Gaming Hall of Fame: Game Boy

At least HALF of you had one of these.

    In 1989, Nintendo was the undisputed king of the video game market. Its Nintendo Entertainment System was credited with single handedly reviving the American game market following the Great Crash of '83. A combination of family friendly marketing, a strong (though sometimes turbulent) relationship with third party developers, and a solid library of games ensured that the NES would have a long and healthy shelf life, a full 9 years, a record surpassed only by the Atari 2600's 14 year lifespan. But Nintendo wasn't content to have conquered the world's living rooms, it had its sights set on its offices, subways, and family cars as well. With this goal in mind, Nintendo commissioned Gunpei Yokoi, creator of the Game & Watch series, as well as the NES hit Metroid, to create a handheld game system that could stand alongside the NES. Yokoi's aim was to create a system that would have a broader appeal than the NES, which was largely seen as a child's toy in 1989, while still being able to deliver a fulfilling gaming experience to the “hardcore” gamers. His creation would do all of this, though nobody could have predicted what would follow.

A Cultural Phenomenon.

Russian ingenuity + Japanese Marketing= lots of American Dollars.

    The Game Boy was released in japan on April 21, 1989, and in America two months later. Its design specs included an 8-Bit Sharp LR35902 processor, 8kb each of internal S-RAM and Video RAM, and a reflective LCD screen. While the screen was only capable of displaying 4 shades of green and black, and motion on the screen left a noticeable blurring effect, the level of detail allowed by the system was actually superior in some ways to the NES, allowing for more detailed graphics and dynamic motions.
    Immediately, the Game Boy was hit with competition. Atari released its own handheld in September, called the Lynx. This unit was full color, backlit, had a higher processing power, and even allowed players to switch button layouts to suit both right and left handed players. Sega would release the Game Gear in October of the following year. A scaled version of Sega's Master System, the Game Gear was also full color and backlit, while also able to process motion faster than the Game Boy. Despite this disparity in technical specs, two factors led to the Game Boy becoming the top selling handheld. The first was the Game Boy's now legendary battery life. The system's lack of color and backlighting removed what would be a considerable power drain on the Lynx and Game Gear, both of which would only last about 4-6 hours on 6 AA bateries, while the Game Boy could go as long as 35 hours on only 4 AA batteries. The second factor was the decision to include the NES megahit Tetris as a pack-in with the console. While platformers like Super Mario Bros. and adventure titles like Zelda were seen as too childish or complicated for anyone but kids or hardcore gamers, the simple gameplay of Tetris was accessible to everyone. People were playing it on subways, in waiting rooms, or just sprawled on their couch. Parents in particular bought Game Boys for their children to take on long vacation car rides. Though large by today's standards, the Game Boy was small enough to fit in a suitcase or (if they were large enough) your pocket. Because of this, many of today's gamers point to the Game Boy as the first system they ever owned (including the writer of this article!).

The Games!

If you didn't own this game, you didn't own a Game Boy.

    It was this casual appeal that allowed to Game Boy to have a much more diverse library than the NES. Games that normally wouldn't do well on a stationary console such as Chessmaster, as well as ports of earlier arcade classics like Q*Bert and Asteroids were perfect for Nintendo's portable wonder. But the hardcore gamers were not neglected either. Super Mario Land was released as a launch title for the system, and has the distinction of being the first side scrolling Mario game NOT designed by Shigeru Miyamoto. It would spawn 2 direct sequels as well as a spin-off series, Wario Land. Link would also see some time on the Game Boy when Link's Awakening in 1993, following the success of the SNES Zelda title, A Link to the Past. To this day, it's considered one of Link's greatest adventures, and has made numerous “best of” lists.

    The Game Boy would ensure a few other faces a place in Nintendo's hall of heroes. Metroid II: Return of Samus was released in 1992, and while its considered the weakest game in the series to date, it ensured that Samus would return for future outings. New faces like Kirby and Wario, and old favorites like Donkey Kong would also find new life on the Game Boy.

Due to color restrictions, Metroid II introduced Samus' massive shoulder pads.

    Portable versions of console hits were also common, with NES classics like Battletoads, Donkey Kong, and many others being ported to the Game Boy. While some were panned for being subpar ports, some, like Dr. Mario would go on to sell just as well, if not better than their console counterparts.

