Game Boy family

The Game Boy (ゲームボーイ, Gēmu Bōi) line is a line of battery-powered handheld game consoles sold by Nintendo. It is one of the world's best-selling game system lines, with more than 188 million hardware units sold worldwide, as of March 15, 2006. The original Game Boy and Game Boy Color combined have sold 118.69 million units, as of March 31, 2005. All versions of the Game Boy Advance combined have managed to sell 80.48 million units, as of September 30, 2007.

The entire Game Boy line. From left to right: Game Boy, Play it Loud Game Boy, Game Boy Pocket, Game Boy Light, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Game Boy Advance SP, Game Boy Advance SP "Mark II" (with brighter, backlight screen) , Game Boy Micro.

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 Gunpei 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 to the original Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). To celebrate, Nintendo released the Classic NES Series and an NES-themed color scheme for the Game Boy Advance SP. Nintendo president Satoru Iwata had this to say on the rumored 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."

Versions

The Game Boy console went through several design iterations, without significant changes to its computing power, since its release in 1989.

File:Image-Gameboylineboxed.jpg

The entire Game Boy line in their original packaging.

Game Boy

Main article: Game Boy

The original Game Boy.

The original Game Boy was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989. Based around a Z80 processor, it has a black and green reflective LCD screen, an eight-way directional pad, two action buttons, and Start and Select buttons. It plays games from ROM-based media contained in small plastic detachable units called cartridges (sometimes abbreviated as carts or GamePaks). The killer 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 kids 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". The original Game Boy was the first cartridge-based system 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 at once. However, this feature was only supported in Faceball 2000.

A Manchester United-branded Game Boy.

Game Boy Play It Loud!

In 1995, Nintendo released several Game Boy models with colored cases, advertising them in the "Play it Loud!" campaign. Specifications for this unit remain exactly the same as the original GameBoy, including the monochromatic screen. This new line of colored Game Boys would set a precedent for later Nintendo handhelds; the Game Boy Pocket, the Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance (including the SP and Micro), Nintendo DS, and the Nintendo DS Lite all feature different colored units. Play It Loud units were manufactured in red, yellow, green, black, blue, white and clear cases. A very rare, limited edition Manchester United Game Boy—red, with the logos of the team emblazoned on—was released coterminously with the Play it Loud! handhelds in the United Kingdom.

Game Boy Pocket

Green Game Boy Pocket

In 1996, Nintendo released the Game Boy Pocket: a smaller, lighter unit that requires fewer batteries. It has space for two AAA batteries, which provide about 10 hours of game play. The Pocket has a smaller link port, which requires an adapter to link with the older Game Boy. The port design is used on all subsequent Game Boy models, excluding the Game Boy Micro. The screen was changed to a true black-and-white display, rather than the "pea soup" monochromatic display of the original Game Boy. The first version, which was silver, did not have an LED to show battery levels. This was soon added due to public demand, along with new Game Boy Pocket units of different colors, some of them new to the Game Boy line. There were several limited-edition Game Boy Pockets including a metallic Ice Blue unit and a pink model exclusive to Japan.

Game Boy Light

Game Boy Light

The Game Boy Light was released only in Japan in 1997. Nintendo decided that North American consumers wanted "color, not light". The Light is about the same size as the Pocket and has a backlight for low-light conditions. It uses 2 AA batteries, which give it approximately 20 hours with the light off and 12 with it on. The Game Boy Light used to be the rarest Game Boy variant outside of Japan at one time, but due to the Internet and online auction sites, the console has become more widely available. It was the only handheld Nintendo produced with an independently lit screen until the release of the Game Boy Advance SP in 2003.

Game Boy Color

Game Boy Color

Main article: Game Boy Color

First released in Japan on October 21 1998, the Game Boy Color (also referred to as GBC) added a color screen to a form factor slightly larger than the Game Boy Pocket. It also has double the processor speed, four times as much memory, and an infrared communications port. Technologically, it was likened to the 8-bit NES video game console from the 1980s. 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). This 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.

