With amazing launch games like Tetris, simple controls, and the ability to get hours of gameplay on just four AA batteries, Nintendo’s Game Boy became a groundbreaking success. There’s a lot that people know about the Game Boy, like the fact that MissingNo. is probably still haunting you right now, but what else is there? Let’s look through the long history of the Game Boy and Game Boy Color with some of their stranger facts.
1. A Game Boy Orbited Earth a Few (Thousand) Times
Bundling Tetris with the Game Boy did more than help sell Nintendo’s groundbreaking handheld. It made the game itself as iconic as the console. It’s interesting to learn that not only is the Game Boy the first video game system that ever went into outer space, but Tetris was the first game to go with it.
Even more appropriately, given where Tetris comes from, the record was established by Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr A. Serebrov during his 1993 mission to the Mir space station. Returning 196 days later, it’s believed the Game Boy orbited the earth 3,000 times. This Game Boy has seen things you wouldn’t believe. AA batteries glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. Tears in the rain. George Foreman’s KO Boxing.
Seriously though, that’s quite an adventure for a little Game Boy, which earned a nod from the Guiness Book of World Records for its distinction. It would eventually be donated to a collection that went up for auction in 2011, fetching a little over a grand. In today’s post-lockdown retro market, you could probably buy a nice little island near Puerto Rico if you sold it on.
2. Work It Boy
The world of weird video game peripherals seemingly never ends, and that doesn’t even get into products like the WorkBoy, which never made it past the prototype stage. This was going to be a licensed Nintendo accessory in the form of a small, sturdy keyboard that could be hooked up to your Game Boy. From there, you could use the keyboard for a variety of PDF adjacent purposes, including the ability to keep addresses and appointments across 12, count them, 12 different apps. Apologies for the adrenaline no doubt surging through your veins as we speak.
Designed by Source R&D and produced by Fabtek, the WorkBoy even showed up for the 1992 CES. It would have been a fascinating bridge between video games and electronics designed for the workplace, but for a variety of reasons, including a price point that would have made the WorkBoy at least as expensive as the Game Boy itself, this accessory would never be released. Two prototypes are believed to exist, and the concept was briefly revived some years for the Game Boy Advance, which tried to introduce email into proceedings but never really got too far.
All WorkBoy and no Game Boy makes Game Boy…Jack Boy? I dunno, I’ve crossed too many pop culture streams at once here. The Proposal. Anyway, we’ve got all this stuff on our phones now, fun!
3. Okada’s Fight for the Game Link Cable
While the Game Boy might have been fine initially without the Game Link Cable, its later importance in the success of juggernauts like Pokémon, allowing for battles and trades between players, usually ending up in blood feuds because your mate traded your Mewtwo for his Magikarp in the dead of night at a sleepover, simply cannot be overstated.
Satoru Okada would work for Nintendo for over 40 years, primarily in R&D1 as the assistant to division director Gunpei Yokoi. A man who was not afraid to speak his mind to anyone he worked with or for, including Nintendo President Hiroshi Yamauchi, Okada was known as someone willing to go to bat for a concept he liked or didn’t like. He was the only one who saw the potential for the Game Link Cable.
It was Okada who had to convince his colleagues that even in their desire to keep production costs as low as humanly possible, giving players to communicate and share with multiple consoles was worth the time and money. They listened, and the Game Link Cable would be part of the Game Boy from day one, and it changed gaming massively in its own unique way. The mechanic was used for the next two generations of Pokémon, and was even referenced in Arceus on Switch as the Linking Cord.
4. The Gulf War Game Boy
Until just last year, if you visited the Nintendo Store in New York City’s Rockefeller Center, you could pay your respects to a truly one-of-a-kind Game Boy. The Game Boy would be released in April of 1989, with the Gulf War conflict taking place a little over a year later in August 1990. Stephen Scoggins was stationed in the Middle East at the time and had brought along a Game Boy to keep him company. The console would then suffer serious damage from a fire that destroyed a tent, not an actual bombing as some accounts have claimed.
Scoggins would later send images of the still-functional Game Boy to Nintendo Power, receiving a new handheld from Nintendo themselves. The Gulf War Game Boy eventually found its way to Nintendo’s headquarters, who kept the tough, still working little bastard on display for several years in Manhattan, where you could kind of make out the screen, sort of. So just like a normal Game Boy, then.
Unfortunately, we don’t know why Nintendo had this piece of history returned to their Washington offices, but it could maybe have something to do with the new museum in Japan. Can anyone get on a plane to Japan and find out this October? Also, ask about F-Zero while you’re there, please.
5. Faceball 2000 Supported More Than Four Players
The early FPS release Midi Maze, also known as Faceball 2000, predated LAN parties in 1987 by offering players the unique ability to link up to 16 computers for a multiplayer free-for-all. It was eventually ported to consoles, including the Game Boy, where the original 16-person multiplayer feature was fully intended to be part of the fun.
But it didn’t happen, and you’re not going to be able to access the feature by simply connecting a bunch of Game Link Cables and four-way adapters to 16 Game Boy consoles. The feature was ultimately included in the game but cannot be accessed because Nintendo said no to the special adapter Xanth Software F/X had planned to include with copies of Faceball 2000. The game supported two and four-player, and that was it.
