Manufacturer | Nintendo |
---|---|
Product family | Game Boy line |
Type | Handheld game console |
Generation | Fourth generation |
Release date | |
Retail availability | 1989–2003 |
Introductory price |
Game Boy: ¥?/US$89.95/AU$? |
Discontinued | March 23, 2003 |
Units sold | Worldwide: 118.69 million(including Game Boy (Play it Loud!), Game Boy Pocket, Game Boy Light and Color units) |
Media | ROM cartridge ("Game Pak") |
CPU | Sharp LR35902 core @ 4.19 MHz |
Display | LCD 160x144 pixels, 2.6 in |
Best-selling game |
Tetris, 30.26 million (pack-in/separately) Pokémon Red and Blue, 23.64 million approximately (as of January 18, 2009). |
Predecessor | Game & Watch |
Successor |
Game Boy Pocket (redesign) Game Boy Light (redesign) Game Boy Color (successor) |
The Game Boy (Japanese: ゲームボーイ Hepburn: Gēmu Bōi?) is an 8-bit handheld video game device with interchangeable cartridges developed and manufactured by Nintendo, which was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989 , in North America on July 31, 1989 and in Europe on September 28, 1990 . It is the first handheld console in the Game Boy line and was created by Satoru Okada and Nintendo Research & Development 1. This same team, led by Gunpei Yokoi at the time, is credited with designing the Game & Watch series as well as several popular games for the Nintendo Entertainment System. Redesigned versions were released in 1996 and 1998 in the form of Game Boy Pocket and Game Boy Light (Japan only), respectively.
The Game Boy is 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. It was either bought as a standalone unit or bundled with the puzzle game Tetris.