Game Boy line

Game Boy line

The Game Boy line logo.
Developer	Nintendo
Type	Handheld game console
Generation	Fourth generation Fifth generation Sixth generation
Retail availability	1989[1]–2008[2]
Units sold	200.20 million
Media	Game Boy Game Pak Game Boy Color Game Pak Game Boy Advance Game Pak
Predecessor	Game & Watch
Successor	Nintendo DS line

The Game Boy line is a line^[3][4] of battery-powered handheld game consoles sold by Nintendo. The product line sold 200 million units worldwide.^[5][6]

The original Game Boy (ゲームボーイ, Gēmu Bōi) and Game Boy Color combined^[7] sold 118.69 million units worldwide.^[5] All versions of the Game Boy Advance combined have sold 81.51 million units.^[5] All Game Boy systems combined have sold 200.20 million units worldwide.

The Game Boy line was succeeded by the Nintendo DS line. It (including Game Boy Advance for Ambassadors) has made a return via the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console and Wii U, in the case of Game Boy Advance.

History

Nintendo's Game Boy handheld was first released in 1989. The gaming device was the brainchild of long-time Nintendo employee Gunpei Yokoi, who was the person behind the Ultra Hand, an expanding arm toy created and produced by Nintendo in 1970, long before Nintendo would enter the video game market. Yokoi was also responsible for the Game & Watch series of handhelds when Nintendo made the move from toys to video games.

When Yokoi designed the original Game Boy, he knew that to be successful, the system needed to be small, light, inexpensive, and durable, as well as have a varied, recognizable library of games upon its release. By following this simple mantra, the Game Boy line managed to gain a vast following despite technically superior alternatives which would have color graphics instead. This is also apparent in the name (conceived by Shigesato Itoi), which connotes a smaller "sidekick" companion to Nintendo's consoles.

Game Boy continues its success to this day and many at Nintendo have dedicated the handheld in Yokoi's memory. Game Boy celebrated its 15th anniversary in 2004, which nearly coincided with the 20-year anniversary of the original Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). To celebrate, Nintendo released the Classic NES Series and an NES controller-themed color scheme for the Game Boy Advance SP.

In 2006, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata said on the rumored^[8] demise of the Game Boy brand: "No, it's not true after all. What we are repeatedly saying is that for whichever platform, we are always conducting research and development for the new system, be it the Game Boy, or new console or whatever. And what we just told the reporter was that in thinking about the current situation where we are enjoying great sales with the DS and that we are now trying to launch the Wii, it's unthinkable for us to launch any new platform for the handheld system, including the new version of the GBA... Perhaps they misunderstood a part of this story, but as far as the handheld market is concerned [right now] we really want to focus on more sales of the DS; that's all."^[9]

Game Boy family

Game Boy

Game Boy

The original black Game Boy was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989. Based on a Z80 processor, it has a black and green reflective LCD screen, an eight-way directional pad, two action buttons (A and B), and Start and Select buttons. It plays games from ROM-based media contained in small plastic detachable units called cartridges (sometimes called carts or Game Paks).

The game that pushed the Game Boy into the upper reaches of success was Tetris. Tetris was widely popular, and on the handheld format could be played anywhere. It came packaged with the Game Boy, and broadened its reach; adults and children alike were buying Game Boys in order to play Tetris. Releasing Tetris on the Game Boy was selected as #4 on GameSpy's "25 Smartest Moments in Gaming".^[10]

The original Game Boy was one of the first cartridge-based systems that supported more than four players at one time (via the link port). In fact, it has been shown that the system could support 16 simultaneous players. However, this feature was only supported in Faceball 2000.

Game Boy Pocket

The Game Boy Pocket is a redesigned version of the original Game Boy having the same features released in 1996. Notably, this variation is smaller and lighter.

Another notable improvement over the original Game Boy is a black-and-white display screen, rather than the green-tinted display of the original Game Boy, that also featured improved response time for less blurring during motion. The Game Boy Pocket takes two AAA batteries for roughly ten hours of gameplay. The first model of the Game Boy Pocket did not have an LED to show battery levels, but the feature was added due to public demand.