And then in 2024, some mad lads actually managed to create the conditions necessary to make 16-person multiplayer a reality in Faceball 2000. Honestly, this looks like a great time. Keep your Fortnite.
6. What Was The Game Boy Going to Be?
The Game Boy was simplicity itself, in terms of its tech, appeal, and ease-of-use. However, the road to releasing the system in 1989 was a lot rockier than you might think. The two men most associated with its creation are Gunpei Yokoi, who initially saw the Game Boy as something along the lines of the simplistic Game & Watch series, and the already mentioned Satoru Okada, who wanted the Game Boy to act as basically a portable Famicom. These two absolute geniuses apparently had quite a few clashes over their distinctly differing visions for Nintendo’s ambitious foray into the practically non-existent portable gaming market.
So, who won out? Well, the Game Boy is considerably more powerful than anything you ever saw from Game & Watch. So, it might be fair to say that the Game Boy ultimately leaned into Okada’s vision a little more.
In general, Okada has made some controversial statements on who did what for the Game Boy. In one interview, he even said “I was the assistant of director of R&D1 and we had many arguments over this. In the end, he gave in and angrily told me: “Okay, do what you want!” I then asked him: “Fine! But are giving me full responsibility?” and since he said “Yes”, I made the Game Boy project my own. Yokoi just gave his seal of approval.” Satoru Okada has never been afraid to be blunt, no matter who or what he’s talking about.
7. Neil Young Used the Game Boy Camera for Album Art
Music icon Neil Young has always been someone who is going to do whatever he feels like. This includes using the Game Boy Camera to create some innovative and unique art that would be used for the cover of his 2000 album Silver & Gold.
There are no guest features from Lugia or Ho-Oh, sadly.
While it’s doubtful that Neil was a big fan of the handheld itself, he did seem to like the photograph taken by his daughter Amber using her Game Boy Camera. What the image of a person with their hand on their hips, staring with a completely indistinguishable face because the Game Boy Camera produced garbage photos, means to the album itself is up to your interpretation. The mosaic-like style of the image and how it looks as an album cover may connect to the album’s themes of familial bonds and the passage of time.
So, Neil might not be a secret gamer, but at least he had an appreciation for one of Nintendo’s oddest peripherals.
8. Go Fishing with the Game Boy Sonar
“It’s not enough that the Game Boy is deliriously entertaining!” millions no doubt screamed in the early 90s. “Can it help me catch fish?”
Well, thanks to Bandai in the late 90s, your Game Boy could be turned into a portable sonar with the Gyogin Tanchiki. Roughly translated, that means “Pocket Sonar”, and it’s kind of a shame that this bizarre accessory never made it outside of Japan. Another Guiness World Record holder, the Pocket Sonar would connect to your Game Boy, housed in a waterproof case, with the sonar itself being placed in the water. The Game Boy would then display relevant information if fish happened to be in the region. Pocket Sonar also came with an encyclopedia of fish information, and even a very minor fishing minigame.
Did it work? Based on some recent reviews, yes, but good luck deciphering the information on your tiny Game Boy screen. You might want to bring your Handy Boy along for this one.
9. Nintendo’s Greatest Ally Was Almost a Handheld Rival
Nintendo and Rare were closely associated in some form from the days of the NES right up until the GBA when Microsoft won full custody of the British boys, with Nintendo getting them on weekends for a little bit. But Rare almost went down a path that would have seen them fiercely competing with the Game Boy for handheld market dominance.
“Almost” being the key word here, because Rare founders the Stamper brothers, in particular Chris Stamper, only took their concept so far. Developing their own arcade board called RAZZ on a whim in 1988, the project would eventually be cancelled before completion. However, the board developed would later be repurposed for a handheld, which Rare would refer to as “The Playboy” because they had no serious intention of releasing.
But with a very rough prototype built, the Stampers decided to at least gauge interest at 1989’s Consumer Electronics Show. Then they got a first look at the Game Boy and decided to abandon any further notions. Probably for the best, but it’s fun to dream. At least more fun than imagining what really went down at the Playboy Mansion.
10. The Konami Hyperboy Was Kinda Hype, Kinda
Not a rival console you’ve never heard of, but rather the Hyperboy from Konami promised to make your Game Boy playing even better. It promised to address such issues as the screen being an absolute nightmare of blurriness and poor brightness, while also allowing you to plug in to the headphone socket to improve the audio. It was also visually at least a neat way to turn your Game Boy into a miniature arcade cabinet. It’s kind of like those tiny arcade cab repros we get these days from the likes of Replicade and Numskull. For that reason alone, it’s a shame that this thing never left Japan.
Because it also sounds like, for the most part, the Hyperboy really did improve screen visibility. We really cannot undersell just how annoying it was to play the Game Boy and even Color at times because of that screen, especially outdoors or during long car rides in summer. The weird light accessory market must have been worth billions.
