Game Boy

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For the entire Game Boy line of handheld consoles, see Game Boy line.
Game Boy
Manufacturer Nintendo
Product family Game Boy line
Type Handheld game console
Generation Fourth generation era
Retail availability JP April 21, 1989
NA July 31, 1989
EU September 28, 1990
Units sold Worldwide: 118.69 million, including Game Boy Color units
Media Game Boy cartridges.
Best-selling game Tetris, 33 million (pack-in/separately).
Pokémon Red, Blue, and Green, approximately 20.08 million combined (in Japan and the US).
Predecessor Game & Watch
Successor Game Boy Pocket

The Game Boy (ゲームボーイ Gēmu Bōi?) is an 8-bit handheld video game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on April 21, 1989 (1989-04-21), in North America on July 31, 1989 (1989-07-31), and in Europe on September 28, 1990 (1990-09-28). In Southern Asia, it is known as the "Tata Game Boy"[1][vague][2] It is the first handheld console in the Game Boy line. It was created by Gunpei Yokoi and Nintendo's Research and Development 1—the same staff who had designed the Game & Watch series as well as several popular games for the NES.[3]

The Game Boy was Nintendo's second handheld system following the Game & Watch series introduced in 1980, and it combined features from both the Nintendo Entertainment System and Game & Watch.[3] It was also the first handheld game to use video game cartridges since Milton Bradley's Microvision handheld console. It was originally bundled with the puzzle game Tetris.

Despite many other, technologically superior handheld consoles introduced during its lifetime, the Game Boy was a tremendous success. The Game Boy and Game Boy Color combined have sold 118.69 million units worldwide. Upon its release in the United States, it sold its entire shipment of one million units within weeks.[4]

Contents

[edit] Features

The Game Boy's main controls for playing games are located on the lower half of its front frame. The Game Boy has four operation buttons labeled "A", "B", "SELECT", and "START" as well as a directional pad. The functions of these buttons vary from game to game.[5] There is a volume control dial on the right side of the console and a similar knob to adjust the contrast on the left side.[6] A sliding on-off switch, as well as the slot for the Game Boy cartridges are located at the top of the Game Boy[7] Normally, users leave the cartridge in the system as recommended by Nintendo to prevent dust and dirt from entering the system.[8]

The right side of the Game Boy, showing the volume control and the extension connector.
A Red Game Boy with the Game Genie in it with the Tetris cartridge.

The Game Boy also contains the following optional input/output connectors. On the left side of the system is an external power supply jack that allows users to use a rechargeable battery pack instead of batteries; the rechargeable battery pack, which included a power adapter, was sold separately.[9] Separate editions of the battery pack were made for 110V and 230V countries. The Game Boy requires 6V DC of at least 250mA.[10] Finally, a 3.5 mm stereo headphone jack is located on the bottom side of the console which allows users to listen to the sounds from the system without anyone else listening to it.[11]

On the right side is an external connector port that allows a user to connect to another Game Boy system via a link cable, provided both users are playing the same game.[12] The port can also be used to connect a Game Boy Printer.[citation needed] The link cable was originally designed for players to play head–to–head two–player games such as in Tetris. However, game developer Satoshi Tajiri would later use the link cable technology as a method of communication and networking in the popular Pokémon video game series including Pokémon Red and Blue and Pokémon Gold and Silver.[13]

[edit] Reception

The red and grey Game Boy together.
A transparent model.

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, and 42.16 million in other regions.[14][15]

At the time of its release in 1989, the Atari Lynx was also just being introduced to the market. This system featured color graphics, a backlit screen, and networking capabilities.[16] However, its release price of $179[citation needed] and substantial requirement of 6 AA batteries that would provide roughly only four or five hours of gameplay (compared to 10-12 hours on 4 AA batteries for the Game Boy) doomed it to a second-rate status.[17] Nintendo also experienced heavy competition from Sega's Game Gear. To promote its new color console, Sega aired a number of negative but unsuccessful ad campaigns in the United States that criticized the Game Boy's monochrome color palette. Like the Lynx, it too required six AA batteries that only lasted about 4–6 hours and was much more expensive than the Game Boy.[18] The Game Gear had the advantage of being fully compatible (with an adapter) with all Sega Master System games and, while not as successful as the Game Boy, it sold from 1991 until early 1997.[19]

Official Nintendo Magazine has praised the Game Boy and its models that follow it as it "got people who enjoyed gaming while sprawled on the couch in their undies to game wherever they liked."

