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] close Game Boy From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia For the entire Game Boy line of handheld consoles, see Game Boy line. Game Boy Gameboy logo.svg Nintendo Gameboy.jpg Manufacturer Nintendo Product family Game Boy line Type Handheld game console Generation Fourth generation Retail availability JP April 21, 1989[1] NA July 31, 1989[2] EU September 28, 1990 Discontinued March 23, 2003[3] Units sold Worldwide: 118.69 million (including Game Boy (Play it Loud!), G ame Boy Pocket, Game Boy Light and Color units) Game Boy: 87.66 million Game Boy Color: 31.03 million Media Game Boy cartridges, referred to as Game Paks. Best-selling game Tetris, 30.26 million (pack-in/separately) Pokmon Red and Blue, 23.64 million approximately (as of January 18, 2009).[4] Predecessor Game & Watch Successor Game Boy Pocket (redesign) Game Boy Light (redesign) Game Boy Color (successor)[citation needed] The Game Boy (?????? Gemu Boi?) is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in No rth America in August 1989, and in Europe on September 28, 1990. It is the first handheld console in the Game Boy line, and was created by Gunpei Yokoi and Nint endo Research & Development 1 the same staff who had designed the Game & Watch ser ies as well as several popular games for the Nintendo Entertainment System.[5] R edesigned versions were released in 1996 and 1998, in the form of Game Boy Pocke t, and Game Boy Light (Japan only), respectively. The Game Boy is Nintendo's second handheld system following the Game & Watch ser ies introduced in 1980, and it combined features from both the Nintendo Entertai nment System and Game & Watch.[5] It was originally bundled with the puzzle game Tetris.[6] As part of the fourth generation of gaming, the Game Boy competed with the Sega Game Gear, Atari Lynx, and the TurboExpress. Despite these other technologically superior handheld consoles,[7] the Game Boy was a tremendous success. The Game Boy and its successor,[citation needed] the Game Boy Color, have both combined s old 118.69 million units worldwide. Upon its release in the United States, it so ld its entire shipment of one million units within weeks.[8] Contents 1 Hardware 1.1 Technical specifications 2 Games 2.1 Japan launch titles

4 5 6 7

2.2 North American launch titles 2.3 European launch titles Revisions 3.1 Play It Loud! 3.2 Game Boy Pocket 3.3 Game Boy Light Reception See also References External links

Hardware The right side of the Game Boy, showing the volume control and the extension con nector, with detached protector. The Game Boy has four operation buttons labeled "A", "B", "SELECT", and "START", as well as a directional pad.[9] There is a volume control dial on the right si de of the console and a similar knob on the left side to adjust the contrast.[10 ] At the top of the Game Boy, a sliding on-off switch and the slot for the Game Boy cartridges are located.[11] Nintendo recommends users leave a cartridge in t he slot to prevent dust and dirt from entering the system.[12] The Game Boy also contains optional input and/or output connectors. On the left side of the system is an external power supply jack that allows users to use an external rechargeable battery pack or AC adapter (sold separately) instead of fo ur AA batteries.[13] The Game Boy requires 6 V DC of at least 150 mA.[14] A 3.5 mm stereo headphone jack is located on the bottom side of the console which allo ws users to listen to the audio with headphones or speakers.[15] On the right side is a port that allows a user to connect to another Game Boy sy stem via a link cable, provided both users are playing the same game.[16] The po rt can also be used to connect a Game Boy Printer. The link cable was originally designed for players to play head-to-head two-player games such as in Tetris. H owever, game developer Satoshi Tajiri would later use the link cable technology as a method of communication and networking in the popular Pokmon video game seri es.[17] Technical specifications A Game Boy, opened Main article: Comparison of Nintendo portable consoles CPU: Custom 8-bit Sharp LR35902[18] core at 4.19 MHz. This processor is simi lar to an Intel 8080 in that none of the registers introduced in the Z80 are pre sent. However, some of the Z80's instruction set enhancements over the stock 808 0, particularly bit manipulation, are present. Still other instructions are uniq ue to this particular flavor of Z80 CPU. The core also contains integrated sound generation.[19] RAM: 8 kB internal S-RAM[20] (can be extended up to 32 kB)[21] Video RAM: 8 kB internal[21] ROM: On-CPU-Die 256-byte bootstrap;[22] 256 kb, 512 kb, 1 Mb, 2 Mb, 4 Mb and 8 Mb cartridges Sound: 2 pulse wave generators, 1 PCM 4-bit wave sample (64 4-bit samples pl ayed in 164 bank or 232 bank) channel, 1 noise generator, and one audio input from the cartridge.[23] The unit only has one speaker, but headphones provide stereo sound (for further information, see Game Boy music) Display: Reflective STN LCD[24] 160 144 pixels[21] Frame Rate: Approx. 59.7 frames per second on a regular Game Boy, 61.1 on a Super Game Boy[25] Vertical Blank Rate: Approx 1.1 ms[25] Screen size: 66 mm (2.6 in) diagonal[19] Color Palette: 2-bit (4 shades of "gray" {light to very dark olive green})[2