Game Boy Advance

Game Boy Advance

Main article: 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 for backward compatibility to Game Boy and Game Boy Color games, and sported a larger, higher resolution screen. Controls were slightly modified with the addition of "L" and "R" trigger buttons. The system was technically likened to the SNES and showed its power with successful ports of SNES titles such as Super Mario World and Yoshi's Island. There were also new titles in popular SNES series, such as Mario Kart Super Circuit and F-Zero: Maximum Velocity, and a variety of original titles. A widely-criticized drawback of the Game Boy Advance is that the screen is not backlit, making viewing difficult in some conditions.

Game Boy Advance SP

Game Boy Advance SP

Main article: Game Boy Advance SP

First released in Japan on February 14, 2003, the Game Boy Advance SP 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, and a rechargeable battery, with the omission of the headphone port, which now required a special adapter to be 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 Advance SP. In mid September 2005, Nintendo released a new SP model, dubbed the "Mark II", in North America that featured an improved backlit screen instead of a frontlight.

The Nintendo Game Boy micro

Game Boy Micro

Main article: Game Boy Micro

The third form of Game Boy Advance system, the Game Boy Micro is four inches wide, two inches tall, and weighs 2.8 ounces. By far the smallest Game Boy created, it is approximately the same dimensions as an original NES controller pad. Its screen is slightly smaller than the SP and GBA screens while maintaining the same resolution (240 × 160 pixels) but is now a higher quality backlit display with adjustable brightness. In the United States and Canada, included with the system are two additional faceplates which can be swapped to give the system a new look; Nintendo of America sells additional faceplates on their online store. In Europe, the Game Boy Micro comes with a single faceplate and the feature is omitted from the box. The Game Boy Micro is not backwards compatible with Game Boy or Game Boy Color games, only playing Game Boy Advance titles.

Accessories

Main article: Game Boy accessories

The Game Boy, as with many other consoles, has had a number of both first-party and unlicensed third-party accessories, such as Action Replay's, released.

Cartridges

Each video game is stored on a plastic cartridge (or "Game Pak", as they are officially referred to). All cartridges, excluding those for Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS, measure 5.8 by 6.5 cm. The cartridge provides the data, logic, and rules of the game 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 dies 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 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 due to the fact that 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) use the space intended for the locking mechanism to prevent insertion into the original Game Boy. Even if this is bypassed by using a Game Boy Pocket, Game Boy Light, or Super Game Boy, the game will not run, and an image on the screen will inform the user that the game is only compatible with Game Boy Color systems.

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Game Boy cartridges, displaying the Wario Land series; the furthest to the right is a Game Boy Advance cartridge.

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

• Gray cartridges 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 Donkey Kong Land. The games on these cartridges are programmed in black and white; when used on Game Boy Color or later systems, the color of the graphics can be chosen at the start-up screen, by pressing a specific button combination (listed below). Most gray-cartridge games published by Nintendo have a special default palette, which is accessible by not pressing any buttons at start-up. Games which do not have a special default palette will default to the Dark Green palette. Some gray cartridges that were released between 1994 and 1998 have Super Game Boy enhancements.

Up: Brown Up & A: Red Up & B: Dark Brown

Down: Pastel Mix Down & A: Orange Down & B: Yellow

Left: Blue Left & A: Dark Blue Left & B: Gray

Right: Green Right & A: Dark Green Right & B: Inverted

• Black cartridges are compatible with all Game Boy systems, excluding Game Boy Micro. The games on these cartridges are programmed in color; when used on Game Boy, Game Boy Pocket, Game Boy Light, or Super Game Boy, the graphics are in black and white. Examples of black-cartridge games are Pokémon Yellow, Gold, and Silver (however, the actual colors of these three cartridges are yellow, gold, and silver, respectively). Games such as Wario Land II DX, The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX, and Tetris DX were full-color re-releases of gray-cartridge games with additional content. About one quarter of Game Boy Color releases were black-cartridge games. Some black cartridges have Super Game Boy enhancements.
• Clear cartridges are compatible with Game Boy Color and later systems, excluding Game Boy Micro. 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).
• Advance cartridges are half the size of all earlier cartridges and are compatible with Game Boy Advance and later systems. Some Cartridges are colored to resemble the game (usually for the Pokémon series. Pokemon Emerald for example, being emerald green). They are also compatible with Nintendo DS; however, due to its lack of a link-cable port, the Nintendo DS cannot utilize any of the multiplayer modes of any Game Boy Advance titles or even connect to a GameCube. Some Advance cartridges have built-in features, including rumble features (Drill Dozer), tilt sensors (WarioWare: Twisted!, Yoshi Topsy-Turvy), and solar sensors (Boktai).