Game Boy Light

On April 1998, a variant of the Game Boy Pocket named Game Boy Light was exclusively released in Japan. The differences between the original Game Boy Pocket and the Game Boy Light is that the Game Boy Light takes on two AA batteries and has a backlit screen that can be turned on or off. This backlit screen allowed the use of it in darkened areas. The Game Boy Light was superseded by the Game Boy Color six months later.

Game Boy Color

Game Boy Color

First released in Japan on October 21, 1998, the Game Boy Color (abbreviated as GBC) added a (slightly smaller) color screen to a form factor similar in size to the Game Boy Pocket. It also has double the processor speed, three times as much memory,^[11] and an infrared communications port. Technologically, it was likened to the 8-bit NES video game console from the 1980s although the Game Boy Color has a much larger color palette (56 simultaneous colors out of 32,768 possible).

A major component of the Game Boy Color is its near-universal backward compatibility; that is, a Game Boy Color is able to read older Game Boy cartridges and even play them in a selectable color palette. The only black & white Game Boy games known to be incompatible are Road Rash and Joshua & the Battle of Jericho. Backwards compatibility became a major feature of the Game Boy line, since it allowed each new launch to begin with a significantly larger library than any of its competitors. Some games written specifically for the Game Boy Color can be played on older model Game Boys, whereas others cannot (see the Game Paks section for more information).

Game Boy Advance family

Game Boy Advance

Game Boy Advance

In Japan, on March 21, 2001, Nintendo released a significant upgrade to the Game Boy line. The Game Boy Advance (also referred to as GBA) featured a 32 bit 16.8 MHz ARM. It included a Z80 processor and a switch activated by inserting a Game Boy or Game Boy Color game into the slot for backward compatibility, and had a larger, higher resolution screen. Controls were slightly modified with the addition of "L" and "R" shoulder buttons. The system was technically likened to the SNES and showed its power with successful ports of SNES titles such as Super Mario World, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, and The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past. There were also new titles that you will only find on GBA, such as Mario Kart: Super Circuit and F-Zero: Maximum Velocity, and more. A widely-criticized drawback of the Game Boy Advance is that the screen is not backlit, making viewing difficult in some conditions. The Game Paks for the GBA are roughly half the length of original Game Boy cartridges, and so older Game Paks would stick out of the top of the unit. When playing older games, the GBA provides the option to play the game at the standard equal square resolution of the original screen or the option to stretch it over the wider GBA screen.

Game Boy Advance SP

Game Boy Advance SP

First released in Japan on February 14, 2003, the Game Boy Advance SP—Nintendo model AGS-001—resolved several problems with the original Game Boy Advance model. It featured a new smaller clamshell design with a flip-up screen, a switchable internal frontlight, a rechargeable battery, and the only problem is the omission of the headphone jack, which requires a special adapter, purchased separately. In some regions, owners of the original Game Boy Advance received a special limited offer to trade their old models into Nintendo and merely pay the difference on the Game Boy Advance SP. In September 2005, Nintendo released a significantly improved Game Boy Advance SP model known as Nintendo model number AGS-101, that featured a high quality backlit screen instead of a frontlit, similar to the Game Boy Micro screen but larger.

Game Boy Micro

Game Boy Micro

The third form of Game Boy Advance system, the Game Boy Micro is four and a half inches wide (10 cm), two inches tall (5 cm), and weighs 2.8 ounces (80g). By far the smallest Game Boy created, it has approximately the same dimensions as an original NES controller pad. Its screen is approximately 2/3 the size of the SP and GBA screens while maintaining the same resolution (240×160 pixels) but now has a higher quality (than the original SP, not the improved SP) backlit display with adjustable brightness. Included with the system are two additional faceplates which can be swapped to give the system a new look; Nintendo of America used to sell additional faceplates on its online store. In Europe, the Game Boy Micro comes with a single faceplate. In Japan, a special Mother 3 limited edition Game Boy Micro was released with the game in the Mother 3 Deluxe Box. The Game Boy Micro is unable to play any original Game Boy or Game Boy Color games, only playing Game Boy Advance titles (with the exception of the Nintendo e-Reader, discontinued in America, but still available in Japan).

