Game Boy Color

Last updated

Game Boy Color
Game Boy Color logo.svg
Nintendo-Game-Boy-Color-FL.jpg
Game Boy Color with Atomic Purple case
Also known asCGB-001
Developer Nintendo Research & Engineering
Manufacturer Nintendo
Product family Game Boy
Type Handheld game console
Generation Fifth
Release date
  • JP: October 21, 1998
  • NA: November 18, 1998
  • EU: November 23, 1998
  • AU: November 27, 1998
Introductory priceUS$79.95(equivalent to $150 in 2023)
DiscontinuedMarch 31, 2003
Units sold118.69 million (including all Game Boy variants)
Media Game Boy Game Pak
Game Boy Color Game Pak
System on a chip Nintendo CPU CGB
CPU Sharp SM83 @ 4 / 8 MHz
Memory32 KB  RAM, 16 KB  VRAM
DisplayReflective TFT LCD 160 × 144  px, 44 mm × 40 mm (1.7 in × 1.6 in)
Online services
Best-selling game Pokémon Gold and Silver (23 million units)
Backward
compatibility 		Game Boy
PredecessorGame Boy
Successor Game Boy Advance

The Game Boy Color (GBC or CGB) is an 8-bit handheld game console, manufactured by Nintendo, which was released in Japan on October 21, 1998, and to international markets that November. It is the successor to the Game Boy and part of its product line. Compared to the original, the Game Boy Color features a color TFT screen rather than monochrome, a processor that operates twice as fast, and four times as much memory. It retains backward compatibility with games initially developed for its predecessor. However, reviewers considered these improvements insufficient to justify Nintendo's releasing it as a separate product.

Contents

The handheld is slightly thicker and taller and has a slightly smaller screen than the Game Boy Pocket, its immediate predecessor, although significantly smaller than the original Game Boy. As with its predecessors, the Game Boy Color has a custom 8-bit processor made by Sharp. The American English spelling of the system's name, Game Boy Color, remains consistent throughout the world.

The Game Boy Color is part of the fifth generation of video game consoles. The Game Boy and the Game Boy Color combined have sold 118.69 million units worldwide, making them the fourth best-selling system of all time. Its best-selling games are Pokémon Gold and Silver, which shipped 23 million units worldwide.

History

When the original Game Boy was first introduced in 1989, many questioned why Nintendo had chosen to develop a monochrome handheld, considering competitors like the Atari Lynx and Sega Game Gear boasted color screens. However, Nintendo's gamble paid off. The rivals' color displays, while visually impressive, were criticized for their poor battery life and bulky size. The Game Boy, in contrast, offered superior portability and longevity, propelling it to immense popularity. [1] [2] Publicly, Nintendo pledged to develop a color Game Boy only when technology addressed the limitations of existing color handhelds. [3]

Internally, however, a team led by Satoru Okada, who played a key role in the original Game Boy's design, was already experimenting with color displays. Their early-1990s prototype, codenamed "Project Atlantis," featured a color screen and a powerful 32-bit processor from Sharp. However, the team wasn't satisfied with the outcome and shelved further development. [4] [5]

Despite the lack of color, consumer interest in the Game Boy remained strong. In 1996, Nintendo released the slimmer Game Boy Pocket, and the launch of the Pokémon series that same year further boosted sales. [3] However, developers were starting to lose interest in the aging platform. [6]

The tide began to turn in October 1997 when news broke about Bandai's new handheld, the WonderSwan. Notably, the project was led by Gunpei Yokoi, the engineer who led the development of the Game & Watch series and the original Game Boy. Yokoi had left Nintendo in 1996 following the commercial failure of his final project, the Virtual Boy. His departure caused a stir, with investors dumping Nintendo stock, forcing a temporary halt on trading at the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Tragically, Yokoi would never see the WonderSwan's release, as he was killed in a roadside accident in 1997. [7]

Faced with mounting pressure, Okada revisited Project Atlantis. However, prioritizing speed to market over power, he dropped the 32-bit processor for a faster version of the existing Game Boy's 8-bit processor that would allow for a quicker launch and maintain compatibility with the existing library of Game Boy games. [5]

The Game Boy Color was officially announced in March 1998, hitting store shelves in Japan in October of that year. [8] It received an international rollout throughout November, reaching North America on the 18th, Europe on the 23rd, and Australasia on the 27th. Launching at a price of US$79.95(equivalent to $150 in 2023), [9] the Game Boy Color ultimately outsold the WonderSwan, which went on sale in March 1999. [10]

