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Archive 1

Move to Game Boy

This article about the original Game Boy should be at Game Boy, not Game Boy (original). Dread Lord CyberSkull ✎☠ 06:02, 18 June 2006 (UTC)

No, it shouldn't, because people sometimes refer to other products of the line as Game Boys. Besides, that page exists. You can't move a page to a page that exists. You have to use copy and paste GangstaEB EA 12:37, 18 June 2006 (UTC) (Not bad thinking, it could happen if not for lazy speakers)

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the same is true of the PlayStation line of consoles, and the article about the first PlayStation is simply named PlayStation, not "PlayStation (original)" or "PlayStation 1". If you're worried about confusion, just place a disambig link pointing to Game Boy line at the top of the article. --Lumina83 02:48, 19 June 2006 (UTC)
Move done, I will make a copy of this discussion at Gam Boy. -- Kim van der Linde at venus 02:40, 5 July 2006 (UTC)

70 million source

Where is a source that the original Game Boy (and GBP) has only sold 70 million? McDonaldsGuy 02:32, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

Used to be on Nintendo's own website, before they changed it. They had the statement that the original sold nearly 70 million, but after they changed their site, now have the combined sales with the Color, for the 118.69 total. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.206.24.32 (talk) 18:59, 22 November 2008 (UTC)

How expensive at launch?

Can somebody add the price of the Game Boy at launch? SamuraiFez 20:52, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

It was $109 USD according to http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/03/a-brief-history-of-handheld-video-games/ and few other places I checked out-- I added it in. I Jethrobot 05:42, 15 August 2006 (UTC)
I don't know where engadget adn the few other places you checked got their figures, but it wasn't $109.
http://www.islandnet.com/~kpolsson/vidgame/vid1989.htm
"June 4
* At the Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago, Nintendo introduces the Game Boy portable hand-held video game system, with monochrome display. Price is US$89.95, including the Tetris game cartridge."
The $89.95 price point matches my memories of what the system retailed for, and I did happen to get one at that price when it was introduced.
REMOVE THE $89.95 FIGURE. It ABSOLUTELY WAS A $109 SYSTEM, because I bought the system in April 1990, and I remember for a fact that it was $109 and change, including the Tetris cartridge as noted. I got $100 for my birthday that year, and I distinctly remember asking my dad if I could borrow money for the remainer of the cost (I was about 10 years old). Wikipedia's a joke.

I was getting bored with this debate so I looked up the NYT story and added it as a reference for the $89.95 figure. Rees11 23:27, 22 July 2007 (UTC)

Someone restored the $109 price and removed the NYT reference. I reverted that change. Please do not revert again without discussing here first. If someone can provide a reference for $109, maybe we can just note that there is disagreement on this point and include both refs. Note that reference [1] also gives $89.95, so we do not have a reference for $109 at all. Please do not remove the NYT reference again. Rees11 01:36, 25 July 2007 (UTC)

Nintendo Corporate Website

Nintendo Corporate (http://www.nintendo.com/corp/history.jsp) has a timeline of events, some of them regarding data from their sales of Game Boy. I put in a reference for Game Boy being "the first portable, hand-held game system with interchangeable game paks," but there's a whole slew of other information on there. Check it out, and see if we can use it. I'd do it myself, but I'm a bit tuckered out tonight. I Jethrobot 06:19, 15 August 2006 (UTC)

It's not the first portable, hand-held game system with interchangeable game cartridges- that was the Milton Bradley Microvision, no matter what Nintendo's marketing says. Ex-Nintendo Employee 06:24, 15 August 2006 (UTC)
Well, I could argue this it was the first successful hand-held game system with interchangeable game cartriges? Microvision went out in 1981, how's that sound? I Jethrobot 06:38, 15 August 2006 (UTC)
That's already stated in the article. Ex-Nintendo Employee 06:43, 15 August 2006 (UTC)
Well, it's stated as a "handheld game console." I know I'm probably getting too specific, but does that, in itself, imply that it has interchangable cartridges? I Jethrobot 06:48, 15 August 2006 (UTC)
You're right- it does seem kind of vague. Good find. Ex-Nintendo Employee 06:53, 15 August 2006 (UTC)
Actually, I think it's okay as is-- now that I look at it, handheld game console is already defined seperately from handheld electronic game, which were games that played one game only. What did you mean by "vague?" I Jethrobot 07:00, 15 August 2006 (UTC)

Input/Output

It seems likely that the power connector is an input, not an output, is not used to charge the batteries but just to run the system, and that the external device is just an adapter, not a battery pack. But I can't find any references so I'll leave it alone for now.

Thanks for noticing that! I have no idea who the heck wrote that little paragraph, but it's completely wrong. The power connector is an input, allowing the "Potato" (the GB's external battery pack) to power the system. It's not an output. Ex-Nintendo Employee 20:06, 26 October 2006 (UTC)

It's actually called an "output" in one of the cited sources, but that's obviously wrong. Another source calls it a "female phone plug," which is impossible, as phone plugs are always male and phone jacks are always female.