1] Communication: Up ports, up to 4 with a Power: 6 V, 0.7 W Dimensions: 90 mm Games Japan launch titles Super Mario Land Alleyway Baseball Yakuman North American launch titles Tetris Alleyway Baseball Super Mario Land Tennis European launch titles Tetris Alleyway Super Mario Land Revisions Play It Loud! Transparent Game Boy Play It Loud! On January 1, 1995, Nintendo released several Game Boy models with colored cases , advertising them in the "Play It Loud!" campaign[26] (Japanese name: Game Boy Bros. /?????????/???????????). Specifications for this unit remain exactly the s ame as the original Game Boy, including the monochromatic screen. This new line of colored Game Boys would set a precedent for later Nintendo handhelds; the Gam e Boy Pocket, the Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance (including the SP and Micro), Nintendo DS (including the Lite, DSi, DSi XL), and Nintendo 3DS (including XL) all feature different colored units. Play It Loud! units were manufactured in re d, green, black, yellow, white, blue, and clear (transparent) cases. The blue ed ition, for reasons unknown, was never depicted in any commercials or magazine ad vertisements in the United States, and is much harder to find than the other six . A very rare, limited edition Manchester United Game Boy is red, with the logos of the team emblazoned on it. It was released simultaneously with the Play it L oud! handhelds in the United Kingdom. The Play It Loud's screens also have a dar ker border than the normal Game Boy. Game Boy Pocket The 1st release Game Boy Pocket In 1996, Nintendo released the Game Boy Pocket: a smaller, lighter unit that req uires fewer batteries. It has space for two AAA batteries, which provides approx imately 10 hours of game play. The Pocket has a smaller link port, which require s an adapter to link with the older Game Boy. The port design is used on all sub sequent 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 displa y of the original Game Boy. Also, the Game Boy Pocket (GBP) has a larger screen than the Game Boy Color (GBC) that later superseded it. The GBP's screen has a 6 5 mm (2.56 in) diagonal, 48.5 mm (1.91 in) width, and 43.5 mm (1.71 in) height, compared to a 59 mm (2.32 in) diagonal for the GBC. Although, like its predecess to 2 Game Boys can be linked together via built-in serial DMG-07 4-player adapter.[21] (4 AA batteries provide 15 30+ hours)[24] (W) 148 mm (H) 32 mm (D) / 3.5? 5.8? 1.3? [24]

or, the Game Boy Pocket has no backlight to allow play in a darkened area, it di d notably improve visibility and pixel response-time (virtually eliminating vide o ghosting). The first version did not have a power LED. This was soon added due to public demand, along with new Game Boy Pocket units of different colors (rel eased on April 28, 1997), some of them new to the Game Boy line. There were seve ral limited-edition Game Boy Pockets including a metallic Ice Blue unit and a pi nk model exclusive to Japan. The Game Boy Pocket was not a new software platform and played the same software as the original Game Boy model. Game Boy Light Game Boy Light The Game Boy Light was released on April 14, 1997 for 6,800[27] and was only avai lable in Japan. The Game Boy Light is only slightly bigger than the Game Boy Poc ket and features an Electroluminescent backlight for low-light conditions. It us es 2 AA batteries, which gave it approximately 20 hours with the light off and 1 2 with it on. It was available in two standard colors; Gold and Silver, as well as numerous special editions- an Astro Boy edition with a clear case with an Ast ro Boy picture on it, an Osamu Tezuka World shop edition with a clear red case a nd a picture of his characters, a solid yellow Pokmon Center Tokyo version, a cle ar 'skeleton' Famitsu edition which had only 5,000 units released, and a clear y ellow edition separate from the Pokmon Center Tokyo version. It was the only handheld Nintendo produced with a lit screen until the release o f the Game Boy Advance SP in 2003. Reception In its first two weeks in Japan, from its release on April 21, 1989, the entire stock consisting of 300,000 units was sold; a few months later, the Game Boy's r elease in the United States on July 31, 1989 saw 40,000 units sold on its first day.[28] The Game Boy and Game Boy Color combined have sold 118.69 million units worldwide, with 32.47 million units in Japan, 44.06 million in the Americas, an d 42.16 million in other regions. By Japanese fiscal year 1997, before Game Boy Color's release in late-1998, the Game Boy alone had sold 64.42 million units wo rldwide.[3][29] At the time of its release, the Atari Lynx was also just being introduced to the market. This system featured color graphics, a backlit screen, and networking c apabilities.[30] However, its release price of $189.95 and substantial requireme nt of 6 AA batteries that would provide roughly only four or five hours of gamep lay (compared to 10 12 hours on 4 AA batteries and a release price of $89.99 for t he Game Boy) doomed it to a second-rate status.[31] Nintendo also experienced he avy competition from Sega's Game Gear. To promote its new color console, Sega ai red a number of negative ad campaigns in the United States that mocked the Game Boy's monochrome display compared to Game Gear's full color display. Like the Ly nx, it too required six AA batteries that only lasted about 4 6 hours and was much more expensive than the Game Boy;[32] however, the Game Gear had the advantage of being fully compatible (with an adapter) with all Master System games. While not as successful as the Game Boy, it sold from 1991 until early 1997,[33] and s old around 11 million units in total. In 1995, Nintendo of America announced that 46% of Game Boy players were female, which was higher than the percentage of female players for both the Nintendo En tertainment System (29%) and Super Nintendo Entertainment System (14%).[34] In 2 009, the Game Boy was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame, 20 years afte r its introduction.[35] As of June 6, 2011, Game Boy and Game Boy Color games ar e available on the Virtual Console service on the Nintendo 3DS's Nintendo eShop. [36] See also Portal icon Nintendo portal Portal icon 1980s portal

