Game Boy

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Game Boy
Generation Fourth generation
Release date Japan April 21, 1989
USA July 31, 1989[citation needed]
Europe 1990
Australia 1990
South Korea May 2, 1991[1]
Discontinued 2003[2]
Predecessor Game & Watch
Successor Virtual Boy
Game Boy Color

The Game Boy is a handheld system that was created and distributed by Nintendo. It was originally released in Japan and North America in 1989 and then in Europe and Australia in 1990. The first Kirby game, Kirby's Dream Land, was released for the Game Boy. The system was largely successful, as it and its variations sold over 64 millions units during its lifetime. The Game Boy eventually received a successor in 1998, the Game Boy Color, which is similar to the Game Boy except its software makes use of full-color graphics instead of a monochromatic palette consisting of only four colors.

The Game Boy has the A Button, B Button, Start Button, and Select Button buttons as well as the +Control Pad, which are the same type of buttons as the Nintendo Entertainment System has. A Game Boy is powered by four AA batteries.

The Game Boy has received a few remodels over the course of its life. The first one was in the form of a Super Nintendo Entertainment System peripheral, the Super Game Boy, which was specifically designed to play Game Boy games from a TV display plus with user-customizable options such as a border and color palettes. In 1996, the first Game Boy remodel, the Game Boy Pocket, was released. It is smaller in size and uses only two AAA batteries instead. In 1998, the Game Boy Light was released, exclusively in Japan; it is around the same size of a Game Boy Pocket but it has a built-in light blue backlit screen allowing for screen visibility in darker environments.

Game Boy games are backward compatible with the Game Boy Color and the Game Boy Advance (except the Game Boy micro model). Certain Game Boy titles were also released for the Nintendo 3DS's Virtual Console, including every Kirby game for the Game Boy.

Kirby-related games

There are five Kirby-related games that were released for the Game Boy.

References