It's pretty obvious from the photos that it's really a barrel connector, which makes a lot more sense, as a phone plug would short out the battery as it is being plugged in and possibly start a fire. But I think this constitutes Original Research, and contradicts the cited sources, so I'm reluctant to correct the article. Opinions? Rees11 21:03, 30 August 2007 (UTC)

Rees11 is correct, it is a Coaxial DC Power Connector,not a "phone plug"/TRS Connector. Another, related error I found in the description of the battery pack is that it is stated that the battery pack has an AC power plug directly on it, it doesn't. The other end has an IEC C2 Connector. Unfortunately, this accessory isn't well documented on the web, the source used has other errors. The device states directly on the back that the charge time is 8 Hours. Although I have one sitting here and could take pictures of it. I'm new so I have no idea how to contribute them to Wikipedia. It isn't original research if I posted a description on another site someday, would it? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.243.183.214 (talk) 02:41, 29 July 2009 (UTC)

Origin of name

I can't find any info in any Wikipedia article about the origin of the name. Anyone have any info?? Georgia guy 01:42, 12 January 2007 (UTC)

The original Nintendo Power gave an indication of the origin of the name. According to one magazine from 1989, it was called a "Boy" because it was the portable NES- sort of a "Boy" version of the NES. Who knows if this was accurate, or just Nintendo playing around with Howard & Nester. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.206.24.32 (talk) 18:58, 22 November 2008 (UTC)

Barcode Boy

Does anyone want to add about the Barcode Boy add on for the Game Boy or have enough information to do so (I don't mind adding somethinf if someone else has the info).

Thanks--xensyriaT 18:07, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

Generation Cycles

Why is the Gameboy stated to be a part of the Fourth Generation? Not only was it introduced during the third generation cycle (1989...) generation cycles are traditionally used to categorise consoles, not handhelds. Not only that, but the handheld spanned across the third, fourth and fifth generations in the west, and assumably supported a bit during the sixth in Japan (my assumptions are based on the fact that the latest sales come from 2004). Do you think this needs to be fixed or even ultimately removed from the Wikipedia entry?

Gameboy Classic

Isn't it also referred to as a Gameboy Classic to distinguish from the Gameboy Color and Gameboy Advance? 67.188.172.165 03:13, 14 April 2007 (UTC)

Trivia

The Trivia section keeps coming back. It should either be restored or killed. I'm going to kill it. If someone prefers to bring it back, you can find it in the history around the middle of December 2006. Rees11 18:30, 18 May 2007 (UTC)

Power Consumption and Battery Life

The input/output section says the Gameboy consumes 250 mA at 6v, which would be 1.5 watts. The Power section says it consumes .7 watts. The battery life seems to be a subject for debate. An alkaline AA cell delivers around 1-2 amp-hours which gives us a battery life of 4-17 hours depending on which power figure you like. Some good references would help. Rees11 03:37, 22 May 2007 (UTC)

it's a bit messed up really, because someone has written that the batteries can give 35 hours (the part where it is compared to the atari lynx). not that i doubt this. infact i always though 17 hours was a bit on the low side. i remember my batteries lasting weeks, when i used to play the gameboy maybe 5 hours a day. but yeah, like you say, i think we need a bit more science here... 86.135.161.71 16:32, 8 September 2007 (UTC)

I timed the thing, and got just under 70 hours total on 4 AA Duracell batteries on the original. I got just over 30 hours on 2 AAA Duracell batteries on the Pocket. The Color gave me, oddly enough, about 25 hours on 2 AA Duracell batteries. The Advance gave me nearly 40 hours on 2 AA Duracell batteries! That's how Duracell batteries went for me on all my Game Boys. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.206.24.32 (talk) 18:52, 22 November 2008 (UTC)

The battery life (and the power consumption) is not a constant value, it depends from how the game uses the processor. A lot of Game Boy games worked by synchronizing the software with the screen vertical blanking, which happened each frame. The software waited for vertical blanking, then it did screen updating tasks while the vertical blanking was in progress, and then did other runtime tasks before looping to wait again for the next vertical blanking. This synchronizing could be done either by checking the screen raster position until it reached the end of the screen, or by enabling the vertical blanking interrupt and freezing the CPU with a HALT instruction, which would have woke the CPU when the LCD controlled issued the interrupt. The first way was popular only with very early games (like Tetris) and, although it worked, the CPU would drain a lot of power while continuously reading the raster position, when the second way (popular in later games like Pokemon) did effectively reduce the power consumption while obtaining the same result. Some software had precise timing loops to perform special screen effects, like parallax scrolling, not directly supported in hardware, and those timing loops drained a lot of CPU power (the intro sequence in Link's Awakening is an example). --95.244.155.150 (talk) 14:16, 3 April 2010 (UTC)

The rating is 0.7W as you can read on the back, of the gameboy case. The 1.5W seem to be the rating of the official Nintendo AC adapter, but this adapter was also used for charging a battery pack, which explains why it is higher rated then necessary for the Game Boy. --MrBurns (talk) 06:18, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

Controls Section

"The Bob's main butts are located on the upper half of its head." I'm no wikipedia expert, but I didn't fix it because it wasn't in the recent changes that I could see. Unless of course it's meant to be there. MrMabs 00:03, 13 June 2007 (UTC)

It was done about two hours ago. I consider that recent enough. This page isn't watched that closely, as far as I can tell. Dancter 00:57, 13 June 2007 (UTC)
Just in case, I'm sending you a welcome message with some links to pages that may be useful. Dancter 01:03, 13 June 2007 (UTC)

Proper Placement of Citations

To whomever placed all of the citations in this article, this is a friendly reminder that citations are supposed to appear after the punctiation marks.