Portal icon

1990s portal

List of Game Boy colors and styles List of games for the original Game Boy Game Boy accessories (description of some selected accessories) Game Boy Advance Game Boy line Microvision, the first handheld to use cartridges References Jump up ^ "retrodiary: 1 April 28 April". Retro Gamer (Bournemouth: Imagine Publishing) (88): 17. April 2011. ISSN 1742-3155. OCLC 489477015. Jump up ^ White, Dave (July 1989). "Gameboy Club". Electronic Gaming Monthly (3): 68. ^ Jump up to: a b "Consolidated Sales Transition by Region" (PDF). Nintendo. 2010-01-27. Archived from the original on 2010-02-14. Retrieved 2010-02-14. Jump up ^ "ELSPA Sales Awards: Platinum". Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association. Archived from the original on 2009-05-15. Retrieved 200 9-01-18. ^ Jump up to: a b Beuscher, Dave. "allgame ((( Game Boy > Overview )))". All game. Retrieved 2008-09-11. "A team headed by Gumpei Yokoi designed the Game Boy . Yokoi had previously designed hand held games for Nintendo with the cartridge based Game & Watch system, introduced in 1980. His staff, called Research and De velopment (R and D) team #1, had designed the successful NES games Metroid and K id Icarus. What Yokoi's team did was create a hybrid of the NES and the Game & W atch systems.." Jump up ^ McFerran, Damien. "The Making of Gameboy". Issue. Retro Gamer Maga zine. pp. 42 47. Retrieved 2011-01-30. Jump up ^ "AtariAge - Lynx History". AtariAge. Retrieved 2010-08-23. "Releas ed in 1989, the Lynx offered multi-player functionality, 3D graphic capabilities , reversible controls, and a backlit color LCD screen." Jump up ^ Kent 2001, p. 416. "According to an article in Time magazine, the one million Game Boys sent to the United States in 1989 met only half the demand for the product. That allotment sold out in a matter of weeks and its black and white (except for Konami/Factor 5 games and SeaQuest DSV,, was shown in color l ike the Game Gear version." Jump up ^ Owner's Manual, p. 5. "(12) Operation buttons The controls for pla ying games. (See game manuals for button functions.)" Jump up ^ Owner's Manual, pp. 4 5. "(5) Volume dial (VOL) Adjusts the sound vo lume (7)Contrast adjustment (CONTRAST) Adjusts the contrast of the display." Jump up ^ Owner's Manual, pp. 3 4. "(3) Game Pak slot Insert the Nintendo GAME BOY Game Pak here. (See page 7 for instructions on inserting Game Pak)" Jump up ^ Owner's Manual, p. 10. "To avoid dust and dirt getting in the Game Boy unit, always leave a Game Pak inserted when not in use." Jump up ^ Owner's Manual, p. 4. "(2) External power supply jack You can conn ect a Rechargeable Battery Pack (sold separately) for longer play." Jump up ^ "Nintendo Game Boy (DMG-001)". Vidgame.net. 2006. Archived from th e original on 2008-02-11. Retrieved 2006-08-22. Jump up ^ Owner's Manual, p. 5. "(10) Headphone jack (PHONES) Connect the st ereo headphones that come with the GAME BOY to enjoy the impressive sounds of ga mes without disturbing others around you...." Jump up ^ Owner's Manual, pp. 4, 8. "(4) Extension connector (EXT CONNECTOR) Connects to other GAME BOY Do not insert different games in the interconnected Ga me Boys." Jump up ^ Masuyama, Meguro (2002). "Pokmon as Japanese Culture?". In Lucien K ing. Game On. New York, NY: Universe Publishing. p. 39. ISBN 0-7893-0778-2. "Pokm on allowed more than metaphorical communication; it made use of a system that cr eated actual communication a network game." Jump up ^ nintendods (2004-09-29). "??? Nintendo DS ??? : ???????GB????????