Comparison

Comparison of the Game Boy game systems

Product family	Game Boy Advance			Game Boy
Name	Game Boy Micro	Game Boy Advance SP	Game Boy Advance	Game Boy Color	Game Boy Light	Game Boy Pocket	Game Boy
Logo
Console
In production	Discontinued
Generation	Sixth generation			Fifth generation	Fourth generation
Release date	JP 13 September 2005[12] NA 19 September 2005[12] AUS 3 November 2005 EU 4 November 2005[12]	JP 14 February 2003[13] NA 23 March 2003[13][14] PAL 28 March 2003	JP 21 March 2001 NA 11 June 2001 PAL 22 June 2001	JP 21 October 1998 NA 18 November 1998 PAL 23 November 1998 AUS 27 November 1998	JP 14 April 1998[15]	JP 21 July 1996[16] NA 3 September 1996 PAL ? ? 1996	JP 21 April 1989[17] NA August 1989[18] EU 28 September 1990
Launch price	¥12,000[12] US$99.99[19] €99.99[12] A$?	¥12,500[13] US$99[13] €129.99 A$199.99	¥9,800 US$149.99 €109,99 A$?	¥8,900 US$79.95 A$?	¥6,800	¥6,800 US$59.95 A$?	¥12,800 US$89.95 A$?
Units shipped	Worldwide: 81.51 million (as of December 31, 2013).[5]			Worldwide: 118.69 million (as of December 31, 2013)[5][7]
Best-selling game	Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, 13 million combined (as of November 25, 2004)[20]			Pokémon Gold and Silver, 23 million combined[21]	Tetris, 30.26 million (pack-in/separately) Pokémon Red and Blue, 23.64 million approximately (as of January 18, 2009).[22]
Display	2 in (51 mm)	2.9 in (74 mm)		2.56 in (65 mm)
	240 × 160 px[23][24]			160 × 144 px[25][26][27]
	511 simultaneous colors in character mode 32,768 simultaneous colors in bitmap mode[23]			10, 32 or 56 simultaneous colors (from a 32,768 color palette)[27]	4 shades of "gray"[25] (light to very dark olive green (2-bit))[26]
	Backlight - 5 brightness levels	Frontlight On/Off toggle (AGS-001) Backlight Bright/Normal toggle (AGS-101)	No backlight	No backlight	Electro-Luminescent Backlight On/Off toggle	No backlight	No backlight
Audio	6 channels (two 8-bit "Direct Sound" PCM channels, plus the 4 channels from Game Boy)			4 channels (2 square wave channels, 1 PCM 4-bit wave sample channel, 1 noise channel and 1 audio input from the cartridge)[25][27]
	Single mono speaker[25][28]
	Stereo headphone jack (standard)[28]	Stereo headphone jack (for headphones specifically designed for the GBA SP)	Stereo headphone jack (standard)[27]
Processor	16.8 MHz 32-bit ARM7TDMI 4 or 8 MHz 8-bit Z80 coprocessor for Game Boy and Game Boy Color emulation, and as a tone generator in Game Boy Advance games			4 or 8 MHz 8-bit Zilog Z80	4.19 MHz 8-bit custom Sharp LR35902
Memory	256 kB WRAM (outside the CPU) 32 kB + 96 kB VRAM (internal to the CPU)			32 kB RAM 16 kB VRAM	8 kB S-RAM[29] (can be extended up to 32 kB)[26] 8 kB VRAM[25]
Physical media	Game Boy Advance Game Cartridge (2-32 MB)	Game Boy Advance Game Cartridge (2-32 MB) Game Boy Color Game Cartridge Game Boy Game Cartridge (32 kB - 1 MB)		Game Boy Color Game Cartridge Game Boy Game Cartridge (32 kB - 1 MB)	Game Boy Game Cartridge (32 kB - 1 MB)[25]
Input controls	D-pad A/B, L/R, and START/SELECT buttons			D-pad A/B and START/SELECT buttons
Batteries	460 mAh lithium-ion battery 10 hours[24]	700 mAh lithium-ion battery[30] 18 hours (AGS-001 light off) 10 hours (AGS-001 light on)[13][14]	2 AA batteries 15 hours (dependent on the Game Pak being played and volume setting)[31]	2 AA batteries 30+ hours[27]	2 AA batteries 20 hours (light off) 12 hours (light on)[15]	2 AAA batteries 25 hours[26]	4 AA batteries 35 hours[25][26]
Connectivity	Fourth generation link port	Third generation link port		Second generation link port			First generation link port
	N/A			Infrared port	N/A
Weight	80 grams (2.8 oz)	142 grams (5.0 oz)	140 grams (4.9 oz)	138 grams (4.9 oz)[32]	190 grams (6.7 oz)[15]	150 grams (5.3 oz)[16]	394 grams (13.9 oz)
Dimensions	101 mm (4.0 in) W 50 mm (2.0 in) H 17.2 mm (0.68 in) D	84 mm (3.3 in) W 82 mm (3.2 in) H 24 mm (0.94 in) D	144 mm (5.7 in) W 82 mm (3.2 in) H 24.5 mm (0.96 in) D	75 mm (3.0 in) W 133 mm (5.2 in) H 27 mm (1.1 in) D	80 mm (3.1 in) W 135 mm (5.3 in) DH 29 mm (1.1 in) D[15]	77.6 mm (3.06 in) W 127.6 mm (5.02 in) H 25.3 mm (1.00 in) D[16]	90 mm (3.5 in) W 148 mm (5.8 in) H 32 mm (1.3 in) D
Colors and styles	List of Game Boy colors and styles
Regional lockout	No
List of games	List of Game Boy Advance games			List of Game Boy Color games	List of games for the original Game Boy
Backward compatibility	N/A[33]	Game Boy Game Boy Color[23]		Game Boy	N/A