Please refer to Where to place reference tags for more information. talk toSailorAlphaCentauri 16:36, 2 August 2007 (UTC)

Sales Question

How come the Game Boy and Game Boy Color sales figures are combined? They are two different handhelds, and each of them should have their own individual sales listed in their respective articles. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Italianpimp546 (talk • contribs) 01:23, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

They are combined because the only reliable sources for the Game Boy and Game Boy Color sales numbers are those that have them combined. The sources used are Nintendo's 2005 sales report and BusinessWeek. The prior individual sales numbers in the GB and GBC articles had no sources to verify the numbers, so unless someone can find a reliable source to GB and GBC's individual sales numbers, they will remain as is. --Silver Edge 04:34, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

For a short time Nintendo had the numbers, as approximations, on their original website. They said the original sold nearly 70 million, and the color nearly 50 million units. When combined, that's 120 million, but for accuracy sake, Nintendo released the total as 118.69 million units, just under the 120 million. After Nintendo changed their site, they took off the approximate numbers, and put that the original and color combine for 118.69 million. Soon, when the Advance finally dies, it may get mixed in, and they'll have something like total Game Boys combined to sell over 200 million units. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.206.24.32 (talk) 18:48, 22 November 2008 (UTC)

Game Boy Color merge suggestion

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section. A summary of the conclusions reached follows.
The result was to keep both articles as is; proposal withdrawn. MuZemike (talk) 19:43, 21 September 2008 (UTC)

Given the quality of that article and the subject it's dealing with (a model akin to a Game Boy Pocket with color capabilities and some carts exclusive to it), it might be a good idea to slim the Game Boy Color article down to the essentials and pull it into here (note this is just a suggestion, please don't take my head off ^^; )--Kung Fu Man (talk) 16:29, 20 September 2008 (UTC)

Many would dispute that comparison - I, for one, feel that the GBC is its own separate generation. It may not have had as many exclusive games as other Game Boys, but it had some. - A Link to the Past (talk) 19:07, 20 September 2008 (UTC)
Oppose — Both the Game Boy and Game Boy Color are both notable in their own aspects. While there is overlap, they are also separate in other aspects. MuZemike (talk) 20:15, 20 September 2008 (UTC)
Fair enough for me. Motion withdrawn.--Kung Fu Man (talk) 21:21, 20 September 2008 (UTC)
The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Quotes from references

From Kent's The Ultimate History of Video Games:

  • "The big news around Nintendo in 1989 was the pending release of a new handheld game system, the first handheld video game to use interchangeable cartridges since Milton Bradley released Microvision in 1979." (p. 415)

Quotes added to the talk page for additional reference/verification of the sources in the article. MuZemike (talk) 15:25, 11 October 2008 (UTC)


The above reference is factually incorrect, unfortunately. The Epoch Game Pocket Computer was the 2nd handheld game system since the Microvision, making the Game Boy the 3rd, as far as anybody can tell.

So, the Wikipedia entry needs to be changed. Is that OK?

220.96.84.146 (talk) 02:38, 8 September 2009 (UTC) Chris

Do you have a reliable source corroborating that claim? The article you linked to doesn't cite any sources. -sesuPRIME 02:54, 8 September 2009 (UTC)


One of the sites linked to on the Game Pocket Computer page has some box pictures. This image shows one of the game cartridge boxes, with a copyright date of 1985, its existence and release date thus being self-evident.

220.96.84.146 (talk) 15:26, 8 September 2009 (UTC) Chris

Year of copyright and year of release are not necessarily the same thing. It's conceivable that the game's copyright holder had the game copyrighted in one year, then waited until some later year to release it. For example, Pokémon Red and Green were released in Japan in February 1996, but they were copyrighted in 1995. While that example only demonstrates a one year difference, it proves the practice. -sesuPRIME 17:29, 8 September 2009 (UTC)


We would be approaching the realm of the ridiculous if we were to argue that the Game Pocket Computer might have had its release date slip 4 years to 1989 past the Game Boy's release date... as indeed it would be ridiculous for Epoch to release such outdated technology.

Although English print sources are nonexistent for this system, several websites (above the regular "blog" level) have information on the Pocket Computer, for example a retailer and a history page with release year and sale price, whose author is in the process of writing a game history book. So I would at least call that corroboration, if not outright proof.

220.96.84.146 (talk) 01:48, 9 September 2009 (UTC) Chris

I asked here for additional input. -sesuPRIME 22:02, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

Remember that we need verifiability here. You cannot simply point to an image and draw conclusions from there, as that is original research, which is not what we're in the business of doing. With that said, is there other information about this Epoch system? (Something reliable and in English would be nice.) MuZemike 15:45, 10 September 2009 (UTC)


MuZemike, you didn't address the sites that I had linked to in my last post.