Anyway, retroactive reviews for the Hyperboy suggest that some games can even benefit from an arcade-style controller layout, particularly a shooter like R-Type, or a brawler like one of the TMNT Game Boy games, but that platformers like Super Mario Land may take some getting used to.
Just keep in mind that if you want to get one for yourself, the Hyperboy only works with the original Game Boy model and also yes, it’s hype, but $200 hype? How Hyper can one Boy get?
11. New Game Boy Games Are Still Coming Out
The rise in popularity of retro gaming and classic video game aesthetics has gone so far as to see ancient consoles like the NES and the Genesis getting physical copies of new games. If you know about those, then it may not surprise you to find that the Game Boy has been getting a similar treatment.
As recently as the past year, numerous games have received physical, albeit very limited, releases that work just fine in any Game Boy. The homebrew community for many consoles is something to be seriously admired, and the passion that has gone into creating Game Boy games like Fydo’s Magic Tiles, Repugnant Bounty, and Nyghtmare: The Ninth King is pretty wild to see. To be able to purchase physical copies of these games, although they tend to sell out very quickly, and recapture just a little bit of that magic of buying a Game Boy game at launch from a Woolworths or Target is something pretty special.
The Game Boy still has a lot to offer. Do you think we will be seeing homebrew Switch games in 30 years from now? We’re not so sure.
12. Your Game Boy Can Fix Your Scooter
A recent article for Motor1.com revealed that for both the Game Boy Color and later Game Boy Advance, a special cartridge was made that was designed to use a Game Boy as a diagnostic tool for certain scooters made by Aprilla, Peugeot, and Suzuki.
After a simple hooking up process, the special cartridge could then show you information such as the speed of the engine, the engine throttle, and even the temperature functions. Using actuators, a technician or mechanic could determine if scooter features like the injectors, pumps, or ignition were functioning both mechanically and electronically. With some scooters you could even update the Electronic Control Unit (ECU).
And that’s it. No minigames. Nothing too exciting. Not even a Caterpie to catch. But if you have a vintage scooter from one of Aprilla, Peugeot, or Suzuki, and you’re willing to pay what could be a lot of money for a CIB copy, you too can experience what’s technically the most accurate sim ever made for the Game Boy.
13. Your Mobile Phone Could Take It Online
The Mobile Game Boy Adapter was another example of Nintendo tinkering with some form of online gaming but was released at a time when it was believed that only Japan’s wireless mobile technology and reach was capable of allowing wireless play on compatible games.
The project was a collaboration between Nintendo and Japanese company Mobile1, themselves jointly owned by Nintendo and Konami. The small adapter was connected to a blue cord that could would be plugged into your phone, and then into your Game Boy or Game Boy Advance, allowing for a primitive form of online play. Had the adapter been successful in Japan, it’s safe to assume it would have at least had a fighting chance of a western release.
But that just didn’t happen. We can assume a big part of that was low sales, which itself was due to the fact that very few games supported the adapter. The big one that did was Pokémon Crystal, and it’s been speculated that since most of the game’s audience didn’t have their own mobile phones — remember this is early 2001 — the main reason to buy the Mobile Game Boy Adapter disappeared.
14. Those Canceled Dino Crisis/Resident Evil GB Ports
When we talk about the best in PS1 horror games, Dino Crisis and Resident Evil (minus Survivor, obviously) are cornerstones. So popular were they, those ambitious scamps at Capcom greenlit ports of both Dino Crisis and the first Resident Evil to the Game Boy Color. However, neither of these games ever made it to the system.
The details of each cancellation are pretty interesting. Dino Crisis in fact had two Game Boy ports in production at different points. The first was a top-down adventure game that many believe was later used to develop Resident Evil Gaiden for the Game Boy Color, the Resident Evil game we did get but most wish we didn’t. The other was a first-person game that would have utilized static backgrounds, images, and blocks of text.
And as for the Resident Evil Game Boy Color port, that was very nearly finished. Although the game would have aspired to be as faithful to the PS1 original as possible, Capcom shelved it with the statement that they “Were not confident that the product would have made both consumers and Capcom happy.” You do wonder what version of Survivor they played, then.
Fortunately, this unfinished game was eventually leaked. It’s not great, but it is history.
15. The South Park Game That Became a Mary Kate & Ashley Game
South Park was an immediate hit after its August 1997 debut on television. Video games naturally followed in short order, with the first games arriving in 1998 and 1999. The Game Boy Color was going to be part of the fun, with a game being announced, and even advertised in Nintendo Power. But then the game seemingly disappeared from the release slate.
As the story goes, Matt Stone and Trey Parker ultimately decided that a game based on the controversial animated series wouldn’t be a good fit for the kid-focused Game Boy Color. Undaunted, Acclaim would simply take the largely finished title, which was eventually found and dumped in 2018, and use it for two other games. One of which was a Mary Kate & Ashley tie-in called Mary Kate & Ashley Olsen: Get a Clue!, which just missed out on the Golden Joystick that year.
Interestingly enough, both brands would each eventually reject video games, with Mary Kate and Ashey suing Acclaim in 2004 for making a barrel of crappy games bearing their likeness, and South Park refusing another licensed game for a full decade after a series of total ploppers.
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