Game Boy line size comparison
Comparing the sizes of some Game Boy systems, from top-left: Game Boy (1989), Game Boy Pocket (1996), Game Boy Color (1998), Game Boy Advance (2001), Game Boy Advance SP (2003), Game Boy Micro (2005)

Game Paks

Each video game is stored on a plastic cartridge, officially called a "Game Pak" by Nintendo. All cartridges, excluding those for Game Boy Advance, measure 5.8 by 6.5 cm. The cartridge provides the code and game data to the console's CPU. Some cartridges include a small battery with SRAM, flash memory chip, or EEPROM, which allows game data to be saved when the console is turned off. If the battery runs out in a cartridge, then the save data will be lost, however, it is possible to replace the battery with a new battery. To do this, the cartridge must be unscrewed, opened up, and the old battery would be removed and replaced. This may require desoldering the dead battery and soldering the replacement in place. Before 2003, Nintendo used round, flat watch batteries for saving information on the cartridges. These batteries were replaced in newer cartridges because they could only live for a certain amount of time.

The cartridge is inserted into the console cartridge slot. If the cartridge is removed while the power is on, and the Game Boy does not automatically reset, the game freezes; the Game Boy may exhibit unexpected behavior, such as rows of zeros appearing on the screen, the sound remaining at the same pitch as was emitted the instant the game was pulled out, saved data may be corrupted, and hardware may be damaged. This applies to most video game consoles that use cartridges.

The original Game Boy power switch was designed to prevent the player from being able to remove the cartridge while the power is on. Cartridges intended only for Game Boy Color (and not for the original Game Boy) lack the "notch" for the locking mechanism present in the top of the original cartridges, preventing operation on an original Game Boy (the cartridge can be inserted, but the power switch cannot be moved to the "on" position). Even if this was bypassed by using a Game Boy Pocket, Game Boy Light, or Super Game Boy, the game would not run, and an image on the screen would inform the user that the game is only compatible with Game Boy Color systems. One exception would be the Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble game: despite the game cartridge featuring a notch, enabling it to be inserted on the original Game Boy, the game displays an error message indicating that it only plays on Game Boy Color.

Game Boy Advance cartridges used a similar physical lock-out feature. Notches were located at the base of the cartridge's two back corners. One of these notches was placed as to avoid pressing a switch inside the cartridge slot. When an older Game Boy or Game Boy Color game was inserted into the cartridge slot, the switch would be pressed down and the Game Boy Advance would start in Game Boy Color mode, while a Game Boy Advance cartridge would not touch the switch and the system would start in Game Boy Advance mode. The Nintendo DS replaced the switch with a solid piece of plastic that would allow Game Boy Advance cartridges to be inserted into Slot 2, but would prevent an older Game Boy cartridge from being inserted fully into the slot.