There is some information in English on the Game Pocket Computer, even from "respected" gaming sites such as 1up.com and Engadget, and there are more:

Handheld Museum

Miniarcade

(my site)

...

plus Japanese sites.

So, can some, all, or none of these be considered to verify the release, and sale of the Game Pocket Computer? And if none, why? What disqualifies them?

If even Steven Kent can get his facts wrong in a book, what is the benchmark for accuracy of information?

I'd consider that last Japanese page to which I linked to be the most trustworthy source on the Game Pocket Computer, since it is the only one to actually quote a sale price, not to mention the author is writing a history book, putting him arguably on the same level as Mr. Kent.

220.96.84.146 (talk) 23:35, 10 September 2009 (UTC) Chris


Is there any decision on this? I would (of course) like to change the article to note that the GameBoy was the 3rd handheld to use cartridges (the second since the Microvision.) 220.98.23.218 (talk) 12:05, 23 October 2009 (UTC) Chris

Technical specifications

Is this section necessary? I say that because, first off, the section is not referenced by verifiable sources (unless such sources can be found). Second, I believe it provides too much in-depth information that it would be included (see WP:CRUFT); that is, it wouldn't be helpful for readers who are reading about the original Game Boy for the first time. What does everyone else think about this? I also say this because I have removed said section two times already, and it seems like there are some users who believe this information should stay here, in which I respectfully disagree. MuZemike (talk) 08:04, 6 November 2008 (UTC)


It is very much needed. Not everyone is reading about the Game Boy for the first time, some people want more in depth information. I used to do Homebrew GB development, however most of those resources have been lost by time. That face that contributors are unable to find sources to verify the technical specs shows the extent of this. Wikipedia needs this information for this very reason. It is historical data. As far as sources go, There is devrs.com/gb, a homebrew gamebody development site hosted by Jeff Frowein a professional game developer [1]. Specifically, [2], & [3], everything else here: [4]. Also check out the GBDK [5]. I came to this page looking for the technical data, others will too. Kelden (talk • contribs). 13:46, 28 April 2009 (UTC)

External Screen Output.

Does anyone know or remember the device used to out put what was on the Gameboy screen to an external screen. It was used widely for games reviews. I absolutely know it wasn't a camera attached to the device since they would have looked rather cumbersome and blatantly obvious back then, Does anyone have any clues? 77.100.16.146 (talk) 05:51, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

No, not really. Would it contribute any to the article at hand? MuZemike (talk) 08:11, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

claim that tetris was bundled with every unit

In Australia, I purchased a gameboy in 1993 and tetris was not being sold/included with the unit. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.214.50.162 (talk) 10:15, 5 June 2009 (UTC)

It certainly wasn't always included in the UK - we had a "Game Boy Solus" option which did not come with Tetris, though most people chose the Tetris option unless they were replacing a broken machine. 86.143.54.10 (talk) 01:51, 14 February 2010 (UTC)
It wasn't even bundled with every unit in the US. I bought a version that was bundled with Killer Instinct. 98.148.165.103 (talk) 17:09, 15 May 2010 (UTC)

Wasn't there a "Game Girl"?

I remember in the early 90s advertisements for "Game Girl", it was meant to be the "female" aesthetic version of "Game Boy" and to entice girls to purchase them and be part of the video game craze. Besides the name change on the exterior of the console, there would be pastel colors instead of more "bold" colors used for boys. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.42.253.202 (talk) 03:11, 26 July 2009 (UTC)

DellTG5 (talk) 13:13, 26 September 2009 (UTC) There is no reason for a "Game Girl". However somone made one. Google:Game Grrl.

Accessories: Work Boy

Since magazines tend to be sold marked with the next month on the cover, the Nintendo Power mentioning the Work Boy is most likely an April Fool's gag, and is hardly noteworthy (of course, is anything on this page?)

It took forever for me to find the title of this - my google searches eventually revealed the name of Work Boy/Workboy (The software says "Workboy" in the opening screen but some articles say "Work Boy"). It is indeed real, though it appears as if it was never released. I suspect if had been it would have done very poorly, being crushed by the Sharp Wizard line and other organizers. After all, who could take this thing seriously?

I disagree over it not being noteworthy and was disappointed that no one has yet created an article about it yet. The above and a mention in Wikipedia:WikiProject Video games/Reference library/Nintendo Power and an earlier revision of this talk page's article appear to be the only mentions on wikipedia. And if not wikipedia, there's always the nintendo wiki... Anyway, I've done the really hard work having typed "gameboy workboy" into google and written the above, so how about somebody out there doing the easy part and actually creating an article/stub? Oh, I'll eventually do it myself, probably sometime before 2015 or so... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 4.254.87.112 (talk) 04:05, 29 July 2010 (UTC)

Game Genie - Cartridge is facing the wrong way

Sorry to disappoint whoever keeps removing that blurb, but the cartridge on the Game Genie is facing the wrong way. Galoob designed the peripheral so that cartridges go in with the label side facing away from the user. To have the cartridge facing label-side out would have required the designers to completely reverse the GB's mechanics, as the cartridge position is exactly how it would face if the Genie were not inserted. Galoob took advantage of this fact and included little stickers that the user would apply to his/her game so that the player could reference them while the game was playing without taking out the little codebook.

