Appendix:Game Boy

Game Boy
ゲームボーイ
Release dates
Japan	April 21, 1989
N. America	July 31, 1989
Europe	September 28, 1990

The Game Boy (Japanese: ゲームボーイ Game Boy), Nintendo's flagship handheld console, was first released in 1989, and even today, nine years later, is the best selling handheld console of all time. It can play the Pocket Monster games Pocket Monsters Red and Green and Pocket Monsters Blue.

Gunpei Yokoi is credited with playing a key role in its development and release. The Pocket Monster game franchise is widely considered to be one of the driving forces behind Game Boy sales.

Technical specifications

• 160x144 pixel resolution
• 2-bit color
• 8 KB RAM.
• Full list

Versions

Game Boy

The first Game Boy was released in 1989. This original Game Boy was large and gray, with a monochrome dot matrix screen and monaural sound. It was playable for an average of 35 hours with four AA batteries. Many peripherals have been released for it, the more popular ones being the Game Boy Printer and Game Boy Camera, both of which have only been released in Japan.

Game Boy Pocket

Main article: Game Boy Pocket

The Game Boy Pocket was released in 1996 as a replacement for the original Game Boy. The Game Boy Pocket has a smaller frame, a larger screen, and a higher resolution display. Another somewhat minor improvement is that the system takes two AAA batteries instead of four AA, effectively helping to lighten its weight.

The Game Boy Pocket's link cable port is smaller than the original Game Boy's, requiring either an adapter or a special two-headed link cable to communicate. The Game Boy Pocket's link cable port is also used on the Game Boy Light.

Game Boy Light

Main article: Game Boy Light

The Game Boy Light is a system that was released exclusively in Japan in 1997. It is similar to the Game Boy Pocket, but with the addition of an indigo back-lit screen. The Game Boy Light uses two AA batteries, which provide approximately 20 hours of gameplay with the light off and 12 hours with the light on. The Game Boy Light is available in two standard colors: gold and silver. A yellow Pokemon Center Tokyo special edition was also released.

Trivia

A Game Boy that was damaged in the Gulf War

• At the Nintendo World store, there is a Game Boy on display that survived an explosion in the Gulf War. While the screen had to be replaced, the internal circuitry was still operational without any modification. It has a Tetris game pak inserted in it, and it displays the title screen of the game.

External links

• Nintendo (Japanese)