The Game Boy Color had a relatively short lifespan, being on the market for only two and a half years before being succeeded by the Game Boy Advance in 2001. The successor finally brought the 32-bit processing power envisioned in Project Atlantis. Despite the new arrival, the Game Boy Color remained in production, serving as a budget-friendly alternative. [3] The last units were reportedly sold by March 2003. [11]

Hardware

The Game Boy Color motherboard (Annotated version) Nintendo-Game-Boy-Color-Motherboard-Bottom.jpg
The Game Boy Color motherboard
(Annotated version)

The Game Boy Color uses a custom system on a chip (SoC), integrating the CPU and other major components into a single package, named the CPU CGB by Nintendo and manufactured by the Sharp Corporation. While the CPU CGB was a new design for the Game Boy Color, the technology inside was largely an evolution of the then ten-year-old DMG-CPU SoC used inside the original Game Boy, making the CPU CGB outdated when it was introduced in the late-90s. [12]

Within the CPU CGB, the main processor is a Sharp SM83, [13] a hybrid between two other 8-bit processors: the Intel 8080 and the Zilog Z80. The SM83 has the seven 8-bit registers of the 8080 (compared to 14 on the Z80), but uses the Z80's programming syntax and extra bit manipulation instructions, and it also adds a few new instructions to optimize the processor for certain operations related to the way the hardware was arranged. [14] [15] The Sharp SM83 also powered the original Game Boy, where it operated at a clock rate of 4.194304 megahertz  (MHz). However, games on Game Boy Color exclusive cartridges could command the processor to operate in "dual-speed mode," overclocking it to run twice as fast at 8.388608 MHz. This gave developers the option to get more processing power out of the device while retaining backward compatibility for existing games. [12]

The CPU CGB also incorporates the Picture Processing Unit, essentially a basic GPU, that renders visuals using two separate 8  kilobyte  (KB) banks of Video RAM, twice as much as the original Game Boy and relocated inside the SoC for faster access. [12] Games developed exclusively for the Game Boy Color could take full advantage of the additional memory to add more effects and display up to 56 colors simultaneously out of a selection of 32,768 colors. When an Original Game Boy Game Pak is inserted into the device, the additional memory is disabled. However, these monochrome games still benefit from enhanced color palettes. [12] [16]

The display itself is a 2.3-inch (diagonal) thin-film transistor (TFT) color liquid-crystal display (LCD), measuring 44 millimeters (1.7 in) wide by 40 millimeters (1.6 in) high. The screen aspect ratio and resolution remain identical to the original Game Boy at 160 pixels wide by 144 pixels high in a 10:9 format. Like the original Game Boy and Game Boy Pocket before it and the Game Boy Advance after it, the screen is passively reflective, with a surface behind the screen that sends light back through the liquid crystal pixel elements to the viewer. Because there is no backlight, the device can be hard to use in dark environments.

The SoC also contains a 2 KB "bootstrap" ROM which is used to start up the device, [17] 127 B of High RAM that can be accessed faster (similar to a CPU cache), and the Audio Processing Unit, a programmable sound generator with four channels: a pulse wave generation channel with frequency and volume variation, a second pulse wave generation channel with only volume variation, a wave channel than can reproduce any waveform recorded in RAM, and a white noise channel with volume variation. [12] [18] The motherboard of the Game Boy Color also contains a 32 KB "working" RAM chip, four times more than the 8 KB on the original Game Boy. [12]

The Game Boy features a D-pad (directional pad), four action buttons labeled 'A,' 'B,' 'SELECT,' and 'START,' and a sliding on-off switch on the right side of the device. The volume is adjusted by a potentiometer dial on the left side of the device.

