Nintendo Game Boy Color White Console

In 1998, Nintendo decided it was time for a major update to their trusty, black and white Gameboy. Believe it or not, a whopping 60 million of those little black and white units around the world were sold between the Gameboy's release in 1988 (in Japan -- U.S. residents had to wait until 1989 for it) and 1998 when the Game Boy Color arrived. What's amazing about the Gameboy is that it was pushed by one of the most successful marketing campaigns of all time. The Gameboy was one of the least advanced handhelds (the Atari Lynx, for example, had a 16-bit graphics engine and color), but still stomped the heck out of the competition. The Game Boy, really, became the only game in town, and that all started with the black and white, 8-bit Game Boy.

So, Nintendo wisely stuck with that system until the time had clearly come for a change. Therefore, the Game Boy Color was released and boasts color graphics, a faster 8-bit CPU (although it's still pretty much an old Z-80 under the hood) and more memory. The unit, of course, has sold well and a ton of titles were produced for it.

Now, here's the thing I absolutely hate about the Game Boy Color. It should have come out much sooner, and folks who plunked down $100 for the thing in 1998 were awarded with the release of the Game Boy Advance just three years later. The Game Boy Advance trumps the Game Boy Color in every way in terms of 32-bit power, compatability with older Game Boy titles, a more comfortable design, larger screen, more colors (512 on the screen instead of 56) and etc., etc. And, the Game Boy Advance is available these days for around $70 to $80 brand new.

Running out and buying a Game Boy Color, clearly, doesn't make much sense anymore as the GBA is cheap and will run everything the older systems can. Also, some of the Game Boy Advance games are fantastic (they compare favorably with Super NES titles right now and will only improve).

However, this is a review of the Game Boy Color, so I'll concentrate on that. If you're out for one, they can be found new for around $50 these days and "package deals" can be found on eBay and at stores like Game Xchange for next to nothing. Sure, you'll miss out on the Game Boy Advance titles, but there are still well over a thousand titles to choose from. There's enough to keep anyone busy and the games range from great role playing things to Pokemon titles for kids. Even fantastic titles like Lode Runner, an early platformer, are available for the Game Boy Color. Arcade translations, puzzle games and about anything else that would appeal to gamers can be found for the Game Boy Color. And, of course, new software is still available at retail outlets for the aging system.

Having said that, I absolutely hate the Game Boy Color screen. Sure, it's sharp enough and the color is decent (although a bit washed-out), but the lack of backlighting for the machine is awful. I realize Nintendo likely dropped the idea of backlighting for sake of energy conservation (13 hours on two "AAA" batteries on this thing). However, the lack of backlighting means the system can be hard to play in all but the most well-lit rooms.

There are, simply, no real good solutions to the lighting problem. The most popular seems to be a "worm light," which is a small, low-power light that feeds off system power and can be positioned over the screen. Every worm light I've seen leaves a bit too much glare and seems to get in the way of the screen easily.

Still, it's hard to argue with the success of the system or the great games available for it. Lighting problems can be reckoned with well enough, and I even got used to a blasted worm light after a period of time. And, the energy-efficient Game Boy Color is gentle on batteries -- 13 hours out of two "AAA" batteries just beats the hell out of four hours out of my beloved (and backlit!) Atari Lynx. And, the Lynx sucks down six "AA" batteries in that four-hour timeframe and the system is absolutely hostile to rechargeable batteries. The Game Boy Color, however, is very gentle on rechargeables and several battery packs are available for the system for very little money.

So, you get some great energy conservation and fantastic games. What else? Ah, folks! You also get an 8 MHz, Z-80-based CPU. Remember the Z-80? That one powered the likes of the ColecoVision and a ton of CP/M-based computers that were popular before the advent of the IBM-PC (the original Game Boy, by the way, clocked in at around 4 MHz with its Z-80 and the ColecoVision was slightly less than that). Sure, it's old technology, but it gets the job done.

As for controls, the standard, Nintendo "directional pad" is built into the unit with two action buttons. The "directional pad" is very comfortable for me, but that's probably because it reminds me a lot of the original controller for the Nintendo Entertainment System. The buttons feel a bit small, but the action is precise. All in all, it's not a bad control scheme, and works very well for a portable system.

So, the Game Boy Color has, in effect, been put out to pasture. Why should you own one? You can get it for cheap, have a ton of games to choose from and can even run original Game Boy titles in color. The Game Boy Advance has that same backward compatibility, but the Game Boy Color might be for you if you want something portable you can buy for next to nothing and love those "classic" Nintendo characters. Mario, Pokemon, Kirby and the rest all appear on the Game Boy and are entertaining as heck on car trips and what have you.