    But by far the biggest title to hit the Game Boy was an unusual title from Japan called Pocket Monsters, or, as we Americans know it, Pokemon. The details of Pokemon's development and impact on popular culture, while important, shall be detailed in a future article. Suffice to say here, however, that when Pokemon was originally released, interest in the Game Boy had declined, and the release of the bizarrely compelling game saw a surge of sales of not only the Game Boy, but also its Link Cable accessory.

Dad, if you still don't get it, I'm not gonna explain it again...

Speaking of....

    As a portable system, the Game Boy was not as readily open to peripherals as home consoles. Multiplayer was impossible on a single system, so Nintendo came up with the idea of selling a cable that would allow two Game Boys to communicate and allow players to compete. Most games that took advantage of the Link Cable were racing games Like F-1 Pole Position, or fighters like Mortal Kombat. A 4 player multitap was also released, but only a handful of games supported this. The problem with this setup was that, since both players needed a copy of the game to play, finding people to play against became a chore. This would change with the release of Pokemon, as it was hard to find anyone on the schoolyard who WASN'T trying to “catch 'em all”.

    1998 saw the dual release of the Game Boy Camera and Printer. The camera plugged into the cartridge slot and was able to take grainy, black and white photos which could then be printed out on the Game Boy printer. While considered an oddity among gaming accessories, the Game Boy Camera held the record for several years as the World's Smallest Digital Camera, though that record has since been broken. The printer saw a little more support than the camera, being compatible with Link's Awakening DX and Mario Bros. DX on the Game Boy Color, and Pokemon Yellow, among a few others.

Seems like an odd step backwards...but oh well!

    The Super Game Boy was released in 1994. Sold as a cartridge for the Super Nintendo, it allowed gamers to play their Game Boy Games on their television screens. While all previous Game Boy games could be played with a limited, customizable pallete of 4 colors, games released after the Super Game Boy had extra code in them that allowed them to have a wider range of colors, special borders, and other special features. The first game to take advantage of the Super Game Boy was Donkey Kong, released for the Game Boy in 1994 in conjunction with the Super Game Boy.

Nintendo's Little Boy Gets a Little Brother.

The name "Game Boy Fun Size" didn't stick with the focus groups.

    Though still the best selling portable in the industry, the Game Boy was starting to show its age in 1996. The largest complaints were the “pea soup” display and the bulky “brick” size. Nintendo would address these complaints with the Game Boy Pocket. Abandoning the green and black LCD in favor of a true black and white display that also lessened the blurring, and using new, smaller circuit boards that allowed for a smaller overall package, the Game Boy Pocket would be a fast seller, leading Nintendo to abandon the earlier brick design . Though it would only last for 10 hours of gameplay, its use of 2 cheaper AAA batteries offset this. A year later, in Japan, Nintendo would release the Game Boy Light, which featured a backlit screen, and would be the only Nintendo handheld to do so until the release of the Game Boy Advance SP

    Sadly, the Game Boy Pocket would be the only new version of the system that creator Gunpei Yokoi would see released. He would hand in his resignation only days after the Pocket's release, due to the dismal failure of the Virtual Boy, and would be killed a year later on October 4, 1997 in a car wreck.

Gunpei Yokoi
1941-1997
Sleep, gentle soldier. Thy work is now done.

“My Greatest Gift to Gaming, is that I will colorize Link's Awakening!”

Now you didn't need to down Acid to see color on Game Boy.

    Throughout the Game Boy's life, the chief complaint against it was its lack of color. At the time of the original Game Boy's release, color graphics required a significantly higher demand of power, which would drain batteries quickly and drive up production costs. At the same time, developers were calling for a more sophisticated handheld platform, as they felt that the Game Boy Pocket was insufficient. Nintendo would go back to the drawing board and emerge with the Game Boy Color, which was released in Japan on October 21, 1998. Slightly larger than the GBP, the GBC was capable of displaying 56 at once out of a possible 32,768, and was bacward compatible with all previous Game Boy games. If a cartridge that had been released previous to the GBC was inserted, the player could input a button combination at startup to set the color palette, which gave the games a combination of 4 colors, similar to the Super Game Boy. Games designed for the GBC had preset color palettes that had a much more diverse combination, though some games released after the GBC were compatible with previous Game Boy systems. These cartridges were noted by being black in color (save for Pokemon Yellow, Gold, Silver and Crystal, which maintained their unique cartridge colors). Games that would work only on the GBC were designed with clear casings.