The left side also offers a Game Link Cable port for connecting to up to four Game Boy devices for multiplayer games or, notably in Pokémon series games, sharing files. [19] This port can also be used with a Game Boy Printer. The port used on the Game Boy Color is of a smaller design first introduced on the Game Boy Pocket, and requires an adapter to link with the original Game Boy. [20] While the original Game Boy could transfer data at 8 kilobits per second (kbit/s), the Game Boy color offered a "high-speed" mode that could reach up to 512 kbit/s, 64 times faster. The Game Boy Color also added an infrared communications port for wireless data transfer, however the feature is only supported by a small number of games and the infrared port was not included on the Game Boy Advance line. [12] [18]

Technical specifications

Game Boy Color [21] [22]
Height133.5 mm (5.26 in)
Width78 mm (3.1 in)
Depth27.4 mm (1.08 in)
Weight138 g (4.9 oz)
Display2.3-inch (diagonal) reflective thin-film transistor (TFT) color liquid-crystal display (LCD)
Screen size (playable) [23] 43 mm × 39 mm (1.7 in × 1.5 in)
Resolution 160 (w) × 144 (h) pixels (10:9 aspect ratio) [lower-alpha 1]
Graphics
  • Maximum sprites: 40 total, 10 per line, 4 colors each (one transparent)
  • Sprite size: 8 × 8 or 8 × 16
  • Tiles drawn: 512 (360~399 visible, others off-screen as a scrolling buffer)
Frame rate 59.727500569606 Hz [24]
Color support32,768 colors, up to 56 simultaneously
System on a chip (SoC)Nintendo CPU CGB
Processor4.194304 / 8.388608 MHz Sharp SM83 (custom Intel 8080/Zilog Z80 hybrid, 8-bit) [lower-alpha 2]
Memory
  • On SoC: 2 KB "bootstrap" ROM, 127 B High RAM, 16 KB  Video RAM
  • Internal: 32 KB  RAM
  • External: (in the game cartridge) up to 8 MB ROM, up to 128 KB RAM
Power
Battery lifeUp to 10 hours
Sound
I/O
Controls

Cartridges

Nintendo-Game-Boy-Color-Cartridge.jpg
Game Boy Color Game Pak
Nintendo-Game-Boy-Cartridge-Black.jpg
Color enhanced Game Boy Game Pak
Nintendo-Game-Boy-Cartridge.jpg
Original Game Boy Game Pak

Games are stored on cartridges called Game Boy Game Paks, using read-only memory (ROM) chips. Initially, due to the limitations of the 8-bit architecture of the device, ROM size was limited to 32 KB. However, Nintendo overcame this limitation with a Memory Bank Controller (MBC) inside the cartridge. This chip sits between the processor and the ROM chips. The CPU can only access 32 KB at a time, but the MBC can switch between several banks of 32 KB ROM. Using this technology, Nintendo created Game Boy Color games that used up to 8  megabytes of ROM. Game Paks could also provide additional functionality to the Game Boy system. Some cartridges included up to 128 KB of RAM to increase performance, which could also be battery-backed to save progress when the handheld was off, real-time clock chips could keep track of time even when the device was off and Rumble Pak cartridges added vibration feedback to enhance gameplay. [12] [26] [27]

The Game Boy Color has backward compatibility with all original Game Boy games, and there were three main Game Pak cartridge types for the handheld:

Samples of the color palettes and the key combinations to select them on an original Game Pak. GBC keypad palettes.png
Samples of the color palettes and the key combinations to select them on an original Game Pak.

Original Game Boy Game Pak (Gray Case): The classic Game Boy cartridges. The Game Boy Color applies a limited color palette (often dark green) using four to ten colors to enhance games originally intended to be presented in four shades of gray. [28] Many games were programmed to call for a default color palette. However, for games without a default, users could choose from 12 different palettes using button combinations. [3] A dedicated palette option replicates the original Game Boy's grayscale experience.

Color enhanced Game Boy Game Pak (Black Case): These cartridges can use the full color capabilities of the console, displaying up to 56 colors simultaneously out of a palette of 32,768 while use up to 56 colors out of a palette of 32,000 while remaining compatible with the original Game Boy where they were presented in four shades of gray. However, this compatibility comes at the expense of not being able to utilize the handheld's increased processing speed and memory. [3]

Game Boy Color Game Pak (Clear Case): Designed specifically for the Game Boy Color, these cartridges exploit the system's full potential. They boast both the full color range (56 colors simultaneously out of a palette of 32,768) and benefit from the increased processing speed and memory of the Game Boy Color. [3] However, because of this reliance on the newer hardware, these games are incompatible with the older monochrome Game Boy models. [29]

Model colors

Game Boy Color.png
Berry
Game Boy Color Purple.jpg
Grape
Game Boy Color (green).png
Kiwi
Game-Boy-Color-Yellow.jpg
Dandelion
Gameboy color.jpg
Teal
Game-Boy-Color-Purple.jpg
Atomic Purple

Nintendo had seen success selling colored variations of the Play It Loud! Game Boy and the Game Boy Pocket, so the company released the Color in several case variations. [3]

