Game Boy Pocket



After the success of the original Game Boy, Nintendo released the Game Boy Pocket in 1996. The console boasts a slim design, a grayscale display, and a light weight. As the name proclaims, this system was easier to fit into one's pocket than it's bulky predecessor, and thus, was truly the most portable of the game systems Nintendo had released by that point. The Game Boy Pocket, like the original, still relies on portable power (two AAA batteries), but still manages to provide 10 hours of gameplay before requiring replacement batteries. Furthermore, the Game Boy Pocket is backwards compatible with the original; it is not only able to play Game Boy games, but includes a smaller link port to which an adapter could be "linked" to the original system. This similar port design is standard on all subsequent Game Boy models, excluding the Game Boy micro.

The first version, a silver reproduction, did not include an LED indicator of battery levels. This feature was added in later models due to popular demand, along with multi-colored units.

Only Link's Awakening could be played on a Game Boy Pocket system, as it's predecessor, A Link to the Past, was created for the SNES, and it's successor, Ocarina of Time, for the Nintendo 64.

Game Boy Light
The Game Boy Light, the integrated backlit Game Boy Pocket unit, was only released in Japan in 1998. While its size runs larger than the typical Game Boy Pocket unit, the same number of AAA batteries used in the original model is capable of providing 20 hours of gameplay with the backlight off, and 12 with it on. The Game Boy Light was only available in gold and silver colors.

The Game Boy Light was the only Nintendo handheld to contain a backlight until the release of the Nintendo DS in 2004 (the Game Boy Advance SP uses a frontlight).

Both models, the Game Boy Pocket and the Game Boy Light, are currently out of production.