Exhibit: Nintendo Game Boy (1989–2003)
Released: April 21, 1989 (Japan) · September 28, 1990 (UK)
Manufacturer: Nintendo
Units Sold: 118.69 million (including Game Boy Color)
Status: The handheld that defined portable gaming
Gaming in Your Pocket
In 1989, Nintendo's Gunpei Yokoi created the Game Boy — a handheld games console with a green-tinted monochrome screen, four AA batteries, and a library that would grow into one of gaming's greatest. Competitors offered colour screens and superior hardware. Nintendo offered Tetris and a battery life that lasted for hours.
The Game Boy won. Decisively. Its combination of software quality, durability, and battery efficiency made it the dominant handheld for over a decade.
Iconic Games
- Tetris — bundled with the console, the perfect portable game
- Pokémon Red & Blue — the games that defined a generation and a franchise
- The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening — a masterpiece of handheld game design
- Metroid II — atmospheric and lonely, perfect for portable play
- Kirby's Dream Land — HAL Laboratory's charming debut
The Game Boy Family
The original Game Boy spawned a remarkable family of hardware: the Game Boy Pocket (slimmer, clearer screen), the Game Boy Light (backlit, Japan only), and ultimately the Game Boy Color — which brought colour to the platform while maintaining backward compatibility with the entire Game Boy library.
Collector's Corner
The Game Boy is a cornerstone of handheld collecting. Special edition consoles — the Pokémon editions, the Play It Loud colours, the Zelda editions — are increasingly sought after. Sealed, complete Pokémon games have sold for extraordinary sums.
Explore More Gaming History
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