The logo for Game Boy Color spells out the word "COLOR" in the five original colors in which the unit was manufactured: Berry (C), Grape (O), Kiwi (L), Dandelion (O), and Teal (R). Another color released at the same time was "Atomic Purple", made of a translucent purple plastic. Other colors were sold as limited editions or in specific countries. [30]

Games

Due to its backward compatibility with Game Boy games, the Game Boy Color's launched with a large playable library. The system amassed a library of 576 Game Boy Color games over a four-year period. While the majority of the games are Game Boy Color exclusive, approximately 30% of the games released are compatible with the original Game Boy. Most Game Boy Color games released after 1999 are not compatible with the original Game Boy. [31] [32] [33]

Tetris for the original Game Boy is the best-selling game compatible with Game Boy Color, [34] [35] and Pokémon Gold and Silver are the best-selling games developed primarily for it. The best-selling Game Boy Color exclusive game is Pokémon Crystal . [36] [37]

The last Game Boy Color game ever released is the Japanese exclusive Doraemon no Study Boy: Kanji Yomikaki Master , on July 18, 2003. The last game released in North America is Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets , released on November 15, 2002. [38] In Europe, the last game released for the system is Hamtaro: Ham-Hams Unite! , on January 10, 2003. [3]

Beyond officially released games for the platform, there is an active online community creating new games for the Game Boy and Game Boy Color through the use of tools like GB Studio. [39] One such example is Dragonhym (originally Dragonborne) which was available for release on a physical cartridge which will be playable on the Game Boy Color. [40]

Reception

Sales

The Game Boy and Game Boy Color were both commercially successful, selling 118.69 million units worldwide: 32.47 million in Japan, 44.06 million in the Americas, and 42.16 million in all other regions. [11] [41] At the time of its discontinuation in 2003, the combined sales of all Game Boy variants made it the best-selling game console of all time. In later years, its sales were surpassed by the Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2 and Nintendo Switch, making it the fourth-best-selling console the second-best-selling handheld of all time, as of 2024. Sales of the device were in part driven by the success of Pokémon Gold and Silver and Pokémon Crystal , with combined sales of 29.5 million units, making them one of the best selling-video games of all time. [42] [43]

Sales of the Game Boy Color were strong at launch. Nintendo of America reported a sale of one million units from launch to December 1998, [44] and two million by July 1999. [45] Retail chains in the United States reported unexpectedly high demand for the console, with executives of FuncoLand reporting "very pleasant and unpredicted" sales and Electronics Boutique stating "the entire Game Boy Color line just exploded, including accessories" upon release. [46] Faced with high worldwide demand and competitive retail pricing, retailers such as CompUSA sold out of Game Boy Color stock in the weeks before the 1998 Christmas season. [44]

Critical reception

Reception of the Game Boy Color was positive, with critics praising the addition of color and improved clarity of the display.

Affiliated publications such as Total Game Boy praised the handheld for its "bright, colorful picture that can be viewed in direct light", backward compatibility features preserving the "vast catalogue of original Game Boy games", and improved technical performance. [47] Computer and Video Games praised the Game Boy Color for making the Game Boy library of games "look better than ever – everything is crystal clear, bright and in [color]". [48] Writing for GameSpot , Chris Johnston stated that the display was "crystal clear" and free of motion blur, stating that Tetris DX was the "killer app" of the launch titles on the platform. [49]

Milder reviews included those by Arcade, who said that while that the colors were "very impressive" they were "not as eyeball-popping as you might have hoped for [...] it's mostly seaweed greens, rusty browns, timid yellows and the like". They concluded that "nothing about [the Game Boy Color] is very radical" but said the device was "Game Boy as it always should have been". [50] Reviewers also pointed out other drawbacks including that the system was still using an 8-bit architecture when competitors had moved onto 16-bit handheld systems and that the backlit screen required that the user be in a well lit area. [51] [52]

Legacy

Commentary on the legacy of the Game Boy Color has been shaped by the perception that the handheld was as an incremental and transitional upgrade of the Game Boy rather than a completely new device, [53] [54] and had a relatively brief lifespan, being supplanted by the Game Boy Advance after two years, five months on the market.

