Game Boy
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| Manufacturer | Nintendo |
|---|---|
| Product family | Game Boy line |
| Type | Handheld game console |
| Generation | Fourth generation |
| Release date |
JP: April 21, 1989 NA: July 31, 1989 EU: September 28, 1990 |
| Retail availability | 1989–2003 |
| Introductory price |
Game Boy: ¥10242.07/US$89.95/AU$124.26 |
| 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, 47x43 mm |
| Best-selling game | Tetris, 30.26 million (pack-in/separately). |
| Predecessor | Game & Watch |
| Successor |
Game Boy Pocket (redesign) Game Boy Light (redesign) Game Boy Color (successor) |
Introduction
The Game Boy is an 8-bit handheld game console which was developed and manufactured by Nintendo and first released on Template:Start date, in North America on Template:Start date, and in Europe on Template:Start date. It is the first handheld console in the Game Boy line and was created and published 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 first handheld game console and it combined features from both the Nintendo Entertainment System and Game & Watch.<ref name="allgame" /> It was sold either as a standalone unit or bundled with the puzzle game Tetris.
During its early lifetime, the Game Boy mainly competed with Sega's Game Gear, Atari's Lynx, and NEC's TurboExpress. The Game Boy outsold its rivals and became a significant success. The Game Boy and its successor, the Game Boy Color, have sold over 118 million units worldwide. Upon the Game Boy's release in the United States, its entire shipment of one million units was sold within a few weeks.<ref>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 and its black and white (except for Konami/Factor 5 games and SeaQuest DSV), was shown in color like the Game Gear version."</ref> Production of the Game Boy and Game Boy Color were discontinued in the early 2000s, being replaced by the subsequent Game Boy Advance, released in 2001.