    To celebrate the new color display, Nintendo would re-release two of its most popular titles to the system. Super Mario Bros. DX and Link's Awakening DX were straight ports of the original NES and Game Boy classics, though new features were added, including the ability to save your game in Mario Bros. and an extra dungeon in Link's Awakening that could only be accessed if the game was played on a GBC. Other notable GBC games include Pokemon Pinball and the Zelda duology, Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons.

Look Ma, I'm Technicolor!!

    The GBC also featured a infrared communicator on the top for wireless communication, but this was only supported by a few games. (Actually, the Pokemon Trading Card Game is the only one I can think of, if anyone knows any more, let me know!)

Game Boy Advances

If you look VERY closely, you MIGHT what's on the screen!

    The Game Boy Color enjoyed a healthy lifespan, as well as high sales. But with competition from the Neo Geo Pocket and WonderSwan, Nintendo knew it had to step up its game. To that end, Nintendo released the Game Boy Advance on March 21, 2001 in Japan, and in America the following June. It's internal hardware was roughly equivalent to the Super Nintendo, which allowed Nintendo to port many of its SNES classics, Yoshi's Island and Final Fantasy VI (which had been released as III on the SNES) to the handheld. This meant that veterans could take their old favorites on the go, and new gamers would be introduced to classics they may have missed. This practice of repackaging older games for a new system would become a much loved convention, culminating in services like the Virtual Console and Xbox Live Arcade. Noteworthy originals include Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, and Megaman Zero. A Game Boy Advance player was released for the Nintendo Game Cube that plugged into the bottom of the console. Despite being marketed as being an “Advance” player, it was fully backwards compatible with all Game Boy and Game Boy Color games. A special link cable was also released that allowed the GBA to serve special functions when used in conjunction with certain Game Cube titles, most notably Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles.

Why a card game? That's all I wanna know! Why?

    The GBA added two shoulder buttons to its control layout, which allowed for more dynamic play control than previous Game Boys were able to handle. The cartridges themselves were also reduced in size, being roughly half the size of previous Game Boy carts. Despite this, the GBA was fully compatible with all previous Game Boy and Game Boy Color games. Unfortunately, its awkward design led to numerous complaints. Chief of these was its poorly lit screen which was all but impossible to see except under PERFECT light conditions. Nintendo would address these issues with the Game Boy Advance SP. This new unit, which eschewed the previous Game Gear-esque design, in favor of a flip-top “clamshell” design, which proved more comfortable to handle. It also featured a switch that controlled a front light that allowed gamers to see the screen in even the worst conditions. A later version with an actual back light was released in 2005. The GBA SP was also the first Nintendo handheld to have a rechargeable battery pack instead of taking store bought batteries.

Nintendo saw the light....and now you can too!

    One final version of the Game Boy Advance would be released in 2005 called the Game Boy Micro. It was marketed as being “for the gamer on the go”, and could be worn as a keychain. It was roughly the size of a cell phone, and featured removable faceplates for customization. However, its small size meant that the co-processor necessary to play pre-GBA games was absent, so the unit could only play GBA games. It was also criticized for being a play by Nintendo to milk extra money out of the Game Boy line, especially since at the time of its release, the Nintendo DS had already been announced.

It was a Game Boy you could hang from your belt loop.

The Little Boy is Now an Old Man....

    On April 21, 2009, the Game Boy reached its 20^th anniversary, an age that is positively ancient by industry standards, yet its popularity endures. Original Game Boy systems are still snatched up by collectors, and sales of the GBA SP in used game stores remain steady, since the Nintendo DS is incompatible with original Game Boy games, though rumors persist that the DSi will receive its own version of the Virtual Console, which presumably would carry Game Boy/GBA games. Over the course of the entire line, the Game Boy has sold over 200 million units making it the best selling handheld ever produced. Its library, between all different versions tops well over a thousand titles. Though other handhelds like the PSP, Nintendo DS, and Game Gear have come (and in the case of the last, gone), the Game Boy stands above them all as the gold standard for portable gaming. Its universal appeal, legendary staying power and massive library of games earns it a place in the Gaming Hall of Fame, as well as the honor of being the first game system to be so honored.

    So, in honor of the Game Boy's 20th birthday, I encourage you to dust off your Game Boy, plug in Tetris, and breathe a prayer of thanks to Gunpei Yokoi for giving us his greatest gift.