In a history of Nintendo, author Jeff Ryan noted the Game Boy Color had a reputation as a "legacy machine" that found success mostly due to its backward compatibility, as "few wanted to lose all the Dr. Mario and Pokémon cartridges they had amassed over the years." [55] Quoted in Retro Gamer , Blitz Games Studios developer Bob Pape acknowledged that although "backwards compatibility more or less defined (the) Game Boy Color", the handheld "ticked all the right boxes with regards to size, battery life, reliability and most importantly backwards compatibility". [54]

Positive assessments of the legacy of the Game Boy Color has also focused on the merits of its game library, particularly for its third-party and import titles. Travis Fahs for IGN noted whilst "the Game Boy Color's life was relatively brief", it "built up a small library of excellent games", including Wario Land 3 and Pokémon Gold and Silver , and a "unique" and "previously unheard of" line of successful third-party games, including Dragon Warrior Monsters , Metal Gear Solid and Yu-Gi-Oh! Dark Duel Stories . [53] Ashley Day of Retro Gamer noted that the handheld had an "overlooked" status, stating "the Game Boy Color (has) an unfair reputation as the one Nintendo handheld with few worthwhile titles, but this simply isn't the case...returning to the Game Boy Color now reveals a wealth of great games that you never knew existed, especially those available on import." [56]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Same aspect ratio and resolution as the original Game Boy
  2. ↑ 4.194304 MHz for Game Boy backward compatibility, 8.388608 MHz for native Game Boy Color games.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atari 7800</span> Home video game console

The Atari 7800 ProSystem, or simply the Atari 7800, is a home video game console officially released by Atari Corporation in 1986 as the successor to both the Atari 2600 and Atari 5200. It can run almost all Atari 2600 cartridges, making it one of the first consoles with backward compatibility. It shipped with a different model of joystick from the 2600-standard CX40 and Pole Position II as the pack-in game. Most of the announced titles at launch were ports of 1981–1983 arcade video games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atari Lynx</span> Handheld game console

The Atari Lynx is a 16-bit fourth-generation hand-held game console released by Atari Corporation in September 1989 in North America and 1990 in Europe and Japan. It was the first handheld game console with a color liquid-crystal display. Powered by a 4 MHz 65C02 8-bit CPU and a custom 16-bit blitter, the Lynx was more advanced than Nintendo's monochrome Game Boy, released two months earlier. It also competed with Sega's Game Gear and NEC's TurboExpress, released the following year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Game Boy Advance</span> Handheld game console by Nintendo

The Game Boy Advance (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo as the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, in North America on June 11, 2001, in the PAL region on June 22, 2001, and in mainland China as iQue Game Boy Advance on June 8, 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Handheld game console</span> Portable self-contained video game console

A handheld game console, or simply handheld console, is a small, portable self-contained video game console with a built-in screen, game controls and speakers. Handheld game consoles are smaller than home video game consoles and contain the console, screen, speakers, and controls in one unit, allowing players to carry them and play them at any time or place.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neo Geo Pocket</span> Handheld game console released in 1998

The Neo Geo Pocket (NGP) is a monochrome handheld game console released by SNK. It was the company's first handheld system and is part of the Neo Geo family. It debuted in Japan in late 1998 and was primarily sold in Japan and Hong Kong. The system and all five English games saw limited distribution in the West, where it could be ordered directly from SNK USA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Super Nintendo Entertainment System</span> Home video game console

The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, commonly shortened to Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Europe and Oceania and 1993 in South America. In Japan, it is called the Super Famicom (SFC). In South Korea, it is called the Super Comboy and was distributed by Hyundai Electronics. The system was released in Brazil on August 30, 1993, by Playtronic. Although each version is essentially the same, several forms of regional lockout prevent cartridges for one version from being used in other versions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Game Gear</span> Handheld game console by Sega

The Game Gear is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console released by Sega on October 6, 1990, in Japan, in April 1991 throughout North America and Europe, and during 1992 in Australia. The Game Gear primarily competed with Nintendo's Game Boy, the Atari Lynx, and NEC's TurboExpress. It shares much of its hardware with the Master System, and can play Master System games through the use of an adapter. Sega positioned the Game Gear, which had a full-color backlit screen with a landscape format, as a technologically superior handheld to the Game Boy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Video game console</span> Computer system for running video games

A video game console is an electronic device that outputs a video signal or image to display a video game that can be played with a game controller. These may be home consoles, which are generally placed in a permanent location connected to a television or other display devices and controlled with a separate game controller, or handheld consoles, which include their own display unit and controller functions built into the unit and which can be played anywhere. Hybrid consoles combine elements of both home and handheld consoles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WonderSwan</span> Handheld game console