[edit] Accessories

See also: Game Boy accessories

Several accessories compatible with the Game Boy were also produced:

  • The Game Boy Battery Pack (or AC Adapter), sold for about US$30, was roughly 3 in. long, 2 in. wide, and 0.5 in. thick. One end of it had a 2 inch-long cord, ending in a 3.5 mm audio jack, while the other end had a standard mains plug. The first version of it was gray with purple lettering, to match the colors used on the Game Boy. It also featured a belt clip. The battery pack was good for several hours of gameplay per charge, providing an alternative to purchasing more AA batteries once their power was exhausted. The product used nickel-cadmium batteries, lasted about 4–5 hours per charge, and could be charged roughly 1000 times before a significant loss in effectiveness. A major drawback of the battery pack was its weight, as well as the way the phone plug stuck out prominently.[20]
  • The Game Link Cable an accessory that established a data connection between two Game Boys using the same game or game from the same series.
  • The 4-player adapter (DMG-07) was a special link adapter for certain games which supported more than 2 players, such as F1-Race (up to 4 players) and Faceball 2000 (up to 16 players).
  • Released in 1998, the Game Boy Camera was able to take pictures that could be printed out using the Game Boy Printer. The photos were in black and white only, and the resolution of the pictures was 128 x 123. Both the Game Boy Camera and Game Boy Printer products were marketed together in Japan, the United States, and Europe, primarily towards children.
  • The Work Boy was an unreleased accessory for the Game Boy which included a mini keyboard that plugged into the link cable outlet. The Work Boy cartridge featured such programs as a clock, calendar, measurement conversion, and a phone book. This accessory was described in Volume 36 (May, 1992) of Nintendo Power.

[edit] Technical specifications

 This section needs additional citations for verification.
Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2008)
  • CPU: Custom 8-bit Sharp LR35902[21][unreliable source?] core at 4.19 MHz which is similar to an Intel 8080 in that all of the registers introduced in the Z80 are not present. However, some of the Z80's instruction set enhancements over the stock 8080, particularly bit manipulation, are present. Still other instructions are unique to this particular flavor of Z80 CPU. The core also contains integrated sound generation
  • RAM: 8 kB internal S-RAM
  • Video RAM: 8 kB internal
  • ROM: On-CPU-Die 256-byte bootstrap; 256 kb, 512 kb, 1 Mb, 2 Mb, 4 Mb and 8 Mb cartridges
  • Sound: 2 square waves, 1 programmable 32-sample 4-bit PCM wave, 1 white noise, and one audio input from the cartridge.[22] The unit only has one speaker, but headphones provide stereo sound (for further information, see Game Boy music)
  • Display: Reflective LCD 160 × 144 pixels
  • Screen size: 66 mm (2.6 in) diagonal
  • Color Palette: 2-bit (4 shades of "gray" (green to (very) dark green))
  • Communication: Up to 2 Game Boys can be linked together via built-in serial ports, up to 4 with a DMG-07 4-player adapter. More than 4 players is possible by chaining adapters.
  • Power: 6 V, 0.7 W (4 AA batteries provide ~10-12 hours)
  • Dimensions: 90 mm (W) x 148 mm (H) x 32 mm (D) / 3.5" x 5.8" 1.3" (in)

