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Nintendo Gameboy

The Nintendo Gameboy was released in by Nintendo Japan in early 1989. It was the latest brainchild from Gunpei Yokoi, the genius behind Nintendo Game & Watch games. Gunpei also had several game writing credits to his CV at the time, the most notable was co-writing Donkey Kong, and the Nintendo CEO at the time was confident Gunpei would repeat his previous successes with the Gameboy.

The game came packaged with a simple, yet addictive puzzle game called Tetris. Consisting of different shaped bricks falling down the screen, the bricks had to be manipulated and moved by the player to create rows along the bottom of the game area. Once a row was completed it would disappear, freeing up space for more bricks to fall into.

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The now 'infamous' game was designed by by Alexey Pajitnov and written by Alexy & Dmitry Pavlovsky, two Russian Computer Science Engineers. Although the game is one of the most successful selling games of all time, both authors would have seen very little of the money from the Gameboy release as they lived in the Communist Soviet Union at the time, and any royalties would have gone straight to the Government (or allegedly the KGB).

The Gameboy was an instant hit, largely due to the Tetris game, but also because Nintendo promised ports of their best selling Donkey Kong, Zelda & Metroid games onto the new system. As with the Nintendo NES, Nintendo had no shortage of software developers waiting to make games for the new console. In its first year more than 100,000 consoles were sold in Japan alone, and it has gone on to be the biggest selling console of all time, racking up an amazing 168 million units worldwide.

However, these 168 million were not all the original incarnation of the Gameboy. Over the years, the console has experienced several transformations. Firstly to the Gameboy Pocket was released in 1996. This was essentially the same as the original Gameboy and had the same hardware inside, but it was smaller, sleeker and with a slightly clearer screen.

Next came the Gameboy Colour in 1998. This was the same layout, size and shape as the previous two Gameboys', but sported a colour screen, and a palette of 32,000 colours to choose from. Original Gameboy games were compatible with the Gameboy Colour, some even featuring enhancements, but Gameboy Colour games were not compatible with the original Gameboy.

2001 saw the release of the Gameboy Advance, a completely redesigned console with much more power & better graphics & sound. The most recent Gameboy Advance SP features (finally) a back-lit screen amongst its improvements.

Indeed, it was the lack of several features such as back lighting and colour that lead Sega to believe its handheld console, the Game Gear, would become more popular than the Gameboy. While the Game Gear was technically superior, had a more ergonomically pleasing shape and a larger colour screen, it lacked the game catalogue that the Gameboy had accumulated. That and the fact that its battery life was 1/5 of the Nintendo Gameboy saw its sad demise in 1997.

Several other consoles also attempted to Steal the Gameboys' crown as king of handhelds, but all fell short. The Neo Geo Pocket, Atari Lynx, Bandai Wonderswan and GP32 consoles have all failed to outsell the Gameboy. However, Sony have recently announced the imminent release of the PSP, which is almost as powerful as the PS2. Could this be the handheld to finally topple the Gameboy? Only time will tell.

As with any console, there are a number of add-ons you can buy. Not only did the Gameboy have link cables, magnifiers, back lighters, in car packs etc, but if you felt the need you could buy mini cameras, and tiny printers for your machine! Aside from the obvious with Tetris, notable games for me are Donkey Kong Land, Super Mario Land games, Zelda & the Pokemon games.

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Nintendo Gameboy Japanese Original Console Boxed

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£30.00
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£30.00

The original Japanese Nintendo Gameboy. The most successful console of all time is here! Although this is the Japanese console, Gameboys are not region locked so this will play PAL (European) or US games. The box just comes with the console and packaging - no games are included. The console is in excellent condition.

Nintendo Gameboy Light Japanese Pokemon Centre Console Boxed

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This item is very rare and is in mint condition.
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£200.00
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£200.00

This Gameboy is a limited edition Japanese Yellow Gameboy Light with Pokemon characters on the console. Released to commemorate the opening of the Pokemon centre in Tokyo in 1998. This item is boxed and complete with manual and carry bag.

Nintendo Gameboy Pocket Pink Console Boxed

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£35.00
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£35.00

The second release of the original Nintendo Gameboy. The worlds most successful console is here. The Gameboy pocket is smaller and more compact but still plays all the games the original Gameboy plays. This console is pink in colour. This console is boxed with instructions and has been tested and works fine.

Nintendo Gameboy Pocket Japanese Red Console Boxed

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£40.00
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£40.00

The second relese of the Nintendo Gameboy - the Gameboy Pocket. The most successful console of all time is here! The Gameboy pocket is smaller and more compact but still plays all the games the original Gameboy plays. This console is in Red. This is the Japanese Gameboy Pocket console, but will play any region of games as they are not region locked. The console comes with all packaging and parts, has been tested and works fine.

Nintendo Gameboy Pocket Silver Console Loose

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Box: 
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£30.00
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£30.00

The original second release of the Nintendo Gameboy. The worlds most successful console is here in silver. The Gameboy pocket is smaller and more compact but still plays all the games the original Gameboy plays. This console is loose and has been tested and works fine.

Nintendo Gameboy Pocket Black Console Loose

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£25.00
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£25.00

The original second release of the Nintendo Gameboy. The worlds most successful console is here in black. The Gameboy pocket is smaller and more compact but still plays all the games the original Gameboy plays. This console is unboxed and has been tested and works fine.

Nintendo Gameboy Pocket Console Clear Loose

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Box: 
no
£30.00
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no
£30.00

The original second release of the Nintendo Gameboy. The worlds most successful console is here. The Gameboy pocket is smaller and more compact but still plays all the games the original Gameboy plays. This is the particularly rare clear version. This console is unboxed and has been tested and works fine.

Nintendo Gameboy Green Console Loose

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£20.00
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£20.00

The original Nintendo Gameboy, but in green! The most successful console of all time is here! The console comes loose and has been tested and works fine.

Nintendo Gameboy Pocket Blue Loose

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£25.00
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no
£25.00

The original second release of the Nintendo Gameboy. The worlds most successful console is here in blue. The Gameboy pocket is smaller and more compact but still plays all the games the original Gameboy plays. This console is unboxed and has been tested and works fine.

Nintendo Gameboy Clear Console Loose

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£25.00
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The original Nintendo Gameboy, but completely clear! This is particularly hard to track down. The most successful console of all time is here! The console comes loose and has been tested and works fine.

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