Anniversary Game Boy Color Turns 25 Today

Boy, that's a shock

by Damien McFerran Sat 21st Oct 2023

Nintendo's Game Boy Color turns 25 today.

The colour screen handheld hit Japanese store shelves on October 21st, 1998, arriving in North America and Europe in the following month.

Building on the success of the original Game Boy – which arrived in 1989 – was always going to be a tricky proposition for Nintendo, but the company succeeded thanks to a superior screen, excellent stamina and backwards compatibility with the existing Game Boy library.

The Game Boy Color was also home to some fantastic games of its own, including Zelda: Oracle of Ages / Seasons, Metal Gear Solid: Ghost Babel and Super Mario Bros. Deluxe.

The Game Boy Color's lifespan would be considerably shorter than the console it replaced; it would be overtaken by the more powerful Game Boy Advance in 2001.

Combined sales of both the Game Boy Color and its forerunner, the monochrome Game Boy, total 118.69 million, making it one of the most successful gaming systems of all time.

Let us know your memories of this classic system by posting a comment below.

Damien has been writing professionally about tech and video games since 2007 and oversees all of Hookshot Media's sites from an editorial perspective. He's also the editor of Time Extension, the network's newest site, which – paradoxically – is all about gaming's past glories.

1
Poodlestargenerica
Sat 21st Oct 2023

Mediocre Hardware all the things told, but man was it a hotbed of game design and innovation. And of course the Zelda trilogy is still unmatched in the 2d gaming sphere imo. It was also the first really good looking handheld console, I had a turquoise one.

2
JohnnyMind
Sat 21st Oct 2023

Happy anniversary Game Boy Color, it's thanks to you that I got to play not only exclusive GBC games, but also GB ones since we've never had the original Game Boy at home!
We got a red one which became my sister's and a yellow Pikachu one which became mine.

3
Grim
Sat 21st Oct 2023

Still have my neon green I got for Christmas that year with Pokémon red and Kobe Bryant’s 3on3

4
Serpenterror
Sat 21st Oct 2023

While the Game Boy Color was a nice little upgrade to those who always wanted to play their Game Boy library in colors, Nintendo did fall back on the device a bit from the Game Boy Pocket and Game Boy Light. For one the bigger screen had been downgrade to be much smaller, the internal light the GB Light had was not implemented and instead of using AAA batteries, it used two AA batteries instead keeping the system to a good 15-18 hours of game time. I do enjoy the system's few exclusives such as PowerQuest, Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil Gaiden, Street Fighter Alpha, Shantae, Pokemon Gold and Silver, and the Zelda Oracle games.

5
Gamecuber
Sat 21st Oct 2023

The GBC was the first system that I bought with my own money. I’d had a Game Gear in the early 90s and only got an original GB in 96. The GBC was a very good upgrade from the classic GB: smaller form factor, much sharper screen with no motion blur, only needed a couple of batteries and some of the games were pretty impressive, especially when it gave new life to old monochrome games. My only gripe is the lack of a backlight but a worm light was a cheap solution, especially since the back light is what made the Game Gear such a battery hog back in the day.

When my son was first getting into games I bought him a GBC in Atomic Purple (the see through model) that I found in pretty decent condition. He loves playing it to this day, especially Wario land 2. I then found myself a grape coloured model online in immaculate condition for a ridiculously good price. My original teal model is with a friend and still gets used to this day 25 years later!

6
MysticX
Sat 21st Oct 2023

@Poodlestargenerica That's pretty much Nintendo in a nutshell up to this day, really.

Biggest advantage was battery life, the Lynx was in colour, but ran on 6 AA batteries, and for only a few hours, the Gameboy wasn't spectacular, but could run for ages on fewer batteries.

7
ChromaticDracula
Sat 21st Oct 2023

It’s a true testament as I still play mine! Of course I’ve upgraded it with a backlit screen and rechargeable battery and the like but the games still hold up and I never forget the controls as weeks and months pass between gaming sessions!
I love the gameboy color. Just the thought of that purple gameboy with a Pokémon red cart inserted is so comforting. The perfect shades of color, side-by-side. The bleeps and bloops. Ugh…
Mission Impossible had a TV remote function so I was changing TV channels with my gameboy… such a cool piece of tech.
I feel like the gameboy color and even 3DS had all these extra features and functions that even Switch lacks now. No IR port, no streetpass, no expansion slots that never get utilized… I feel like the older products were more thought out or just had so much more going on.
I remember I had either a green one or a purple gameboy color when it came out and my friend put a deep scratch on the screen or dropped it and dented it or something after I let him use it. His mom got me a new one to replace it (which was one of the nicest things ever.)
I can’t remember if I had green first and then purple or vice-versa but ya… that’s my contribution.

8
daniruy
Sat 21st Oct 2023

Memories? I still play mine regularly. I modded it last year and it regained new life.

9
Coolmusic
Sat 21st Oct 2023

Happy 25th anniversary GBC!🎂🍾🥳 This was my very first Nintendo handheld system, ahh the memories.☺️

10
JJtheTexan
Sat 21st Oct 2023

I still have my original Atomic Purple Game Boy Color, a Christmas gift in 1998. I was in college at the time.

I never got many GBC-exlcusive games, but it did really add new life to my existing Game Boy library.

My favorite GBC game isn't even exclusive to that platform — The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX. I still prefer it to the 2019 remake. (Tetris DX is pretty great, too.)

11
AJB83
Sun 22nd Oct 2023

I love the GBC. I didn't even mind some of Nintendo's own games on it - somewhat strangely, I don't buy Nintendo systems for Nintendo games.

I've been pumping it on my RGB30 since I got it. Lots of V-Rally, Wacky Races, Game And Watch Gallery 3, any and all Looney Tunes/Tiny Toons games and a lot of rom hacks, colour hacks and new indie games. Such a great system with loads of memories attached!

12
mandlecreed
Sun 22nd Oct 2023

I remember Cannon Fodder being an excellent version of the game on it, even though you were limited to just two soldiers per level.

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