This is also why, when you look at the GB Game Genie, there is a large warning right there that clearly instructs the player to insert the game with the label facing away from them.

In other words, that picture with the cartridge sitting in the Game Genie, label side out? The cart is facing the wrong way. Either take another picture with the cart facing the right way, or just leave the paragraph alone please. 75.165.99.3 (talk) 10:26, 9 December 2009 (UTC)

Wouldn't this point be more relevant on a page about the Game Genie itself, rather than on the page for Game Boy? I acknowledge that it is true and that it relevant to the specifications of the product. I would like to correct it (alas, I can't find my Game Genie). However, the point seems analogous to noting that -- say on the American football page -- a player is holding a football improperly in a photo when preparing for a pass. Such a point might be more relevant in the page about Passes in American football. 131.193.133.154 (talk) 19:12, 16 March 2010 (UTC)
While it's true that the cart is facing the wrong direction, I still haven't heard why it is necessary to keep the information in the Game Boy article. Is this something that someone reading this page is likely to need? Can someone please answer this before we leave this on here? 131.193.133.203 (talk) 21:19, 18 March 2010 (UTC)
Your football analogy is absoutely flawed. Whereas someone holding a football in any old way won't suddenly halt a game of football, the converse of someone trying to jam a cartridge label-out into a game genie WILL result in damage, both to the cartridge and to the system itself. The simple fact that a couple words mention that the cartridge is inserted entirely backwards is simply, for accuracy sakes, relevant. If it were an image on the Game Genie page, it would be relevant, but its a mention OF the Game Genie on the Game Boy page, warranting a mention. I think that all this obsession over four or so words is ludicrious. 22:53, 18 March 2010 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.197.243.180 (talk)
I also think this is ludicrous (but for different reasons than the above editor). The best solution is for someone to simply get a new picture. Does anyone have a Game Genie and their old Game Boy sitting around? Take a picture, stat! 131.193.133.203 (talk) 23:49, 18 March 2010 (UTC)
That would be the best option (re-take the photo). As it stands I cant think how it helps build the article describing an attachment with putting in the game cartridge in wrong with the device (what is the purpose of the game being put in wrong??). I would recommend either a new picture is taken, or a picture of the game genie alone. I believe its just weird to have the picture altogether in its current state, it does nothing but confuse. That aside until this new photo is taken there is no choice but to mention that the game is in wrong position. Alternatively (if there is agreement) the image could also be removed temprarily until a more clear image is provided that is not so confusing. Happy editing Ottawa4ever (talk) 12:00, 22 March 2010 (UTC)
I have an old Game Boy and Game Genie, but I'm not at my house; I'm away on an internship. I'll bookmark this page to remind me to come back here 9 weeks later with a picture of the game inserted the proper way. 98.148.165.103 (talk) 17:16, 15 May 2010 (UTC)

You people seem to just not get how it doesn't matter in the least. This is not a Game Genie article, nor is it about Game Boy peripherals. Saying it is important to note this trivia about the image is to overlook the article itself. Why would anyone need to take another image with a Game Genie just to replace this one? I guess to you people if there happened to be a glare on the table then you would have to mention that part in the description as well. Would the replacement image also need the glare? It is unrelated. - usucdik 23:35, 23 March 2010 (UTC)

Having a caption that states "this photo is inaccurate" is unencyclopedic. Therefore, I've removed it, since it's not necessary for the article. My opinion is that the image is irrelevant, regardless of whether it's correct or not.--ZXCVBNM (TALK) 03:16, 4 April 2010 (UTC)
If you're going to revert it, give a reason or I'll have to say that it's overtly adding unencyclopedic material without discussion.--ZXCVBNM (TALK) 03:20, 4 April 2010 (UTC)

Whether or not the cartridge is inserted correctly is irrelevant. Don't tell readers to note something that is not worth noting. I wasted my time staring at the image when I could spent time reading the article instead. The Game Genie isn't even mentioned in the article, so I question the value of the image and support its removal. Reach Out to the Truth 16:40, 4 April 2010 (UTC)

Processor Clock Speed Differences

Now and again I see websites state the original Gameboy's processor clocking in at 2.14 mhz and the Gameboy Pocket at 4.14 mhz. I am curious if anyone can confirm/deny or perhaps have some insight into this (possible) misconception. RestM (talk) 16:38, 6 January 2010 (UTC)

I never saw any reference that gave the original Game Boy clock at 2.14 MHz, all specifications (official and not) give 4.194 MHz as CPU clock frequency for all Game Boy since the original to the Advance in Game Boy Color mode. The Game Boy Color could switch from the 4.194 MHz frequency to a doubled 8.838 MHz and the backward-compatible GB Advance units could do that also (when in GBC mode). I think the 2.14 MHz frequency is too low for any Z80 based device (like the Game Boy): counting that a Z80 cycle is roughly equivalent to 4 MOS 6502 cycles, a 2 MHz Z80 would give a computing speed which would be half the speed of a plain 1975 Apple II (6502 at 1 MHz)! --95.244.155.150 (talk) 14:16, 3 April 2010 (UTC)

When was it discontinued?

When was the final classic GB (as opposed to Color, Micro etc) made/sold? 86.143.54.10 (talk) 01:50, 14 February 2010 (UTC)

More info on MBC chips?