Popularity

Most game consoles become obsolete as newer systems become available. The Game Boy is unique in its stamina. 2004 brought about its 15th anniversary and in that time it has seen off many (often technically superior) rivals; most notably the Sega Game Gear and the Atari Lynx. Thousands of 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 is able to play the large library of Game Boy Advance games. However, it cannot play multiplayer GBA games or link to the Nintendo GameCube, and it is not backward-compatible at all with the original Game Boy or the Game Boy Color due to the lack of a Z80 processor.

Popular culture

• The short-lived 1980s cartoon series Captain N: The Game Master featured a larger-than-life-sized Game Boy character, who communicated via faces on its screen.
• On the TV Show, Two of a Kind, Ashley Olsen is seen playing a Game Boy Color while she is bored at a sleep over.
• Thomas Ian Nicholas' character plays "Tetris" for Game Boy in the 1993 film Rookie of the Year. Gary Busey's character Chet Steadman tells him, "That's gonna make you stupid." When the kid doesn't answer him, Chet replies, "I guess it already did."
• Numerous musical acts have appropriated the Game Boy as a musical instrument (Game Boy music), using software such as nanoloop or Little Sound DJ. Notably: Hadouken!, 6955, Bit Shifter, Bubblyfish, Covox, Cow'P, dot.matrix, FirestARTer, Gameboy Music Club, Gameboyzz Orchestra, Glomag, Goto80, Lo-bat, Bud Melvin, Nullsleep, OMAC, Role Model, Saitone, Uoki-Toki etc.
• An episode of Malcolm in the Middle titled "Forwards Backwards" has a scene where Dewey plays a pink Gameboy Advance.
• An episode of Yu-Gi-Oh! titled "Showdown in the Shadows (1)" has a scene where Yugi Muto's mind enters the Millenium Puzzle to find a mess of various children's toys. One of the closeups bears a very close resemblance to the Game Boy Advance with a few GBA game cartridges, but the games and console do not bear the Nintendo logo.
• In the 2002 film Men in Black II Agent K has a problem using the new control stick (which resembles a Play Station controller). To which Agent J responds, "Didn't your Mom give you to play with a Game Boy or something". Agent K asks with flustration in his voice, "What is a Game boy?"
• In the animated film, Eight Crazy Nights by Adam Sandler, a boy named Benjamin shows a Hanukkah present that he got. The present is a Game Boy Advance and another character, Whitey, who is elderly, mistakes it for an Etch-A-Sketch.
• Bobby Hill from the animated series, King of the Hill, is often seen playing with his Game Boy.
• In The Simpsons episode, "Thank God It's Doomsday", while Bart and Lisa are getting hair cuts, Bart is playing an Itchy and Scratchy game on a hand-held video game that is designed exactly like the original gameboy. There is, however, no visible Nintendo logo, and the screen is in color, as opposed to the "pea-soup" coloring of the Game Boy.
• In The Beach by Alex Garland, the Game Boy makes an appearance. In fact, one of the errands to the mainland is to buy batteries for the Game Boy.
• In the TV series House, House is frequently seen playing a Game Boy Advance or a Nintendo DS when he is supposed to be working.
• In the movie What About Bob?, the character Sigmund 'Siggy' Marvin played by Charlie Korsmo is seen playing an original gray Game Boy while talking to Bill Murray on a boat dock.
• In the anime FLCL, one of the main characters, Haruhara Haruko, refers to the entire gameboy line as well as the Virtual Boy. While she never mentions the words Game Boy, She does say Virtual, Original, Color, Pocket, and Advance.

See also

• List of games for the original Game Boy
• List of Game Boy Color games
• List of Game Boy Advance games
• List of Game Boy colors and styles
• List of Player's Choice games
• List of Super Game Boy games

External links

• Official website
• DMG Ice - A non-emulation Game Boy website.
• Game Boy Galleria - pictures of the various models and color variations