Game Boy Color
ゲームボーイカラー
Game Boy Color
- Manufacturer
- Nintendo
- Type
- Handheld game console · 8-BIT
- Note
- Model CGB-001
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Overview
Overview
A handheld console released by Nintendo in 1998. It used a reflective colour LCD developed by Sharp capable of displaying up to 56 colours from a palette of 32,768. It is backward compatible with original Game Boy software.
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Industrial Design
Industrial design
The reflective LCD required no backlight. Launch colours in Japan were red, purple, yellow, blue, clear and clear purple.
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Technical Specifications
Technical specifications
- Model number
- CGB-001
- CPU
- Sharp SM83 (LR35902) 4.2 / 8.4 MHz (dual-speed)
- Memory
- RAM 32 KB / VRAM 16 KB
- Display
- 2.3-inch reflective TFT colour LCD, 160×144; up to 56 colors from 32,768
- Bits (period term)
- 8-bit
- Generation (Wikipedia)
- 5th generation
Values are from the sources below. Where sources differ, see the notes under Sources.
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Controller
Controller
Uses the Game Boy-style handheld controls and adds a built-in infrared communication port, a first for the Game Boy line.
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Media Format
Media format
- ROM cartridge (Game Boy Color / Game Boy Game Pak)
ROM cartridge
A software medium housing ROM chips on a circuit board inside a plastic shell. The Famicom used this format from its 1983 launch; Nintendo's Western packaging called them 'Game Paks'.
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Launch & Context
Launch & historical context
- Release (Japan)
- 21 Oct 1998[2]
- Release (North America)
- 18 Nov 1998[1]
- Release (Europe)
- 23 Nov 1998[1]
- Release (Australia)
- 27 Nov 1998[1]
- Launch price (Japan)
- ¥8,900[2]
- Launch price (North America)
- $79.95[1]
Released in Japan on 21 October 1998 at ¥8,900; a price cut to ¥6,800 was announced in April 1999. It was the first Game Boy model with built-in infrared communication.
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Notable Games
Notable games
No games from this platform are in the archive yet.
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Gallery
Gallery
Game Boy Color
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Sources
Sources
- [1]Game Boy ColorReferenceAccessed 2026-09-26
Wikipedia (English)
- [2]ゲームボーイカラーReferenceAccessed 2026-09-26
Wikipedia (日本語)
Notes on conflicting sources
unitsSold omitted: Nintendo IR does not list Game Boy Color separately (its 118.69 million 'Game Boy' figure combines GB and GBC per EN Wikipedia). JA Wikipedia gives 49.12 million for GBC alone without a clear shipped/sold basis. JP price tax treatment not stated. English colour names (Berry, Grape, Dandelion, Teal, Kiwi, Atomic Purple) per EN Wikipedia. Generation '5th' per EN Wikipedia.
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Image Credits
Image credits
Game Boy Color
Game Boy Color handheld
PhotoEvan-Amos, modified by Gunnar.offel
Wikimedia Commons·Public domain