I'm interested in more information on MBC chips (Bank switchers in Game Boy games, aka "mappers", eg. the MBC-3 A), and I'll probably search elsewhere, but Wikipedia has articles on similar chips for the NES Memory Management Controllers and a list of_Super NES enhancement chips , and the bank switching article briefly explains them as well. I'd like to see the possibility (or expansion) of an article or section on them. Dashwarts (talk) 03:25, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

power supply

On the back of the gameboy case you can read: RATING: DC 6V 0.7W. 0.7W at 6V are only be aprroximately 117 mA, so why should it require a 250 mA power supply? Maybe the 250 mA are from the officila power supply DMG-03.-06, but this could also be used as charger for rechargeable batteries, that whrer sold, so they maybe gave it a higher rating to charge faster, not because the gameboy itself needs it. The source also states an input voltage, which so meens,hat this data is vfrom a specific power supply, probably the original one. Because power supply input voltage is irrelevant for any device connected to a power supply. Also the gameboy power control circiut seems to be the same for batteries and the AC adapter, so there should be no additional power consumption.[6] Also the powersupply mentioned on the case next to the DC jack (DMG-03.-06) seemed to be only sold as a part of a package called just DG-03, which also contained a rechargeable battery. [7] [8] (you can find more examples on ebay, but I cannot post a link, because shop.ebay.com is on the spam blacklist) --MrBurns (talk) 06:12, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

Production Cycles

Until when was each revision (above all the classic Game Boy) produced ?
If possible specify the year/month/date of production/shipping of the last unit and in each region (JAP/EU/US).
I could not yet find a reliable source.
Hippo99 (talk) 08:15, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

Are ROM sizes in bits or bytes?

Is the unit really bits in the following (section "Technical specifications")?

"... 256 kb, 512 kb, 1 Mb, 2 Mb, 4 Mb and 8 Mb cartridges"

That is, 256 kilobits, 512 kilobits, etc.

If it is I think they should be converted to/listed in bytes, to avoid confusion and be more consistent with the unit that is normally used for (electronic) memory capacity.

What do you think?

--Mortense (talk) 18:14, 2 September 2010 (UTC)

Considering I had nothing better to do, I'd like to just mention that all conventional computer memory is stored in bits, as it is all binary. - Odokee (talk) 09:50, 3 September 2010 (UTC)
Using bits as the base unit is correct. This is by convention for memories (when talking about memory chips rather than consumer goods) and that's how Game Boy ROM sizes were reported back then, from official sources. On the other hand, it might be suitable to clarify that the prefixes in question are actually Mebi and Kibi, by changing the prefixes to Ki and Mi from k and M. Nitro2k01 (talk) 02:03, 10 October 2010 (UTC)
Yep, it's almost certainly correct. There are very few truly large gameboy cartridges; the bulk of what consumes space in, say, a 6MB (48mbit) SNES cartridge is graphics and sound data. The gameboy operates a 2-bit colour system, and doesn't need large backgrounds or sprites thanks to the low resolution (160x144), plus it only has a synth-plus-noise chip with little if any in the way of sample playback; the SNES ran at a typical -minimum- of 256x224 (2.5x the screen area) in 8-bit colour or sometimes higher - for the same "size" of game, that alone could count for easily an 6x reduction in space required for graphics... plus it used PCM samples for its musical instruments.
Doing a quick bit of division, an 8Mbit cartridge is 1MByte ... 1 and 2 Mbits are 128-256kByte which were certainly common 8-bit game cart sizes (the Master System used to *boast* of it's 1Mbit "Mega" carts)... 256kbit is 32kByte. Which is small, yes, but still plenty for a simplistic, near-monochrome, 8-bit game. For example - Tetris, Space Invaders or one of a myriad of Breakout clones. How much space do you think they actually need, when there's been plenty of conversions of all of those for home computers that had to load the game off a cassette, at 1200 baud, into 16kbytes of RAM (shared between all parts of the system including the video hardware) before it could be run? And many 16-bit home computer games came on a single 720~800kByte floppy disk or two 360k ones? I don't think I've yet seen an original Gameboy cartridge ROM image file that's over 512kByte, in fact... (GBC ones may be larger). :-)
Also, ROM sizes are traditionally given in megabits, as they have been a common feature to computer systems regardless of word/element size (e.g. 36-bit CPU IBMs with either 6 or 9 bit characters ("bytes")), and were originally supplied - as were RAM chips - in single-bit widths, simplifying their packaging and internal design (it could be a very simple bit-matrix with a small amount of address decode circuitry and no need to simultaneously output multiple bits on different legs), and allowing system manufacturers to just buy a bulk quantity of generic chips and arrange them whatever way they liked - or order in, say, 4... 6... 8... 9... 36... different batches of 1-bit ROMs to the required designs. So you'd get a pile of, say, 1kbit memory chips... arrange them in four banks of eight chips each... voila, a 32-kbit memory. Or 4kBytes to you and me in the modern world. You'll also find that things like Playstation memory cards are sold this way... a "one meg" PSX card is actually 128kByte. Makes it sound bigger, more impressive, like less of a rip-off when a 1Mb(it) card costs, say, £5-£10, and a box of ten 1.4MB(yte) floppy discs is the same price...

