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Get into it.
— Advertisement slogan for the Game Boy Color.
Game Boy Color logo
GameBoyColorPurple
A Game Boy Color
Developer(s) Nintendo
Manufacturer(s) Nintendo
Console Type Handheld
Generation Fifth
October 21, 1998 (Japan)
November 18, 1998 (North America)
November 23, 1998 (Europe)
November 27, 1998 (Australia)
December 20, 2003 (South Korea)
Discontinued September 25, 2003 (Japan)
2003 (North America)
Best selling game Pokémon Gold / Silver / Crystal
Media ROM cartridge
CPU Zilog Z80 (customized)
Color screen
Backward Compatibility Game Boy
Forward Compatibility Game Boy Advance, Super Nintendo Entertainment System (Super Game Boy)
Predecessor Game Boy
Successor Game Boy Advance

The Game Boy Color is the fourth model and a hardware upgrade from the Game Boy, released during the fifth generation of video games. As the name suggests, the Game Boy Color had the ability to display multiple colors on its screen. Compared to the Game Boy, the design is also a bit smaller, and the processing power is twice as fast. All Game Boy games are backwards compatible with the Game Boy Color, and some games on the former console would display more colors if played on a Game Boy Color. Other games were made exclusive for the system, indicated by a clear, see-through cartridge, while games that could be played on both Game Boy and Game Boy Color had a black cartridge.

The Game Boy Color was compatible with all the accessories of the original Game Boy, and also featured an identical layout of buttons, albeit with the Start and Select buttons being horizontal rather than at a slant. Playing games that did not have any color can be played in color using a color pallet, done by using a combination of the directional pad and the A or B buttons. The system also had a special IR communication, indicated by an infrared LED next to the screen that could be used to share data between two Game Boy Colors. This was used in games like Pokémon Gold and Silver to send Mystery Gifts, and Super Mario Bros. Deluxe to share high scores.

While simply an upgrade for the Game Boy, the Game Boy Color was arguably as big of a success, selling around 53.58 million units worldwide. Despite this, it was the shortest-lived Nintendo handheld, being discontinued in 2003, nearly five years after its release. Like the Game Boy, all Game Boy Color games are backwards compatible with the Game Boy and forwards compatible with the Game Boy Advance, Game Boy Advance SP, and Super Nintendo Entertainment System via the Super Game Boy.

Accessories[]

As mentioned, the Game Boy Color was compatible with all accessories of the original Game Boy, including the Game Link Cable, Game Boy Camera, and Game Boy Printer. Some devices were compatible with only the Game Boy Color however, listed below.

Mobile Adapter GB[]

GB Mobile Adapter

The Mobile Adapter GB.

Only available in Japan, the Mobile Adapter GB allowed the Game Boy Color to connect to certain Japanese mobile devices via a cable. It was a collaboration between Nintendo and Mobile21, who they jointly owned with Konami. Compatible games such as Pokémon Crystal and Pokémon Stadium 2 were able to connect to the internet through the Mobile Service GB. Despite its promise, it wasn't much of a success, and the service became defunct in 2002. Despite this, it is still possible to link with friends given a peer-to-peer connection is used.

Transfer Pak[]

Transfer Pak

The Transfer Pak.

The Transfer Pak was an add-on for the Nintendo 64 that plugged into the controller's accessory slot, and also had a slot itself that would accept Game Boy Color games. This allowed data to be transferred between GBC and N64 games, such as unlocking content in the N64 version of Mario Tennis by transferring data from the GBC version, or unlocking content in Pokémon Stadium 2 by transferring data from the Generation II Pokémon games.

List of Games[]

Any page that has Category:Game Boy Color Games on them will be added here automatically.


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