The Gameboy Color came to North America in November 1998, and since then, it has gone on to take the world by storm. While it didn’t have much competition in the 5th-generation handheld market, the Gameboy Color would go on to sell more than its competitors combined by a comfortable margin.
In fact, if you combined the total sales of every 5th-gen console, except for the Nintendo 64, and all 5th-gen handhelds, the Game Boy Color would still have sold more units: 115.99 million units vs 118.69 million units for the Game Boy Color. If you owned a Game Boy Color, you were the cool kid in school, so let’s explore what made this console so cool.
Features of the System
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The Game Boy Color, touted as the successor to the Game Boy, was more than just a hardware update. It was a sleeker, more vibrant version of its predecessor, available in various colors. Its compatibility with Game Boy games endeared it to existing Game Boy owners. The introduction of a full-color case was a game-changer. Equipped with a faster processor and triple the RAM, it was a technology marvel.
Compared to the Game Boy, its weakness is less battery life due to the color screen’s nature and faster CPU. Despite this, it still manages 10 hours of play with only 2 AA batteries versus the 15-hour playtime you get with the Game Boy, which uses 4 AA batteries. While you get less battery life, it’s only a small loss, and you use fewer batteries in the process.
The Cool Factor
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The late 90s were a magical time for the kids on the playground. Pokémon was a new show that was about to become a global phenomenon. Toonami was at its peak, and the handheld market was dominated by the Nintendo Game Boy Color. Your best friend had the Berry Game Boy Color, you had the Kiwi one, and everyone knows the kid with the Grape Game Boy. He may be undefeated in the schoolyard, but the kid with the Dandelion Game Boy managed to convince him that Mew was under the truck.
With the handheld being cheaper compared to other video game consoles, it was an extremely popular gift parents could get their kids. The Game Boy Color was cheap, reliable, durable, and cheaper to power. Game Boy Color also hit the market just as Pokémon became huge. Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow sold around 45.6 million units, so seeing a copy or two was common. The game was further popularized with the show, making these games and the Game Boy Color even more desirable.
Another thing that made the Game Boy so cool was how portable it was. It was small enough to fit into your pocket, comparable to a much thicker but lighter iPhone 13. Something else to add was that Game Boy supports accessories. One of the most common accessories was something called a Link Cable. Most games would use this feature differently. Pokémon, for example, you could battle or trade with your friend. With the Legend of Zelda Oracles games, you can connect them to trade power rings.
The Light was another valuable accessory. A drawback of the system is that the screens aren’t backlit. Nintendo decided not to include a backlight to extend battery life, but that didn’t stop them from releasing an accessory for a light. I’ll give Nintendo credit; at this time, backlit screens took lots of power. The Light was an accessory you didn’t have to use, and since it was just an LED, it didn’t use a lot of power.
The Legacy of the Game Boy Color
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The Game Boy Color’s legacy is one filled with nostalgia. While I could go on to talk about its accolades and technical aspects, this console deserves more than that. It’s a console that defined our childhood; it filled our heads with a sense of wonder. I remember going around the playground talking with the other kids about Pokémon and sharing funny stories of battles. It was about showing empathy for your friend who accidentally fainted Zapdos and didn’t save. It’s about the memories of excitement when you open a gift-wrapped box and see the words “Game Boy Color”.
In 1999, my uncle surprised me with a Kiwi Game Boy Color and Pokémon Red while I was watching Toy Story. The memory is forever etched in my mind.
I played with those two for a long time. I must have beaten them a hundred times, but it never got old. The world always filled me with a sense of awe, increasing my wonder for the outside world as well. It was about exploring and discovering things—maybe not things undiscovered by anyone else, but undiscovered by you. I would tell stories to my younger sister while we waited for the bus in the morning about Pokémon and coming up with my own theories. As a result, it’s what got me into storytelling and writing.
While all three are gone, their memories will remain. This console’s legacy is about the memories we created as kids during a formative time. When I think back I still feel wonder, exploring the world and taking down Team Rocket. I still remember the difficulty I had playing Link’s Awakening and Oracle of Seasons and not knowing what I was supposed to do at some point. I remember playing Crystal for the first time and seeing Pokémon animations in a beautiful display of color. I often wondered how handheld gaming could get any better. Time seems to have a way of humbling that sort of thinking.
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