5 ms·

>It was the first Game Boy to have a backlit screen, which meant I could finally easily sneak and play on it in the night without alerting my parents Actually,

>It was the first Game Boy to have a backlit screen, which meant I could finally easily sneak and play on it in the night without alerting my parents Actually, there was another Game Boy with backlit screen released much earlier -- just a few months before the Game Boy Color, though only in Japan. I remember said Game Boy because a friend of mine whose father traveled to Japan had brought one such Game Boy back with him for his son. It was called the Game Boy Light. The screen was monochrome with green backlight. Pretty badass. http://nintendo.wikia.com/wiki/Game_Boy_Light http://nintendo.wikia.com/wiki/Game_Boy_Light http://www.computercloset.org/NintendoGameBoy.htm http://www.computercloset.org/NintendoGameBoy.htm http://retro-treasures.blogspot.com/2012/04/silver-nintendo-game-boy-light.html http://retro-treasures.blogspot.com/2012/04/silver-nintendo-...

arm 10y ago
Ah, I completely forgot about the Game Boy Light! Also realized I made another error too: the original Game Boy Advance didn’t include an AC adapter; in fact the Game Boy Advance itself doesn’t even have a barrel connector on it to plug one in in the first place! I misremembered that the AC adapter that I have lying around for my Game Boy Advance didn’t come with it, but actually came from a third-party accessory my parents had ended up buying for me so they could stop wasting money on alkaline batteries (a controller grip similar to this¹ one that plugged into the battery compartment). Interestingly enough, Nintendo made such an accessory²³⁴ themselves as well (although without the grip part). ―――――― ¹ — http://emu.gbxemu.com/reviews/gba_battery_joypad.html http://emu.gbxemu.com/reviews/gba_battery_joypad.html ² — https://www.nintendo.com/consumer/systems/gameboyadvance/hook_acadapter.jsp https://www.nintendo.com/consumer/systems/gameboyadvance/hoo... ³ — https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00005B8G0 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00005B8G0 ⁴ — http://ign.com/articles/2001/09/30/game-boy-advance-ac-adapter-review http://ign.com/articles/2001/09/30/game-boy-advance-ac-adapt...
kuschku 10y ago
Are you sure the Game Boy Light was Japan-only? I’ve seen at least a handful of them in my childhood here in Germany. Backlit screen, exact same format, etc.
- eriknstr 10y ago
  Japan-only just means that there was a marketing and distribution effort by Nintendo there and nowhere else. Third-parties could still have imported the GB Light consoles to places like Germany. Could also be that the GB Light consoles you saw ended up in your area the same way my friend got one -- through family visiting Japan.

arm 10y ago

Ah, I completely forgot about the Game Boy Light! Also realized I made another error too: the original Game Boy Advance didn’t include an AC adapter; in fact the Game Boy Advance itself doesn’t even have a barrel connector on it to plug one in in the first place! I misremembered that the AC adapter that I have lying around for my Game Boy Advance didn’t come with it, but actually came from a third-party accessory my parents had ended up buying for me so they could stop wasting money on alkaline batteries (a controller grip similar to this¹ one that plugged into the battery compartment). Interestingly enough, Nintendo made such an accessory²³⁴ themselves as well (although without the grip part). ―――――― ¹ — http://emu.gbxemu.com/reviews/gba_battery_joypad.html http://emu.gbxemu.com/reviews/gba_battery_joypad.html ² — https://www.nintendo.com/consumer/systems/gameboyadvance/hook_acadapter.jsp https://www.nintendo.com/consumer/systems/gameboyadvance/hoo... ³ — https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00005B8G0 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00005B8G0 ⁴ — http://ign.com/articles/2001/09/30/game-boy-advance-ac-adapter-review http://ign.com/articles/2001/09/30/game-boy-advance-ac-adapt...

kuschku 10y ago

Are you sure the Game Boy Light was Japan-only? I’ve seen at least a handful of them in my childhood here in Germany. Backlit screen, exact same format, etc.

eriknstr 10y ago
Japan-only just means that there was a marketing and distribution effort by Nintendo there and nowhere else. Third-parties could still have imported the GB Light consoles to places like Germany. Could also be that the GB Light consoles you saw ended up in your area the same way my friend got one -- through family visiting Japan.