Game Boy

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Nintendo Game Boy


Manufacturer	Nintendo
Type	Handheld game console
Generation	Third generation
First available	April 21, 1989 August, 1989 1990
Media	Game Boy cartridges
Units sold	as of December, 2004: 69.42 million (worldwide) 20.61 million (Japan) 48.81 million (other)
Top-selling game	Pokémon Red, Blue and Green(Game Boy)
Predecessor	Game and Watch
Successor	Game Boy Color

For the entire Game Boy series of handheld consoles, see Game Boy line.

The Game Boy is a handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo, released in 1989 at $89.95 USD^[1]. The Game Boy was the first successful handheld console, and was the predecessor of all other iterations of the Game Boy line.

The Game Boy was originally bundled with the puzzle game Tetris, since Nintendo thought that an addictive puzzle game would get consumers' attention.

1 Features
2 Sales and competition
3 Variations
4 Accessories
5 Technical information
6 References in pop culture
7 References

[edit] Features

[edit] Games

A screenshot from Tetris (1989) for Game Boy.

Main article: List of games for the original Game Boy

One of the top-selling games for the Game Boy was Tetris, which sold about 3 million copies^[2] and is an example of a killer game. Tetris was packaged with the Game Boy, and often, consumers were buying the Game Boy so as to play Tetris^[3].

[edit] Controls

The Game Boy's main controls are located on the lower half of its front frame.

Like the NES controller, the Game Boy has four face buttons labelled "A," "B," "SELECT," and "START." The functions of these face buttons vary from game to game, though generally, the START button is used as a "pause" function to temporarily stop gameplay. The Game Boy also features a Directional Pad, allowing up to eight directions of movement in its games.

Outside of buttons used in gameplay, there is a volume control knob on the right side of the console, and a similar knob to change the contrast on the left side. The ON/OFF switch is located at the top of the Game Boy^[4].

[edit] Input/output

The right side of the Game Boy, showing the volume control and the link cable port.

The Game Boy contains the following input/output connectors:

A power input, located on the left side of the handheld console. This is used primarily with the Game Boy Battery Pack / AC Adapter to allow the Game Boy to run off either the pack, or standard AC power. The adapter input varies according to region due to differences in mains power standards; for example a North American adapter (being 120 volts AC at 60 hertz, and 4 watts of power) would melt if used with European supplies, which are typically 240 volts. The output however is always 6 volts DC at 250mA^[4].
A link cable port, located on the right side. It connects two Game Boy handheld consoles, and transfers information between two games of the same type or same series. This was widely used in games such as Pokémon.
A 3.5mm stereo headphone jack output is located on the bottom side of the console.
An input for Game Boy cartridges (also called Game Paks) is situated on top of the Game Boy.

[edit] Sales and competition

The success of the Game Boy is exhibited in one way by its expansive and successful line of consoles. For instance, the Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance have reached worldwide sales figures of 49 million (as of December 2004) and 75 million (as of June 2006), respectively. The original Game Boy sold roughly 70 million units worldwide.

At the time of its release in 1989, the Atari Lynx, also known as the "Handy," was also just being introduced to the market. This system featured color graphics, a backlit screen, and networking capabilities.^[5] Nevertheless, its release price of $179, substantial requirement of 6 AA batteries that would provide roughly four hours of gameplay (compared to 10-12 on the Game Boy)^{[citation needed]}, physical bulkiness, and other factors doomed it to a second-rate status^[6].

In the 1990s, Nintendo experienced heavier competition from Sega's Game Gear. To promote its new, color console, Sega aired a number of negative but unsuccessful ad campaigns in the United States that criticized the Game Boy's monochrome color palette. Nonetheless, the Game Gear suffered from generally the same problems that the Lynx did.

[edit] Variations

The Game Boy Battery Pack / AC Adapter

Several variations of the original Game Boy were produced:

Super Game Boy (compatibility adapter to accommodate showing the screen on a TV via the Super NES)
Game Boy Pocket (a smaller version of the Game Boy)
Game Boy Light (first backlight in the Game Boy line)

[edit] Accessories

Several accessories compatible with the Game Boy were also produced:

The Game Boy Battery Pack (or AC Adapter), sold for about $30 USD, was roughly 3 in. long, 2 in. wide, and 0.5 in. thick. One end of it had a 2 inch-long cord, ending in a 3.5 mm phone plug, while the other end had a standard two-pin plug. The first version of it was gray with purple lettering, to match the colors used on the Game Boy. It also featured a belt clip. The battery pack was good for several hours of gameplay per charge, providing an alternative to purchasing more AA batteries once their power was exhausted. The product used nickel-cadmium batteries, lasted about 4-5 hours per charge, and could be charged roughly 1000 times before a significant loss in effectiveness. A major drawback of the battery pack was its weight, as well as the way the phone plug sticks out prominently.^[7]
Game Boy Camera (Japan: Pocket Camera)

Main article: Game Boy Camera

Released in 1998, the Game Boy Camera was able to take pictures that could be printed out using the Game Boy Printer. The photos were in black and white only, and the resolution of the pictures was 128 x 123. Both the Game Boy Camera and Game Boy Printer products were marketed together in Japan, the U.S., and Europe, primarily towards children. It is no longer in production by Nintendo.