Excluding game-specific variations, there are four types of cartridges compatible with Game Boy systems:

• Grey cartridges (Also known as class A) are compatible with all Game Boy systems, excluding Game Boy Micro. All original Game Boy games are of this type. Some of these cartridges are in alternative colors, such as red or blue for Pokémon Red and Blue, and yellow for the Donkey Kong Land series. The games on these cartridges are programmed in black and white; the Game Boy Color and later systems provide selectable color palettes for them. Some grey cartridges that were released between 1994 and 1998 have Super Game Boy enhancements. Even fewer grey cartridges were released with built-in features that made them protrude from the slot, but included the notch to be compatible with the original Game Boy (notably the Game Boy Camera)
• Black cartridges (Also known as class B or Dual Mode) are compatible with all Game Boy systems, excluding Game Boy Micro. Although the games on these cartridges are programmed in color, they can be played in monochrome on Game Boy, Game Boy Pocket, Game Boy Light and Super Game Boy. Examples of black-cartridge games are Pokémon Yellow: Special Pikachu Edition, Pokémon Gold and Silver (however, the actual colors of these three cartridges are yellow, gold, and silver, respectively). Games such as Wario Land II and The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX were full-color re-releases of gray-cartridge games but with additional content only available on the Game Boy Color. About one quarter of Game Boy Color releases were black-cartridge games. Some black cartridges have Super Game Boy enhancements. The product ID of games on black cartridges starts with "DMG" like the grey cartridges.
• Clear cartridges (Also known as class C) are compatible with Game Boy Color and later systems, excluding Game Boy Micro. Some games (such as Pokémon Crystal) were released in specially colored cartridges, as had been done before, but the new colors remained translucent. About three quarters of Game Boy Color releases were clear-cartridge games. Some clear cartridges have built-in features, including rumble features (Perfect Dark) and tilt sensors (Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble). These cartridges are a slightly different shape from the earlier varieties, and would obstruct the latch if inserted into the original Game Boy. The product ID of games on clear cartridges starts with "CGB".
• Advance cartridges (Also known as class D) are half the size of all earlier cartridges and are compatible with Game Boy Advance and later systems including the Nintendo DS. Some cartridges are colored to resemble the game (usually for the Pokémon series; Pokémon Emerald, for example, being a clear emerald green). They are also compatible with Nintendo DS and DS Lite (but see the Reception section for limitations). Some Advance cartridges have built-in features, including rumble features (Drill Dozer), tilt sensors (WarioWare: Twisted!, Yoshi's Universal Gravitation) and solar sensors (Boktai). The product ID of games on advance cartridges starts with "AGB".

Accessories

Game Boy Camera

Game Boy Printer

The Game Boy, as with many other consoles, has had a number of releases from both first-party and unlicensed third-party accessories. The most notable being the Game Boy Camera (left) and the Game Boy Printer (right), which were released in 1998.

Television adapters

In addition to the Game Boy, special hardware has been released for various handhelds in the Game Boy line so they can be played on a television set.

Super Game Boy

The North American Super Game Boy

In 1994, a special adapter cartridge for Nintendo's Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) was released called the Super Game Boy. The Super Game Boy allows game cartridges designed for use on the Game Boy to be played on a TV display using the SNES/Super Famicom controllers. When it was released in 1994, the Super Game Boy sold for about $60 in the United States. In the United Kingdom, it retailed for £49.99. The Super Game Boy's technical architecture is similar to that of a regular Game Boy, thus Game Boy games functioned on the native hardware rather than being emulated by the SNES. It was the precursor to the Game Boy Player on the Nintendo GameCube, which functioned in a similar manner.

Game Boy Player

The Game Boy Player is a device released in 2003 by Nintendo for the GameCube which enables Game Boy (although Super Game Boy enhancements are ignored), Game Boy Color, or Game Boy Advance cartridges to be played on a television. It connects via the high speed parallel port at the bottom of the GameCube and requires use of a boot disc to access the hardware. Unlike devices such as Datel's Advance Game Port, the Game Boy Player does not use software emulation, but instead uses physical hardware nearly identical to that of a Game Boy Advance.

