Nintendo blessed the world on April 21, 1989 with a revolutionary device. The brain child of the same people who created the Game & Watch, the Game Boy made portable gaming available to all. While this is actually Nintendo's second handheld system, many refer to it as the first. It was the herald to the Game Boy era of gaming, as well as laid the foundation future handhelds by the company. The Game Boy was a participant in the fourth generation of gaming.
With the D-pad controller and four buttons: A, B, Start and Select, it shared the same set up as the Nintendo Entertainment System controller. Because of the familiar look and controls, gamers and developers were attracted to it. This also meant that it was easy for developers to convert games from the hugely successful NES to the new handheld machine. Later down the life of this beauty, one could get Final Fantasy Adventure, Metroid, Castlevania and several Mega Man games.
Although there were handhelds with superior hardware and more capabilities, the Game Boy beat them all out. This was due to pricing, the size, games and battery life. It was reported that the original shipment of one million units were sold out in a few weeks. Nearly anybody who could afford one had one in their pocket. It was original bundled with Tetris. People could also buy Super Mario Land around the time at the release along with various ports from the NES. What really made the Game Boy stick around was the debut of pocket monsters; Pokémon Red and Blue. The Pokemon series has since become a staple in Nintendo game line up on their handhelds. Pokemon was know to unitize the link cable, however, other games like Tetris and Yoshi's Cookie.
With the first version of the device lacking a power LED and coming in one color, several redesigns were made. With the arrival of the 'Play It Loud Series' in 1995, there was seven new colorful shells for the Boy. Also, there were two versions of the Game Boy made; the Game Boy Light and the Game Boy Pocket. The wonder was finally discontinued March 23, 2003. It still lives in our hearts of many.SpecificationsCPU: 6502 8-bit Resolution: 256x224 (NTSC) or 256x239 (PAL)RAM: 8 kB internal S-RAMVideo RAM: 8 kB internalDisplay: Reflective STN LCDSound: One speaker, 4 channelsPower: DC6V 0.7, 4 AA batteriesGame LibraryWario Land: Super Mario Land 3Pokémon Red and BlueMetroid II: Return of SamusThe Legend of Zelda: Link's AwakeningKirby’s DreamlandMole ManiaKid Icarus: Of Myths and MonstersDuckTalesGame Boy WarsAccessoriesGame Boy CameraGame Boy PrinterGame Boy battery packMobile adaptorGame Link CableBarcode Boy
With the D-pad controller and four buttons: A, B, Start and Select, it shared the same set up as the Nintendo Entertainment System controller. Because of the familiar look and controls, gamers and developers were attracted to it. This also meant that it was easy for developers to convert games from the hugely successful NES to the new handheld machine. Later down the life of this beauty, one could get Final Fantasy Adventure, Metroid, Castlevania and several Mega Man games.
Although there were handhelds with superior hardware and more capabilities, the Game Boy beat them all out. This was due to pricing, the size, games and battery life. It was reported that the original shipment of one million units were sold out in a few weeks. Nearly anybody who could afford one had one in their pocket. It was original bundled with Tetris. People could also buy Super Mario Land around the time at the release along with various ports from the NES. What really made the Game Boy stick around was the debut of pocket monsters; Pokémon Red and Blue. The Pokemon series has since become a staple in Nintendo game line up on their handhelds. Pokemon was know to unitize the link cable, however, other games like Tetris and Yoshi's Cookie.
With the first version of the device lacking a power LED and coming in one color, several redesigns were made. With the arrival of the 'Play It Loud Series' in 1995, there was seven new colorful shells for the Boy. Also, there were two versions of the Game Boy made; the Game Boy Light and the Game Boy Pocket. The wonder was finally discontinued March 23, 2003. It still lives in our hearts of many.SpecificationsCPU: 6502 8-bit Resolution: 256x224 (NTSC) or 256x239 (PAL)RAM: 8 kB internal S-RAMVideo RAM: 8 kB internalDisplay: Reflective STN LCDSound: One speaker, 4 channelsPower: DC6V 0.7, 4 AA batteriesGame LibraryWario Land: Super Mario Land 3Pokémon Red and BlueMetroid II: Return of SamusThe Legend of Zelda: Link's AwakeningKirby’s DreamlandMole ManiaKid Icarus: Of Myths and MonstersDuckTalesGame Boy WarsAccessoriesGame Boy CameraGame Boy PrinterGame Boy battery packMobile adaptorGame Link CableBarcode Boy
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