[edit] See also

Nintendo portal

[edit] References

  1. ^ Ken Polsson (2007-08-13). "Chronology of Video Game Systems". http://www.islandnet.com/~kpolsson/vidgame/vid1989.htm/. Retrieved on 2007-09-27. 
  2. ^ Douglas C. McGill (1989-06-05). "Home Video Game Players Can Take Show on the Road". New York Times. 
  3. ^ a b Beuscher, Dave. "allgame ((( Game Boy > Overview )))". Allgame. http://www.allgame.com/platform.php?id=20. Retrieved on 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 Development (R and D) team #1, had designed the successful NES games Metroid and Kid Icarus. What Yokoi's team did was create a hybrid of the NES and the Game & Watch systems." 
  4. ^ 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."
  5. ^ Owner's Manual, p. 5. "(12) Operation buttons — The controls for playing games. (See game manuals for button functions.)"
  6. ^ Owner's Manual, pp. 4–5. "(5) Volume dial (VOL) — Adjusts the sound volume…(7)Contrast adjustment (CONTRAST) — Adjusts the contrast of the display."
  7. ^ 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)"
  8. ^ 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."
  9. ^ Owner's Manual, p. 4. "(2) External power supply jack — You can connect a Rechargeable Battery Pack (sold separately) for longer play."
  10. ^ "Nintendo Game Boy (DMG-001)". Vidgame.net. 2006. Archived from the original on 2008-02-11. http://web.archive.org/web/20080211181421/http://www.vidgame.net/NINTENDO/GB.html. Retrieved on 2006-08-22. 
  11. ^ Owner's Manual, p. 5. "(10) Headphone jack (PHONES) — Connect the stereo headphones that come with the GAME BOY to enjoy the impressive sounds of games without disturbing others around you."
  12. ^ Owner's Manual, pp. 4, 8. "(4) Extension connector (EXT CONNECTOR) — Connects to other GAME BOY…Do not insert different games in the interocnnected Game Boys."
  13. ^ Masuyama, Meguro (2002). "Pokémon as Japanese Culture?". in Lucien King. Game On. New York, NY: Universe Publishing. p. 39. ISBN 0-7893-0778-2. "Pokémon allowed more than metaphorical communication; it made use of a system that created actual communication — a network game." 
  14. ^ "Consolidated Sales Transition by Region" (PDF). Nintendo. 2008-07-30. http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/library/historical_data/pdf/consolidated_sales_e0806.pdf. Retrieved on 2008-07-30. 
  15. ^ "A Brief History of Game Console Warfare: Game Boy". BusinessWeek. McGraw-Hill. http://images.businessweek.com/ss/06/10/game_consoles/source/7.htm. Retrieved on 2008-07-30. "Game Boy and Game Boy Color's combined lifetime sales reached 118.7 million worldwide, according to Nintendo's latest annual report." 
  16. ^ "The Atari Lynx". ataritimes.com. 2006. Archived from the original on 2006-08-29. http://web.archive.org/web/20060829165904/http://www.ataritimes.com/lynx/index.html. Retrieved on 2006-08-20. 
  17. ^ Beuscher, Dave. "allgame ((( Atari Lynx > Overview )))". Allgame. http://www.allgame.com/platform.php?id=13. Retrieved on 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 Nintendo Game Boy provides close to 35 hours use before new batteries are necessary." 
  18. ^ Bauscher, Dave. "allgame ((( Sega Game Gear > Overview )))". Allgame. http://www.allgame.com/platform.php?id=25. Retrieved on 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 capable of providing up to 35 hours of play." 
  19. ^ Bauscher, Dave. "allgame ((( Sega Game Gear > Overview )))". Allgame. http://www.allgame.com/platform.php?id=25. Retrieved on 2008-09-21. "Eventually, a peripheral called the Master System Converter 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 Game Boy. In 1991 Sega sold over 500,000 units. In 1992 Sega sold 900,000 Game Gear consoles." 
  20. ^ "Game Boy Battery / AC Adapter". The Nintendo Repository. gamersgraveyard.com. 2005-12-11. http://www.gamersgraveyard.com/repository/gameboy/peripherals/batterypack.html. Retrieved on 2006-08-18. 
  21. ^ nintendods (2004-09-29). "季節報 Nintendo DS ブログ : 解体新書。初代GBをバラしてみる。 (Game Boy hardware dissection)" (in Japanese). http://nintendods.exblog.jp/381307/. Retrieved on 2009-01-02. 
  22. ^ "Game Boy - 8bc Chiptune Wiki". 2008-11-05. http://www.8bitcollective.com/wiki/index.php?title=Game_Boy#Sound. Retrieved on 2009-03-26. 

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