Nintendo Game Boy Original

Description

The Nintendo Game Boy (DMG-01) is the handheld that started it all, first released in 1989. It laid the foundation for portable gaming and became one of the most iconic consoles of all time

• Release Date: April 21, 1989 (Japan), July 31, 1989 (North America), September 1990 (Europe)

• Design: Sturdy grey plastic case with a small dot-matrix green screen and purple buttons.

• Display: 160 × 144 resolution, 4 shades of green/grey.

• Sound: Mono speaker, headphone jack (stereo with headphones).

• Power: 4 × AA batteries (around 15–30 hours of playtime).

• Processor: 8-bit Sharp LR35902 @ 4.19 MHz.

• Game Media: Cartridges.

• Best-Selling Game: Tetris (bundled in many regions).

Impact & Popularity

• Released alongside competing handhelds (Atari Lynx, Sega Game Gear), but outlasted them thanks to:

  • Long battery life

  • Affordable price

  • Strong game library

  • Durability (famously, one Game Boy survived a Gulf War bombing and still works—on display at Nintendo NY).

• The Game Boy brand sold over 118 million units (including the Game Boy Color).

Key Games

• Tetris (system seller)

• Pokémon Red & Blue (late 1990s, revived sales worldwide)

• Super Mario Land series

• Kirby’s Dream Land

• Metroid II: Return of Samus

• The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening