Game Boy accessories
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[edit] Accessories
[edit] Game Boy Camera & Printer
The Game Boy Camera and Printer are accessories for the Game Boy handheld gaming console and were released in 1998. The camera can take basic black & white, often grainy, digital images using the 4-color palette of the Game Boy system. The printer utilized heat-sensitive paper to "burn" any saved images, making a hard copy. Both items were marketed by Nintendo as light-hearted entertainment devices, in all three major video game regions of the world: Japan, North America, and Europe. The N64 magazine (published by Future) dedicated a monthly section to the device. The Game Boy Printer was subsequently used in a few Game Boy Color games, such as Super Mario Bros. Deluxe, The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX, Pokémon Gold and Silver,Pokémon Crystal , and Donkey Kong Country.
It was never Nintendo's intention to transform the GB system into a PDA; any such claims are untrue. However, a commercial advertising the products showed a young kid using the devices, with an adult using a laptop looking over in astonishment. The commercial indicates that Nintendo was at least referencing and/or parodying adult-geared portable systems.
There are also several mini-games along with the camera. A picture of the user's head is inserted into several mini-games.
- Ball is a juggling game, in which the player moves his or her hand around to catch and throw balls in the style of the Game and Watch game of the same name, only with Mr. Game and Watch's head replaced with the player's.
- DJ, probably the most popular game on the Game Boy Camera, the player can mix and create his or her own music. The player's head is the DJ.
- Space Fever II is an homage/sequel to an early Nintendo arcade game. In the game, the player controls a spaceship which fires missiles at other ships. The player's head becomes the boss of every third level.
- Run! Run! Run! is the bonus game, which is obtained by reaching a score of 2,000 or more in Space Fever II. The player's head becomes attached to a cartoon body, and he or she races against a mole and a bird for the finish line.
Recently, the EyeToy accessory for the PlayStation 2 has vastly expanded upon the idea of using the image of the player in the game and as part of the game. Nintendo reportedly had plans to release a successor to the Game Boy Camera called the Gameeye for the Game Boy Advance, which took color photos and featured connectivity with the Nintendo GameCube, but the Gameeye never saw release.
[edit] Pocket Camera
This version of the Game Boy Camera was only released in Japan and had Pokémon themes.
[edit] Super Game Boy
The Super Game Boy is a plug-in cartridge for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System that allows Game Boy games to be played on a television screen. It was released in 1994. The black-and-white games can be colorized by mapping colors to each of the four shades of gray. There were also special "Super Game Boy" label games that contained custom palettes and borders and would only show up when played on a Super Game Boy. A 1998 follow-up, the Super Game Boy 2 (primarily released in Japan, though some sold through QVC's shopping channel in the U.S.), included more borders, different music for the credits and a link port for multiplayer support.
[edit] Transfer Pak
Released in 1999, the Transfer Pak was a device that fit onto the Nintendo 64 controller. However, unlike the Super Game Boy, it was typically only used for the transfer of Game Boy Color data to their N64 equivalents. However, Pokémon Stadium and Pokémon Stadium 2 allowed players to play Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow (on both Stadiums) and Gold, Silver, and later Crystal (Only on Stadium 2) on the television screen similarly to the Super Game Boy. Also, players can transfer their characters from both Mario Golf & Mario Tennis for GBC to their N64 versions and play them in 3-D, earning more exp. points. Then they could transfer the exp. back to the GBC versions to upgrade their character in an instant. The Perfect Dark games could connect in a similar fashion for upgrades and unlockables in both versions. Perfect Dark was also planned to use the Game Boy Camera peripheral, but that idea was scrapped.
[edit] Game Boy Player
Released in June 2003 as the spiritual successor to the Super Game Boy, the Game Boy Player allows Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance games to be played on the Nintendo GameCube. It also has a link port so players can use multiplayer and e-Reader functions. Essentially a GBA designed to output to a television, it uses the same colorization hardware and methods as that system.
[edit] Game Boy Advance Wireless Adapter
The Wireless Adapter allows players to play wirelessly without a link cable. As of 2005, fewer than twenty games support this feature. The feature's greatest usefulness is most evident in Pokémon FireRed, LeafGreen, and Emerald, where up to sixteen Wireless Adapter-connected players can convene in a "Union Room" of sorts.
[edit] e-Reader
A peripheral released for the Game Boy Advance in 2002 that unlocks special content for certain games. Content includes mini-games, different worlds, or full and complete NES games. The content is added or unlocked by purchasing e-Reader cards and swiping them in. However, the e-Reader is considered to be a general failure; although still selling in Japan, it was not released in Europe, and was discontinued in North America in early 2004. It is also compatible with the Nintendo DS Lite due to the short GBA port.
[edit] Link cable
This simple cable is used to link two or more systems together for two player action. Later on, games such as the Pokémon series used the link cable to transfer data between the two cartridges. Several different link cables were made as the Game Boys had different connectors.
There have been four cables to date:
- Original Game Boy only.
- Game Boy Pocket and Game Boy Color.