The WonderSwan is a handheld game console released in Japan by Bandai. It was developed by Gunpei Yokoi's company Koto Laboratory and Bandai, and was the last piece of hardware Yokoi developed before his death in 1997. Released in 1999 in the sixth generation of video game consoles, the WonderSwan and its two later models, the WonderSwan Color and SwanCrystal were officially supported until being discontinued by Bandai in 2003. During its lifespan, no variation of the WonderSwan was released outside of Japan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Super Game Boy</span> Accessory for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System

The Super Game Boy is a peripheral that allows Game Boy cartridges to be played on a Super Nintendo Entertainment System console. Released in June 1994, it retailed for US$59.99 in the United States and £49.99 in the United Kingdom. In South Korea, it is called the Super Mini Comboy and was distributed by Hyundai Electronics. A revised model, the Super Game Boy 2, was released in Japan in January 1998.

<i>Pokémon Stadium</i> 1999 video game

Pokémon Stadium, known in Japan as Pokémon Stadium 2, is a strategy video game developed by Nintendo EAD and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. It was released in Japan on April 30, 1999; in North America on March 6, 2000; in Australia on March 23, 2000; and in Europe on April 7, 2000. It was the first Stadium title released in Western regions, succeeding the Japan-only 1998 Nintendo 64 release Pocket Monsters' Stadium. The gameplay revolves around a 3D turn-based battling system using the 151 Pokémon from the Game Boy games Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nintendo DS</span> Handheld game console

The Nintendo DS is a 32-bit foldable handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in tandem, a built-in microphone and support for wireless connectivity. Both screens are encompassed within a clamshell design similar to the Game Boy Advance SP. The Nintendo DS also features the ability for multiple DS consoles to directly interact with each other over Wi-Fi within a short range without the need to connect to an existing wireless network. Alternatively, they could interact online using the now-defunct Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service. Its main competitor was Sony's PlayStation Portable during the seventh generation of video game consoles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TurboExpress</span> 1990 handheld game console by NEC

The TurboExpress is an 8-bit handheld game console by NEC Home Electronics, released in late 1990 in Japan and the United States, branded as the PC Engine GT in Japan and TurboExpress Handheld Entertainment System in the U.S. It is essentially a portable version of the TurboGrafx-16 home console that came out one to three years earlier. Its launch price in Japan was ¥44,800 and US$249.99 in the U.S.

The history of video game consoles, both home and handheld, began in the 1970s. The first console that played games on a television set was the 1972 Magnavox Odyssey, first conceived by Ralph H. Baer in 1966. Handheld consoles originated from electro-mechanical games that used mechanical controls and light-emitting diodes (LED) as visual indicators. Handheld electronic games had replaced the mechanical controls with electronic and digital components, and with the introduction of Liquid-crystal display (LCD) to create video-like screens with programmable pixels, systems like the Microvision and the Game & Watch became the first handheld video game consoles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Game Boy Micro</span> Handheld game console by Nintendo

The Game Boy Micro is a handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on September 13, 2005 as a smaller, lighter redesign of the Game Boy Advance. The system is the last Game Boy handheld, alongside the AGS-101 model of the Game Boy Advance SP. Unlike its predecessors, the Game Boy Micro lacks backward compatibility for original Game Boy and Game Boy Color games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Game Boy</span> Handheld game console by Nintendo

The Game Boy is a handheld game console developed by Nintendo, launched in the Japanese home market on April 21, 1989, followed by North America and Europe later that year. Following the success of the Game & Watch single-game handhelds, Nintendo developed the Game Boy to be more like a portable console, with interchangeable cartridges. The concept proved highly successful and the Game Boy became a cultural icon of the 1990s.

This is a list of video game accessories that have been released for the Game Boy handheld console and its successors. Accessories add functionality that the console would otherwise not have.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nintendo video game consoles</span>

The Japanese multinational consumer electronics company Nintendo has developed seven home video game consoles and multiple portable consoles for use with external media, as well as dedicated consoles and other hardware for their consoles. As of September 30, 2021, in addition to Nintendo Switch, Nintendo has sold over 903.99 million hardware units.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Analogue Pocket</span> Handheld game console developed by Analogue, Inc.

