Game Boy Color

The Game Boy Color (also referred to as GBC) was Nintendo's successor to the Game Boy. It featured a color screen, and was only slightly larger than the Game Boy Pocket. The processor was twice as fast as a Game Boy's, and had twice as much memory. It featured an infrared communications port for wireless linking which did not appear in later versions of the Game Boy, such as the Game Boy Advance.

The Game Boy Color was a response to pressure from game developers for a new system, as they felt that the Game Boy, even in its latest incarnation, the Game Boy Pocket, was insufficient. The resultant product was backward compatible, a first for a handheld console system, and leveraged the large library of games and great installed base of the predecessor system.

The console was capable of showing up to 56 different colors simultaneously on screen from its palette of 32,768, and could add basic four-color shading to games that had been developed for the original Game Boy.

Specifications

• CPU: 8-bit Z80, ran in single mode (4 MHz) and double mode (8 MHz)
• RAM: 32 kbit (plus 128 kbit on cartridges)
• ROM: Catridges up to 64 Mbit were made
• Video RAM: 16 kbit
• Sound: 4 Channel FM stereo
• Video: Highly reflective TFT LCD, 160x144 pixels made by Sharp
• Color Palette: 32,768 colors; Supports 10, 32, or 56 simultaneous colors on-screen
• Controls: 8 directional D-Pad, A, B, select, and start buttons.
• Communication: Serial or Infrared
  • Serial: 512 kbit/s; up to 4 consoles at a time
  • Infrared: Less than 2 metres at 45 degrees
• Power: 2 AA batteries provide ~13 hours. An AC Adapter (DC 3V) was also available.

Screenshots

See also

• List of Game Boy Color games
• Game Boy Advance
• Game Boy