Reception

Approximately two thousand games are available for the Game Boy, which can be attributed in part to its sales in the amount of millions, a well-documented design, and a typically short development cycle. The Nintendo DS and Nintendo DS Lite are able to play the large library of Game Boy Advance games (though the Nintendo DSi, Nintendo DSi XL, Nintendo 3DS, and Nintendo 2DS lack a GBA game cartridge slot). However, the DS consoles do not have a GBA game link connector, and so cannot play multiplayer GBA games (except for the few that are multiplayer on a single GBA) or link to the GameCube. The DS is not backward-compatible with Game Paks for the original Game Boy or the Game Boy Color. With homebrew development on the Nintendo DS, full speed Game Boy and Game Boy Color emulation has been achieved as well as the ability to scale the smaller Game Boy screen image to the full DS screen.

Legacy

Numerous musical acts have appropriated the Game Boy as a musical instrument (Game Boy music), using software such as nanoloop or Little Sound DJ.

Certain games released for the various Game Boy handheld consoles are available via the Virtual Console service on the Nintendo 3DS. Game Boy Advance games were thought to be as well due to the 3DS not being compatible, but it was just a mistranslation. However, ten Game Boy Advance games will be released to Nintendo 3DS ambassadors, as in Nintendo 3DS owners who logged into the 3DS eShop before the major August 2011 price drop. The Virtual Console GBA features of releases are limited, and there are no plans to release them to the public. However, starting from April 2014, Nintendo has been releasing Game Boy Advance games as Virtual Console titles via the Nintendo eShop for the Wii U.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Game Boy and variants.

• List of games for the original Game Boy
• List of Game Boy Color games
• List of Game Boy Advance games
• List of Super Game Boy games
• Game & Watch
• Nintendo DS line
• Nintendo 3DS line

References

External links

• Official website
• Game Boy line at DMOZ

Game Boy line Consoles Game Boy Pocket Light Color Advance SP Micro Visteon Dockable Entertainment Accessories Afterburner Game Boy Advance Wireless Adapter Game Boy Camera Game Boy Player Game Boy Pocket Sonar Game Boy Printer Game Link Cable GameBooster Nintendo 64 transfer pak Nintendo e-Reader Nintendo GameCube – Game Boy Advance link cable Nintendo Power Play-Yan Super Game Boy Wide-Boy64 Games Game Boy best-sellers Color Advance best-sellers Super Game Boy multiplayer titles →Nintendo DS family

Nintendo video game hardware Consoles Color TV-Game NES Famicom Titler Twin Famicom 101 Sharp Nintendo Television Super NES 101 SF Naizou TV SF1 Nintendo 64 iQue Player GameCube Panasonic Q Wii Wii U NX Handhelds (comparison) Electronic Game & Watch Mini Classics Pokémon Pikachu Pokémon Mini Consoles Game Boy Game Boy Color Virtual Boy Game Boy Advance SP Micro Dockable Entertainment Nintendo DS Lite DSi Nintendo 3DS 2DS New Arcade VS. System PlayChoice-10 Super Famicom Box Accessories NES 3D System Data Recorder Datach Disk System Family BASIC Konami LaserScope Advantage Four Score Satellite Zapper Power Glove Power Pad R.O.B. Speedboard Game Boy e-Reader Camera Printer Game Link Cable Advance Video SNES Satellaview Mouse Sufami Turbo Super Game Boy Super Scope XBAND Nintendo 64 Controller 64DD Rumble Pak GameCube Game Boy Player Controller Nintendo GameCube – Game Boy Advance link cable WaveBird Wii Balance Board Classic Controller Remote MotionPlus Third-party accessories Speak Zapper DS Nintendo DS & DSi Browser Wii U GamePad Pro Controller Other Nintendo Power Barcode Battler SNES-CD (unreleased) NTDEC Amiibo Technology Game media NES Game Pak SNES Game Pak N64 Game Pak Nintendo optical discs Nintendo game card NES 2A03 PPU Famicom Modem Teleplay Modem SNES 5A22 S-APU GSU Satellaview N64 RCP GameCube Gekko GCN Modem and Broadband Adapter Wii Broadway Hollywood Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector Wii U Espresso Latte List of published products