193.63.174.211 (talk) 17:44, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

Why the Z80-like CPU was chosen for the GameBoy and not the 6502, for example ?

Could someone maybe put in a section in the main article to explain why the Z80 style (but customised with modifications, including internal sound channels) CPU was chosen for the GameBoy and not the 6502 (could have been customised also like the NES), for example ? Surely it can't of been because the Z80 was seen as being "easier" to program by a lot of people? Was it cost (hard to understand since 6502 was very cheap I thought) ? Was it because the Z80 would use significantly less power than e.g. the 6502 (I don't know?). Was it because Z80 needed less support chips and thus could use a smaller PCB, important in such a small hand held unit (Z80 can refresh DRAM by itself without extra external IC's for example)? I couldn't find any info online about this elsewhere? Live Steam Mad (talk) 19:43, 3 April 2012 (UTC)

It's a low power mod of the Z80, made by Sharp. Presumably no 6502-equivalent chips were available? 193.63.174.211 (talk) 18:10, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

Discontinuation dates?

Nintendo seems to have done their damnedest to pretend like the Gameboy was all one continuous run from the introduction of the original white-box monster through to the death of the final incarnation of the GBC... but that's a bit contrived for my liking, too much of a ploy to ensure they could claim the guinness "highest sales/longest production run" top spot in perpetuity. And wikipedia seems to be aiding and abetting in carrying this on.

The original big-ass gameboy production stopped at some point in favour of the GB Pocket, and then the GB Pocket was phased out once the GBC was established... or at least, they sure stopped being sold! (Maybe they kept making one or two a year to keep it technically true, and hiding the results in a hole in the desert next to all of Atari's surplus ET cartridges?) ... Can anyone pin down what the dates are for these, even to the nearest quarter-year? 193.63.174.211 (talk) 18:14, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

Front-lit DS

I removed the assertion that the DS was front-lit on this page as I couldn't find any sources to verify that. Feel free to add it back if you know any sources.Dive7 0 (talk) 21:23, 22 January 2013 (UTC)

Other names

What other name were considered before deciding on Game Boy? Did the project have any codenames? --209.203.125.162 (talk) 03:26, 8 December 2013 (UTC)

What does this even mean?

"it combined features from both the Nintendo Entertainment System and Game & Watch and its B&W (except for Konami/Factor 5 games and Seaquest DSV shown in color)."

Apparently someone reverted my edit but what the hell is this supposed to mean? Could someone who actually knows English (unlike whoever wrote it) please review this? 84.249.104.18 (talk) 00:35, 10 September 2011 (UTC)

Still not making a whole lot of sense: "The Game Boy is Nintendo's second handheld system following the Game & Watch series introduced in 1980, and it combined features from both the Nintendo Entertainment System and Game & Watch and its B&W." Let's break this down, shall we - as it is now, the text above states that the Game Boy combined features from the following: 1) the Nintendo Entertainment System, 2) Game & Watch, 3) Game & Watch's B&W (whatever the heck that is). I'd edit myself but since my edits concerning nonsensical sentences are always reverted I won't bother. I'm guessing it's supposed to read ", and it's black&white." but vOv 213.138.152.225 (talk) 14:01, 14 December 2011 (UTC)

How about this for a better phrasing: "The Game Boy is Nintendo's second handheld system (the Game & Watch, released in 1980, being the first), and incorporates many features of both the Game & Watch and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System." The part about how it's black and green white can go into a different part of the article. Supernerd11 :D Firemind ^_^ Pokedex 01:19, 11 March 2014 (UTC)

Game Boy successor

I honestly cannot believe I'm writing this, but I'm getting real tired of this shit. Although common sense should apply here, the IP 76.107.252.227 (talk · contribs · WHOIS) insists on there being a citation for what should be clearly obvious. So, does anyone else think the Game Boy Color is the successor to the original Game Boy? Can we come to a consensus so this issue can be put to rest? gsk 11:16, 10 March 2014 (UTC)