The Analogue Pocket is a handheld game console designed and manufactured by Analogue. Announced in October 2019 and released on December 13, 2021, it uses field-programmable gate array (FPGA) chips to play games from various handheld consoles up to the sixth generation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Game Boy Game Pak</span> Video game cartridge

Game Boy Game Pak is the brand name of the ROM cartridges used to store video game data for the Game Boy family of handheld video game consoles, part of Nintendo's line of Game Pak cartridges. Early Game Boy games were limited to 32 kilobytes (KB) of read-only memory (ROM) storage due to the system's 8-bit architecture. Nintendo later incorporated a memory bank controller into cartridges to allow for more storage by switching between ROM banks. This change allowed Game Paks to reach 8 megabytes (MB) of storage, allowing for more complex games.

References

  1. ↑ McFarren, Damien (2016). Videogames Hardware Handbook. Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). Bournemouth: Imagine Publishing. pp. 157–163. ISBN   978-1-78546-239-9.
  2. ↑ Ryan, Jeff (2011). Super Mario: How Nintendo Conquered America. New York: Portfolio Penguin. pp. 102–105. ISBN   978-1-59184-405-1.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Day, Ashley (2016). Videogames Hardware Handbook. Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). Bournemouth: Imagine Publishing. pp. 236–239. ISBN   978-1-78546-239-9.
  4. ↑ "Satoru Okada – Interview". Nintendo. Archived from the original on May 29, 2000. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
  5. 1 2 Kurokawa, Fumio (2022). "Satoru Okada – 2022 Retrospective Interview". 4gamer.net . Retrieved April 8, 2024.
  6. ↑ "Nintendo's Next Generation Handheld". Next Generation . No. 41. Imagine Media. May 1998. p. 22.
  7. ↑ McFerran, Damien (2016). Videogames Hardware Handbook (2nd ed.). Bournemouth: Imagine Publishing. p. 235. ISBN   978-1-78546-239-9.
  8. ↑ "Game Boy Color hardware". Nintendo. Archived from the original on May 25, 2022. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
  9. ↑ "Introducing Game Boy Color". Nintendo Power. Nintendo. November 1998. p. 85.
  10. ↑ "Fun in the Palm of Your Hand" . The Orlando Sentinel . Associated Press. October 9, 1998. Retrieved May 24, 2014– via Newsbank.
  11. 1 2 "Consolidated Sales Transition by Region" (PDF). Nintendo. April 26, 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 11, 2016. Retrieved October 23, 2016.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Copetti, Rodrigo (February 21, 2019). "Game Boy / Color Architecture - A Practical Analysis" . Retrieved April 29, 2024.
  13. ↑ Javanainen, Joonas (April 23, 2024). "Game Boy: Complete Technical Reference" (PDF). gekkio.fi.
  14. ↑ "The Nintendo Game Boy, Part 1: The Intel 8080 and the Zilog Z80". RealBoy. January 2, 2013. Archived from the original on May 10, 2022. Retrieved August 29, 2017.
  15. ↑ "CPU Comparison with Z80". Pan Docs. Retrieved April 29, 2024.
  16. ↑ "First Alone in the Dark Screenshots for Game Boy Color". IGN . August 4, 2000. Archived from the original on April 3, 2015. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
  17. ↑ GameBoy Development Wiki (November 12, 2009). "Gameboy Bootstrap ROM". Archived from the original on August 18, 2010. Retrieved October 24, 2010.
  18. 1 2 "Game Boy Advance Service Manual" (2nd ed.). Nintendo. p. 3. Retrieved May 27, 2024.
  19. ↑ Masuyama, Meguro (2002). "Pokémon as Japanese Culture?". In Lucien King (ed.). Game On. New York, NY: Universe Publishing. p. 39. ISBN   0-7893-0778-2. Pokémon allowed more than metaphorical communication; it made use of a system that created actual communication — a network game.
  20. ↑ "Link Cable Adapter". Nintendo of Europe. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
  21. ↑ "Nintendo Game Boy Color Console Information – Console Database". ConsoleDatabase.com. Archived from the original on July 2, 2011. Retrieved February 19, 2011.
  22. ↑ "Technical data". Nintendo of Europe GmbH. Archived from the original on February 7, 2023. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
  23. ↑ "Game Boy Versions". RetroRGB. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
