The Game Boy was first released in 1989 like stated in Part 3 of the Evolution of Video Gaming. Since, Nintendo has released several versions of the Game Boy. For instance, in 1995 they released several Game Boy models in colored cases. They advertised these Game Boys with the phrase "Play it loud!" This Game Boy was the original Game Boy with no new specifications except the color change. This brought a new inspiration for future Game Boy's or other handheld gaming systems. The colors consisted of; red, yellow, green, black, blue, white and clear. There also was a special version which was made for the United Kingdom when the release of the Game Boy "Play it loud!" was released over there. This was a very rare version that was made for the Manchester United club. It was a red case with the Manchester United logo on it.
In 1996, Nintendo released the Game Boy Pocket. This was a smaller, lighter version of the original Game Boy and it required fewer batteries. It took two AAA batteries that enabled up to 10 hours of game play. The Game Boy Pocket also had a smaller link port requiring an adapter for those wanting to link with the older Game Boys. The screen was also changed to a true black and white screen. The original Game Boy did not have an LED to show the battery life like the Game Boy Pocket and future Game Boys have. The demand for the Game Boy Pocket grew quickly and the release of the Game Boy Pocket in a variety of colors added huge numbers to sales. Like the Game Boy "Play it loud!", there were a few limited editions such as the metallic ice blue and the pink model of the Game Boy that were exclusive to Japan and never made there way to the U.S. The Game Boy Pocket used the same software as the original Game Boy and allowed the same games to be played on both hand held gaming systems.
A hand held video gaming system that is very rare and many people have not heard of is the Game Boy Light. It was released in 1997 but only in Japan. It was about the same size as the Game Boy Pocket. It had a backlight for low light conditions. The Game Boy Light used 2 AA batteries which gave it up to 20 hours of game play and 12 hours with the backlight on. The Game Boy Light was the rarest Game Boy of them all, especially to the U.S. However, due to online auctions such as eBay, the Game Boy Light became more and more available to other nations rather than just to Japan.
First released in Japan in 1998, the Game Boy Color was a slightly larger model than the Game Boy Pocket and used a color screen. (Hints the Game Boy "Color") The Game Boy Color also has twice the processor speed, three time the amount of memory, and an infrared communications port. A unique feature of the Game Boy Color is its ability to read old Game Boy games from the original and play them in color. Also Game Boy Color games could be played on the original Game Boy as well. The Game Boy Color was a huge hit for Nintendo. The Game Boy Color brought great success to Nintendo and demand for the Game Boy color lasted for several years!
Nintendo later comes out with more versions of the Game Boy. Stay tuned to later parts of "The Evolution of Video Gaming" to find out more about Nintendo's success with their variety of Game Boys!
3 comments:
I had a Gameboy when I was little. I can remember hours of playing everything from Super Mario to Legend of Zelda to Pokemon on it. Pokemon was by far the game I spent the most hours on. I had to get my Charizard leveled up high enough to beat all the other kids. Haha it all sounds so stupid now. But back in third grade that’s how things were. You weren’t cool unless you had some form of electronic game in your possession at all times. Gameboy was probably one of the best things ever to happen to video games ever.
Gameboys took over the world when I was in elementary school. It seemed as though once everyone stepped onto the bus, the game boy came out of the book bag and people played pokemon until they got home. The original gameboy was huge compared to the pocket ones. My cousin had one with the package that went around it giving it light and magnifying the screen, thus making it about the size of a laptop. Luckily they brought the size down to a more compact model. The video gaming world would not be the same without the Gameboy.
I still have my original gameboy, and every once in awhile, when I get into the right mood, I will play it for just a little bit. I love playing all my old games, and reliving my childhood. You did an excellent job with the history, such the the Game Boy Light. I had never even heard of it. I wonder why it was never released here. I remember the "play it loud" commercials, and how much I wanted a gameboy pocket when they first came out. I had to settle for waiting for the Gameboy color to come out, which now in the long run, was easily the best option
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