Thank you for addressing this issue. I think the Gameboy Color isn't a successor, but more of a upgraded version to extend the life of the gameboy. both handheld devices have the same CPU and there isn't that much difference except it's in color. If we consider this a Successor then shouldn't the Sega 32X and Sega CD also be considered a sussor of the Genesis?--76.107.252.227 (talk) 11:24, 10 March 2014 (UTC)
Well, the 32X and CD are not good examples, because they were add-ons that only functioned with the original system. But otherwise, I'm not entirely sure what fully constitutes a "successor", myself, and I don't recall all the similarities/differences between the GB and GBC right off the top of my head. I'll look into it and give a better answer. In the mean time, someone could notify WP:VG of the discussion to get more input. Or even start up an WP:RFC. (Or both.) Sergecross73 msg me 15:36, 10 March 2014 (UTC)
I think it really depends on how you define "successor": On one hand, the GBC improved on the Game Boy in almost every way, and then the GBA from there, and the rest are just spin-offs/uprades of those (a Nintendo Power article from the September 2009 issue ("We Love Game Boy"), while never actually saying "successor", has the timeline of the various Game Boys set up like this) (I fall into this camp); On the other, since they're all just versions of the same basic system, they're just evolutions of each other and therefore aren't truly successors or predecessors of each other. I'd like to add the NP article as a reference, but I'll wait for consensus. Supernerd11 :D Firemind ^_^ Pokedex 01:09, 11 March 2014 (UTC)
  • Why is there a need to define whether the GBC is a successor or not to the GB? Either reliable sources consider it a successor (in which case the article should report that), or if the issue isn't notable enough to have warranted any kind of coverage, then we have no reason to discuss it in-article. ☺ · Salvidrim! · ✉ 15:43, 10 March 2014 (UTC)
Well I noticed the citation to the gameboy color being the successor, which got me thinking is it a successor or more of a variation. That's why I wanted a source, also why is it such a big deal rather I or whomever added that citiation want a source? One more thing if the Color is the succsor shouldn't the Pocket and the Light also be considered successor?--76.107.252.227 (talk) 21:25, 10 March 2014 (UTC)
Oh snap! I started this!? I challenged the notion because that "fact" may not be *puts on sunglasses* as black-and-white as some might think. I never found Nintendo recently calling it a successor, just stating its part of a Game Boy line that includes the GBA. [9][10] I agree with Salvidrim. « Ryūkotsusei » 22:45, 18 March 2014 (UTC)
I applaud you, sir. Supernerd11 :D Firemind ^_^ Pokedex 23:48, 18 March 2014 (UTC)

"Mini Comboy"?

Does this need to be mentioned so prominently in the lead sentence? It's a non-English, non-native name. Should be better placed elsewhere? Яehevkor ✉ 19:46, 19 May 2014 (UTC)

launch game

I added the game of "Pokemon" in this categories, cause I think it's a very popular game in that time. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Kakiwan94 (talk • contribs) 22:04, 17 November 2015 (UTC)

I removed Pokémon (must been refering to Pokémon Red and Blue) from the article's list of launch games because I think you misunderstood of the term "launch game". A launch game refers to a game that was available at the time of the console's release. For the Game Boy, Super Mario Land and Tetris are released in 1989 as launch games for that platform. Pokémon – on the other hand – is not a launch game for the Game Boy, and wasn't released until 1996, so I don't see why it should be included in such a list. -- Hounder4 22:40, 17 November 2015 (UTC)

Clock Speed ≠ Processor Speed

Hi,

I've worked on a number of Gameboy games and the CPU runs at 1.05MHz. This can be simply tested by setting off a loop with a 24-bit counter from the VBlank & seeing how high the number reached until the next VBlank. Multiple tests showed that it was running code at just over 1MHz. Divide the clock by 4 and you get the exact number. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.106.56.145 (talk) 14:53, 26 November 2015 (UTC)

Hello fellow Wikipedians,

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Extended-confirmed-protected edit request on 18 November 2017

Change Tennis and Tetris to style="background:#FFC7C7;color:black;vertical-align:middle;text-align:center;" class="table-no"|No for Japan since they were not launch titles in Japan. 24.112.204.12 (talk) 06:07, 18 November 2017 (UTC)

 Done.  AJFU  (talk) 15:01, 18 November 2017 (UTC)

GameBoy Hardware Specifications -- RAM

The article lists 8kB (up to 32kB) of SRAM existing on the system. It is not noted that this RAM is battery-backed and on the cartridge. (And that not all cartridge types include SRAM).

The system's built-in memory of 8kB is also unlisted, or indistinguishably listed as the above SRAM. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Noopoop (talk • contribs) 01:47, 1 October 2018 (UTC)

Source for the hardware's history

This Wiki:

https://shantae.fandom.com/wiki/Game_Boy

has done an excellent job for the Game Boy and NDS consoles series. It might be worth taking inspiration from it. Unusually for Wikia/Fandom works, it's even sourced!91.166.61.149 (talk) 14:40, 25 March 2019 (UTC)

I'd like to point out that, per WP:USERG, articles from the Shantae Wiki (or any wiki from Fandom) cannot be used as sources because, like Wikipedia, they can be edited by any one. I suggest you should look for better sources using a custom Google search engine; see WP:VG/LRS. Also, the IGN's "History of Game Boy" article is already used in the WP page, there's more details from it (for example, the console's history and the revived interest of the Game Boy due the success of Pokémon game, other reliable sources has these). – Hounder4 16:06, 25 March 2019 (UTC)

2-voice speaker

I've edited it to "single speaker" as there was nothing cited for it. If someone can elaborate, please do. - eyeball226 (talk) 16:13, 1 September 2019 (UTC)

Starting work on recording request

Hey there! I'm new to Wikipedia editing, but I wanted to try and honor the request for an audio version of this page. If there are no objections, I'll start work on writing the script and recording by sections. This page has been stable (by my cursory glance of the page over the past couple months, at least), so I figured now was as good a time as any to get started. If there are any edits to this page, or if you think I shouldn't work on this particular request, let me know.

Keenfrizzle (talk) 18:07, 21 April 2021 (UTC)

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment

This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 9 January 2020 and 18 April 2020. Further details are available on the course page. Peer reviewers: TylerSukovski.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 22:01, 16 January 2022 (UTC)

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