Game Boy

The Game Boy (Japanese: ??????) is a series of battery-powered handheld game consoles sold by Nintendo. It is the best-selling game system to date.

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

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Game Boy

The original Game Boy was released on April 21, 1989 in Japan and in August, 1989 in the United States. Based around a Z80 processor, it had a tiny black and green reflective LCD screen, an eight-way directional pad, and two action buttons. It played games from ROM-based media contained in small plastic detachable units called cartridges (sometimes abbreviated as carts). The game that really pushed it into the upper reaches of success was Tetris. Originally only available in neutral grey color, Nintendo released several colored Game Boy models in 1995, advertising them in the Play it Loud! campaign.

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;CPU: Custom 8-bit Sharp Z80 at 4.194304 MHz (has a slightly different instruction set than a standard Z80, and integrated sound generation)

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;RAM: 8 kByte internal S-RAM

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;Video RAM: 8 kByte internal

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;ROM: 256 kbit, 512 kbit, 1 Mbit, 2 Mbit and 4 Mbit and 8 Mbit cartridges

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;Sound: 4 channel stereo sound. The unit only has one speaker, but headphones provide stereo sound

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;Display: Reflective LCD 160 x 144 pixels

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;Screen Size: 66 mm (2.6 in) diagonal

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;Color Palette: 4 shades of "gray" (green to black)

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;Communication: Up to 4 Game Boys can be linked together via serial ports

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;Power: 6 V, 0.7 W (4 AA batteries provide ~35 hours)

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Game Boy Pocket

In 1996 Nintendo released the Game Boy Pocket, a smaller, lighter unit that required fewer batteries. It had space for 2 AAA batteries, which would provide roughly 10 hours of game play. The Game Boy Pocket has a smaller link port, requiring an adapter for linkage with the older Game Boy. The port's design was used on all subsequent Game Boy models, up until the 2005 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 didn't have a LED to show battery levels, but was soon added due to public demand.

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Game Boy Light

Only available in Japan, the Game Boy Light was about the same size as the Pocket and has a backlit screen for improved visibility. It uses 2 AA batteries which give it approximately 20 hours with the light off and 12 with it on.

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The Game Boy Light is the rarest Game Boy variant outside of Japan. Due to its rarity, it often sells for many times more than the other models.

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Game Boy Color

Released in November of 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, twice as much memory, and an infrared communications port. A major draw of the Game Boy Color was its backward compatibility (that is, a Game Boy Color is able to read older Game Boy cartridges). This 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.

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Game Boy Advance

In 2001, Nintendo released a significant upgrade to the Game Boy line. The Game Boy Advance featured a 32 bit 16.8 MHz ARM processor, along with a Z80 processor to support original Game Boy games. It was technically likened to the Super Nintendo and was backed up with technologically superior ports of classics such as Super Mario Bros. 2, alongside new titles such as Mario Kart Super Circuit, ', and Kuru Kuru Kururin. It is often referred to as GBA.

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Game Boy Advance SP

The SP version (launched in March 2003) featured a new smaller clamshell design with a flip-up screen, an internal frontlight, and rechargeable battery, but was otherwise unchanged. The SP stands for Special http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/systems/gameboyadvance_sp/faq.jsp#sp. In mid September 2005, Nintendo released a new edition of the Game Boy Advance SP that featured a new and improved backlit screen.

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Game Boy Micro

A second Game Boy Advance redesign (third design), the Game Boy Micro is four inches wide, two inches tall and less than an inch deep and weighs 2.8 ounces, by far the smallest Game Boy created. It has the brightest screen ever made by Nintendo and is slightly smaller than the SP or GBA screens for higher resolution. The Game Boy Micro is not backwards compatible with Game Boy or Game Boy Color games. In Japan, it was released on September 13th. In North America, it came out on September 19th and retail for $99.99. The European release date is November 4th.

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Nintendo DS

The Nintendo DS launched on November 21, 2004 in North America and December 2, 2004 in Japan, making it unusual as a Nintendo device to launch in North America before Japan. While it is not actually part of the Game Boy line (Nintendo actually refers to it as their third pillar; their home consoles (such as the Nintendo GameCube) being the first pillar, and their Game Boy line of portables being the second pillar), the Nintendo DS can be considered a part of the portable family due to structural similarities to Game Boy and its ability to play Game Boy Advance cartridges (but not Game Boy Color or original Game Boy cartridges).

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Game Boy related Images and Photos (experimental)

Boy	Boy	Sorry! Game	Curses! Game
The Game: LAX	The Game: LAX	The Game: LAX	The Game: LAX
Boy George	Big Boy (DVD)	Boy Friend, The (1971) (Remastered)	Pajama Game, The (DVD)