  24. ↑ "TASVideos / Platform Framerates". tasvideos.org. Archived from the original on February 29, 2020. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  25. ↑ "Adding Color to Game Boy". Electronic Gaming Monthly . No. 106. Ziff Davis. May 1998. p. 26.
  26. ↑ Byers, Brendan. "Exploring the Gameboy Memory Bank Controller". Brendan's Website. Retrieved April 29, 2024.
  27. ↑ "Game Boy Programming Manual" (PDF). December 3, 1999. p. 299. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  28. ↑ "Changing the Color Palette on Game Boy Advance Systems". Customer Service. Nintendo. Archived from the original on January 13, 2009. Retrieved January 4, 2009.
  29. ↑ "Game Pak Troubleshooting – All Game Boy Systems". Nintendo of America customer support. Archived from the original on September 28, 2017. Retrieved September 27, 2017.
  30. ↑ "Game Boy Color". Nintendo. Archived from the original on December 14, 2001. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  31. ↑ "Game Boy (original) Games" (PDF). Nintendo of America. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 2, 2016. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
  32. ↑ "Game Boy Color Games" (PDF). Nintendo of America. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 10, 2004. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
  33. ↑ "Game List – Released Titles". GameBoy.com. Nintendo of America. January 19, 2001. Archived from the original on January 19, 2001. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
  34. ↑ Saltzman, Marc (June 12, 2009). "'Tetris' by the numbers". USA Today. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  35. ↑ Takahashi, Dean (June 1, 2009). "After 25 years, Tetris has sold 125 million copies". VentureBeat . Archived from the original on June 21, 2023. Retrieved June 21, 2023.
  36. ↑ "'Pokken Tournament' and Pokemon's $1.5 Billion Brand". The Huffington Post . AOL. March 19, 2017. Archived from the original on February 18, 2020. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
  37. ↑ Clement, Jessica (May 2024). "All-time best-selling Pokémon games 2024". Statista. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  38. ↑ Buday, John (January 9, 2023). "The Last Game Boy Color Game Released In North America Was Tied To A Blockbuster Film". SVG. Retrieved May 27, 2024.
  39. ↑ "GB Studio" . Retrieved February 15, 2024.
  40. ↑ "Dragonhym (GBC) – Standard Edition". Archived from the original on February 15, 2024. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
  41. ↑ "A Brief History of Game Console Warfare: Game Boy". BusinessWeek . McGraw-Hill. Archived from the original on May 9, 2007. Retrieved March 28, 2008.
  42. ↑ "Japan Platinum Game Chart". The Magic Box. Archived from the original on December 13, 2007. Retrieved September 27, 2007.
  43. ↑ "US Platinum Videogame Chart". The Magic Box. Archived from the original on April 21, 2007. Retrieved September 27, 2007.
  44. 1 2 "Game Boy Color Sales Exceed 1 Million During Holidays". Gaming Intelligence. February 1999. p. 4.
  45. ↑ Dunne, Alex (July 1999). "Industry Watch". Game Developer Magazine. p. 10.
  46. ↑ Trainman, Steve (May 12, 1999). "Retailers Coming to E3 with High Expectations". Game Week. Vol. 5, no. 17.
  47. ↑ "Introducing The Game Boy Color". Total Game Boy. No. 1. 1998.
  48. ↑ "Portable Colour Gaming Is Here!". Computer and Video Games. No. 205. December 1998.
  49. ↑ Johnston, Chris (1998). "Hands On: Game Boy Color". GameSpot. Archived from the original on June 7, 2019. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
  50. ↑ "The Color Purple". Arcade. No. 1. December 1998. pp. 60–61.
  51. ↑ Kapalka, Jeff (December 20, 1998). "A Gamer's Wish List" . Syracuse Herald American . p. 16. Retrieved May 22, 2024– via NewsBank.
  52. ↑ Pavlacka, Adam (November 16, 1998). "Game Boy Now Offers Play in Color" . The Beacon News (Aurora, IL). p. C1. Retrieved May 22, 2024– via NewsBank.
  53. 1 2 Fahs, Travis (July 27, 2009). "IGN Presents the History of Game Boy". IGN. Archived from the original on May 28, 2010. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
  54. 1 2 Carroll, Martyn (December 2018). "Game Boy Color". Retro Gamer. No. 187. pp. 50–55.[ dead link ]
  55. ↑ Ryan, Jeff (September 25, 2012). Super Mario: How Nintendo Conquered America. Penguin Random House. p. 208. ISBN   978-1-59184-563-8.
  56. ↑ Day, Ashley (May 2006). "Game Boy Color". Retro Gamer . No. 24. pp. 41–43.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.