Game Boy

Game Boy

Developer	Nintendo R&D1
Manufacturer	Nintendo
Product family	Game Boy line
Type	Handheld game console
Generation	Fourth generation
Release date	JP: April 21, 1989[2] NA: July 31, 1989[1] EU: September 28, 1990
Lifespan	1989–2003
Introductory price	Game Boy: ¥12,500 US$89.95[3] AU$??
Discontinued	March 23, 2003[4]
Units sold	Worldwide: 118.69 million[4] (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[5]
Best-selling game	Tetris, 30.26 million (pack-in/separately).[6]
Predecessor	Game & Watch
Successor	Game Boy Pocket (redesign) Game Boy Light (redesign) Game Boy Color (successor)[7]

The Game Boy^[a] is an 8-bit handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. The first handheld in the Game Boy line, it was first released on April 21, 1989, followed by North America three months later, and in Europe nearly a year after. Designed by the same team that developed the Game & Watch and several Nintendo Entertainment System games, it was created and published by Satoru Okada, Gunpei Yokoi, and Nintendo Research & Development 1.^[8] [9]

Nintendo's second handheld game console, the Game Boy combined features from both the NES and the Game & Watch. The console features a dot-matrix screen, five control buttons, a 2 voice speaker, and, like its rivals, uses cartridges as physical media. At launch, it was sold either as a standalone unit, or bundled with the one of several games, including Super Mario Land and Tetris. Several accessories were also developed for the Game Boy, including a carrying pouch and the Game Boy Printer.

Despite being technically inferior to its competitors (notably Sega's Game Gear, Atari's Lynx, and NEC's TurboExpress), the Game Boy received praise for its battery life and durability, and quickly outsold the competition,^[10] selling one million units in the United States within a few weeks.^[11]Together with its successor, the Game Boy Color,^[7] the handheld has sold an estimated 118 million units worldwide.^[4] It is one of the most recognizable devices from the 1980s, becoming a cultural icon in the years following its release. Several redesigns were released during the console's lifetime, including the Game Boy Pocket (1996) and the Game Boy Light (Japan only). Production of the Game Boy continued into the early 2000s, until it was discontinued following the release of its successor, the Game Boy Advance, in 2001.^[12]