Game Boy Printer

Main article: Game Boy Printer

Released at the same time as the Game Boy Camera, the Game Boy Printer was a thermal printer. It ran off of six AA batteries. In addition to printing out Game Boy Camera photos, it also ran in conjunction with several Game Boy games, such as Pokémon Yellow and The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX.

Game Boy Link Cable

Main article: Game Link cable

An accessory that established a data connection between two Game Boys using the same game or game from the same series. It is generally associated with its uses in the Pokémon series, which included versus battle and an exchanging of Pokédex data.

[edit] Technical information

Early units
Handheld game consoles
See Microvision and Handheld electronic games
Nintendo handhelds
Game & Watch \| Game Boy (Pocket \| Light) \| Game Boy Color \| Game Boy Advance (SP \| Micro) \| Nintendo DS (Lite)
Bandai handhelds
WonderSwan \| WonderSwan Color \| SwanCrystal
GamePark/Holdings handhelds
GP32 \| GP2X \| XGP \| XGP Mini \| XGP Kids
SNK handhelds
Neo Geo Pocket \| Neo Geo Pocket Color
Sega handhelds
Game Gear \| Nomad \| Mega Jet
Sony handhelds
PocketStation \| PlayStation Portable
Other handhelds
Atari Lynx \| Gamate \| Watara Supervision \| Game.com \| Gizmondo \| N-Gage \| TurboExpress \| Pepper Pad \| GameKing \| iRiver G10
Comparison

CPU: Custom 8-bit Sharp Z80 at 4.194304 MHz (has a slightly different instruction set than a standard Z80, and integrated sound generation)
RAM: 8 kByte internal S-RAM
Video RAM: 8 kByte internal
ROM: 256 kbit, 512 kbit, 1 Mbit, 2 Mbit and 4 Mbit and 8 Mbit cartridges
Sound: 4 channel stereo sound. The unit only has one speaker, but headphones provide stereo sound
Display: Reflective LCD 160 × 144 pixels
Screen Size: 66 mm (2.6 in) diagonal
Color Palette: 4 shades of "gray" (green to black)
Communication: Up to 16 Game Boys can be linked together via serial ports
Power: 6 V, 0.7 W (4 AA batteries provide ~35 hours)
Dimensions: 90mm(W) × 148mm(H) × 32mm(D)/3.5 × 5.8 × 1.3 (inch)

[edit] References in pop culture

In the cartoon series Lilo & Stitch: The Series, Experiment 223, also known as Glitch, was downloaded into a handheld console game modified by Stitch to capture it. The handheld console looked exactly like a Game Boy.
The cartoon series Captain N: The Game Master included a life-size Game Boy in its cast in its second and third seasons. It spoke through faces it displayed and could turn images shown on its screen into real objects.
Thomas Ian Nicholas' character played the Game Boy classic Tetris in the 1993 film, Rookie of the Year.
In The Simpsons episode "Thirty Minutes over Tokyo", Bart played a handheld game resembling a Game Boy during his flight to Japan. He was told to turn off the device to prevent interference; once he did, the plane suddenly went into a free-fall. Homer is shown playing a Game Boy in the episode "A Streetcar Named Marge".
In the Futurama episode "The Route of All Evil", Cubert played a handheld game that appeared to be a Game Boy. Leela promptly crushed the game in retaliation for a trick he and Dwight had orchestrated.
In Dragon Ball Z Mr. Satan giving Majin Buu a Game Boy and pressing a button to make it explode .In the Budokai series, this move is called "Present for You", and is his ultimate move.

In the game, Super Mario RPG, a toad in the Mushroom Kingdom's Inn uses a Game Boy.
The Nintendo 64 game, GoldenEye 007, included a secret joke weapon called "Taser Boy," an electroshock weapon in the format of the portable.
In the Strong Bad E-mails found on Homestar Runner.com, Homestar leaves a note on Strong Bad's computer saying he made a Time Machine by putting a Game Boy in a blender [1]. The exact same technique is used again to create an "alternate universe portal"[2].
In the song "See the Glory" by Steven Curtis Chapman, he sings: When it comes to the grace of God, sometimes it's like I'm playing Game Boy standing in the middle of the Grand Canyon. The song also includes sounds that are like Game Boy's music and sound effects.
Alec Empire, founding member of Atari Teenage Riot recorded the CD "Nintendo Teenage Robots" using a Game Boy [3].
In the 2002 movie Men in Black II, Kay is driving a ship with a PlayStation controller and is unable to use the controller. Jay asks Kay, "Didn't your mother ever give you a Game Boy?" Kay responds by saying, "What is a Game Boy?". These lines from the movie were even used in its advertisements.
In 1991, French artist Gregory Moulinet, asked Nintendo to program six erotic animations for the Game Boy to exhibit it in a contemporary art museum or gallery. Nintendo accepted the project, imposing conditions on how the Game Boy and its animation should be presented to the public. The animation shows a couple making love in six different positions. A photograph of the original animation is visible on the artist's site [4].
In the 1998 movie The Parent Trap, right before they eat Oreos with Skippy peanut butter, you can see a Game Boy behind one of the girls.
In the movie What About Bob, you can see "Siggy" playing one on the dock by his house.
On the tv show House of Mouse in one cartoon Donald Duck is seen playing one called a game toy.