- Game Boy Advance and Game Boy Advance SP. Has a purple plug on one end, a brown plug on the other with a connector in the middle. The cables can "piggy back" on one another for four player action.
- Game Boy Micro. There are two versions - one for GBM-GBM link-ups and another for GBM-GBA.
[edit] Four Score
This accessory, only usable on the original Game Boy, allows up to four players to play certain games. This connector requires three link cables for the second, third, and fourth players, while the first one one is connected to the Four Score's cord.
[edit] Headphone adaptor
This tiny matching unit allows headphones to be used on the Game Boy Advance SP. The SP lacks a standard headphone jack and requires a special plug to play. This adaptor connects into the "input 2" port of the SP. The Nintendo brand adapter was only available by directly ordering it from Nintendo, though many third party companies offered their own version with their accessory packs.
[edit] Game Boy Advance SP Headphones
These headphones were made by Majesco and licensed by Nintendo. They were only compatible with the Game Boy Advance SP.
[edit] Battery pack (Game Boy)
This battery pack was released for the original Game Boy and was made to compliment the original Game Boy's design. It consisted of a pack with hardwired cord and a detachable plug for recharging or use as a power adaptor.
[edit] Battery pack
This battery pack was the first used for the Game Boy Advance SP, the first Game Boy with a built-in rechargable battery. It retails for $9.99 on the Nintendo.com online site. It was also on Nintendo's subsequent handhelds, such as the Game Boy Micro, Nintendo DS, and Nintendo DS Lite.
[edit] Play-Yan
The Play-Yan is an adaptor which allows the Game Boy Advance SP and Nintendo DS to play MPEG-4 videos and MP3 music from SD memory cards. The adaptor bears a superficial resemblance to the AM3 player (which allows playback of pre-recorded movie files from read-only memory cards on a GBA); the memory card slots into the right hand side of the adaptor, which then plugs into the cartridge slot of the parent console. The adaptor has its own integrated headphone port, but uses the parent console's power supply, controls, and display.
It is estimated that it will offer over 15 hours of MP3 playback and 4 hours of MPEG-4 playback from a fully-charged GBA SP. The adaptor launched in Japan in February 2005 for approximately 5,000 yen ($47.47). Nintendo originally planned to release the adaptor in the U.S. by the end of 2005, but it appears their plans have changed, as Nintendo has not delivered an announcement of a U.S. release with specific dates as of July 2006.
[edit] Third party accessories
[edit] Game Genie
This was the first cheat device for the Game Boy manufactured by Galoob. It is designed to nest snugly into the original Game Boy (though it will loosely fit into the Pocket and Color systems; it will fit into the Super Game Boy only if you saw off the plastic clip on the Genie's bottom.) The cartridge is inserted with the label facing inward. A compartment on the back holds the tiny code book containing codes for the system. Up to three lines of codes can be entered at a time. There is no backup, so codes have to be reentered upon each startup. Nintendo fought this accessory in Lewis Galoob Toys, Inc. v. Nintendo of America, Inc., but the court ruled that the Game Genie did not create a derivative wprl/
[edit] GameShark
This is a cheat device manufactured by Interact Accessories and is probably the most popular cheat device for the Game Boy system. Many more codes can be used at once. This device features a list of games with their codes and featured backup. This means that once a code is entered, it could be stored in the devices memory so that upon startup, the user can just select the code instead of having to reenter it. A switch on top of the unit allows the player to turn the device off and on if a code causes interference during certain situations.
Model 1 - Gray: For cheat codes only
Model 2 - Black: Same as above, though the storage interface has some problems. Also has an option of cleaning the RAM of a game (i.e. erasing all of a game's data)
Model 3 - Clear: The best model for Game Boy and Game Boy Color games. Codes can be uploaded to the Model 3 version from the website using a cable which connected to the parallel port of a computer to the Game Boy's link cable port. Another feature is the "Snapshot" feature which takes a data snapsot of a game. Players can then load the snapshot later on and continue where they left off. Only one snapshot can be stored at a time.
[edit] CodeBreaker
Also known as the Monster Brain and Brain Boy, this cheat device was released by Pelican Accessories and can use GameShark codes, but is more user friendly.
[edit] GameShark (Game Boy Advance)
This Game Shark was made for Game Boy Advance games. It is not compatible with Game Boy and Game Boy Color games as making it compatible would have made the unit expensive. Originally made by Interact Accessories, the rights were later obtained by Mad Catz. Codes can be uploaded to it from the website via a USB cable from a computer to the unit itself.
[edit] Action Replay
When Datel started producing cheat devices for consoles, they made this for the Game Boy Advance. It essentially has all the basic properties of the Game Shark for Game Boy Advance.
[edit] Action Replay MAX Duo
This is an upgraded version of the original Action Replay. It can be used as a cheat device for Game Boy Advance games. It also can be used to back up saved game data from Nintendo DS cards, or can put premade save files - or "powersaves" into the DS cards. Powersaves and codes can be downloaded from the Action Replay web site and uploaded to the device via a USB cable.
