
Printable features in Pokémon games
Core series
A print (Japanese: プリント) is a feature in Pokémon Yellow, Gold, Silver, and Crystal that requires the Game Boy Printer. The quality of prints is managed in the options and the game uses three messages during the process: CHECKING LINK → TRANSMITTING → PRINTING.
Both the feature and its settings were removed in the Korean versions of Pokémon Gold and Silver as the Game Boy Printer was not released in South Korea.
The background music played while printing is the same in all four games (listen). It was later rearranged and used as the theme of the Pokéwalker screens in the main menu of Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver.
Pokédex stickers
Players may print physical copies of the Pokédex entries of individual Pokémon by using the PRNT option in the Pokédex. These prints are referred to as Pokédex stickers (Japanese: ずかんシール) in the Generation II games.
In Western versions, the dimensions of Pokédex stickers (160×192 px) exceed those of the Game Boy's screen resolution (160×144 px) because the print combines the two pages of the Pokédex entry. The stickers in the Japanese versions are not printed out with different dimensions because the Pokédex entries only use a single page. In the Japanese Generation II games, the printed font differs from the font used in-game.
- Mew Pokedex print Y.png
A print of Mew's Yellow Pokédex entry
- Mew Pokedex print Y JP.png
A print of Mew's Japanese Yellow Pokédex entry
- Mew Pokedex print C.png
A print of Mew's Crystal Pokédex entry
- Mew Pokedex print C JP.png
A print of Mew's Japanese Crystal Pokédex entry
Diploma
The diploma can also be printed as proof by the graphic artist at the Game Freak Development Room on the third floor of Celadon Condominiums. Printed diplomas have the dimensions 160×288 px.
A print of the Yellow diploma
A print of the Japanese Yellow diploma
A print of the Crystal diploma
A print of the Japanese Crystal diploma
Pokémon Storage System
The list of Pokémon in a given Box of the Pokémon Storage System can also be printed. Prints of Boxes display the full Box, including empty slots. Nicknames and levels are also listed alongside the Pokémon's species name. Like the Pokémon Storage System itself, the Western versions show a maximum of 20 entries for Pokémon, while the Japanese versions show 30 entries.
A printed Box from Yellow
A printed Box from Japanese Yellow
- PSS box print C.png
A printed Box from Generation II
A printed Box from Japanese Generation II
In the Generation II games, players may generate so-called Alph Ruins Stamps of individual Unown and/or vacant spaces using the PRINT function of the printer at the Ruins of Alph Research Center, which stores the stamps in memory. They are actually printed when the player prints a Box, with the stamps being presented above the Box's information. After the stamps are printed, their data is erased, as a print of another Box right afterwards will only include the Box's information.
The dimensions of printed Boxes are 160×576 px in all versions. Prints of Boxes with stamps do not have fixed dimensions but if only stamps of the 26 Unown letters are considered, then the dimensions are 160×1824 px.
Party Pokémon
In Pokémon Yellow, the chairman of the Pokémon Fan Club in Vermilion City can print out one of the player's Pokémon in the Pokémon List.
A printed party Pokémon from Yellow
A printed party Pokémon from Japanese Yellow
Pikachu's Beach hi-score
The player may print a black-and-white copy of the screen showing their Pikachu's Beach hi-score in Pokémon Yellow by using the printer at Summer Beach House on Route 19.
Black-and-white copies of the Mail in the Generation II games can also be printed.
Spinoff games
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This section is incomplete. Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it. Reason: Pokémon Card GB2 compatibility info |
Pokémon Pinball
Players may print out their high score tables in Pokémon Pinball for the Game Boy Color.
Pokémon Trading Card Game
Pokémon Trading Card Game for the Game Boy Color offered many options for players with a Game Boy Printer.
- Players can print out a list of their entire card collection.
- Players can print out individual cards from their collection.
- Players can print out their saved custom deck configurations.
Printer errors
If there is an issue with the printer, the games return four types of errors and instruct the player to check the Game Boy Printer Manual. The following descriptions for each error are taken and adapted from the online support article provided by Nintendo of Europe.[2]
- Printer Error 1: The Game Boy Printer's batteries are empty.
- Printer Error 2: The Universal Game Link cable is not connected or is connected incorrectly.
- Printer Error 3: The printer's paper needs to be changed.
- Printer Error 4: The ambient temperature is inadequate (too high or too low). The printer must be used in a place with controlled temperature.
Trivia
- A special Pikachu Yellow Game Boy Printer was sold exclusively in Japan.
- The Pokéwalker's menu music in Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver is a remix of the Game Boy Printer's print screen music, its first appearance in nearly a decade.
- The printer paper rolls were marketed as being able to take 180 pictures per roll. Although when the dimensions of the paper and the margins the printer created between each picture are figured out mathematically a typical roll would only be able to take 118 pictures at most.
External links
- Game Boy Printer article on Wikipedia.
- About.com Guide to Game Boy - All things Game Boy: News, reviews, history, culture and development. Updated several times a week.
- Gameboy Printer Emulator - a program to transfer images from the Game Boy Camera to PC
References
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This game-related article is part of Project Games, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon games. |