(Game Boy hardware dissection)" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2009-01-02. ^ Jump up to: a b DP. "GameBoy CPU Manual". Retrieved 3 June 2011. Jump up ^ Jeff Frohwin. "Gameboy Internals (CPU Section)". Retrieved 2011-06 -03. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Rawer, Marc. "The Gameboy Project: 1.1 Technical Det ails". Retrieved 3 June 2011. Jump up ^ GameBoy Development Wiki (2009-11-12). "Gameboy Bootstrap ROM". Re trieved 2010-10-24. Jump up ^ "Game Boy - 8bc Chiptune Wiki". 2008-11-05. Archived from the orig inal on 2008-02-21. Retrieved 2009-03-26. ^ Jump up to: a b c Amos, Evan (1989). "GameBoy : User Manual, Page 12". Nin tendo of America. Retrieved 2011-02-12. ^ Jump up to: a b Fruttenboel Gameboy Section (2009-08-22). "GameBoy : Using the GameBoy skeleton for serious business (Interrupt Descriptions)". Retrieved 2010-03-25. Jump up ^ "Color it loud with hot new Game Boys; Game Boy reflects players o wn style with five exciting new colors". Retrieved 2009-11-03. Jump up ^ "Nintendo Japan Game Boy Light official homepage". Retrieved 200911-03. Jump up ^ Fahs, Travis. "IGN Presents the History of Game Boy". IGN. IGN Ent ertainment, Inc. p. 2. Retrieved 2 October 2013. Jump up ^ "A Brief History of Game Console Warfare: Game Boy". BusinessWeek. McGraw-Hill. Retrieved 2008-07-30. "Game Boy and Game Boy Color's combined life time sales reached 118.7 million worldwide, according to Nintendo's latest annua l report." Jump up ^ "The Atari Lynx". ataritimes.com. 2006. Archived from the original on 2006-08-29. Retrieved 2006-08-20. Jump up ^ Beuscher, Dave. "allgame ((( Atari Lynx > Overview )))". Allgame. Retrieved 2008-09-21. "One drawback to the Lynx system is its power consumption. It requires 6 AA batteries, which allow four to five hours of game play. The Ni ntendo Game Boy provides close to 35 hours use before new batteries are necessar y." Jump up ^ Bauscher, Dave. "allgame ((( Sega Game Gear > Overview )))". Allga me. Retrieved 2008-09-21. "While this feature is not included on the Game Boy it does provide a disadvantage the Game Gear requires 6 AA batteries that only last up to six hours. The Nintendo Game Boy only requires 4 AA batteries and is capab le of providing up to 35 hours of play." Jump up ^ Bauscher, Dave. "allgame ((( Sega Game Gear > Overview )))". Allga me. Retrieved 2008-09-21. "Eventually, a peripheral called the Master System Con verter was released enabling Sega Master System cartridges to be played on Game Gear The Game Gear sold well for Sega but it did not become a phenomenon like Gam e Boy. In 1991 Sega sold over 500,000 units. In 1992 Sega sold 900,000 Game Gear consoles." Jump up ^ "Makers Of Games Focus On Girls". The Gainesville Sun. Jan 15, 199 5. p. 15. Retrieved 18 March 2012. Jump up ^ "''Ball, Game Boy, Big Wheel enter toy hall of fame'', retrieved 5 Nov 2009". Rbj.net. Retrieved 2010-08-03. Jump up ^ Reilly, Jim. "GDC: TurboGrafx 16, Game Gear Hit 3DS". IGN/com. Ret rieved 18 July 2011. Game Boy Compact Video Game System Owner's Manual. Nintendo. 1989. DMG-GB-UK V. Kent, Steven L. (2001). The Ultimate History of Video Games (1st ed.). Rosev ille, CA: Prima Publishing. ISBN 0-7615-3643-4. Hand-held electronic game - Design patent for the case External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Game Boy. Official website

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