Nintendo released the original Game Boy in Japan in 1989.
The handheld launched in Japan on April 21, 1989, and later reached North America and Europe. Gunpei Yokoi led the Game Boy development team, applying Nintendo’s philosophy of using mature, affordable technology rather than maximizing technical specifications. The system used a monochrome display and interchangeable cartridges.
Tetris became the Game Boy’s defining launch-era success, especially because its puzzle design suited short portable play sessions. The Game Boy family remained commercially important for many years and was followed by the Game Boy Color in 1998. The original system is sometimes confused with the Game Boy Color, but the latter was a later, color-capable successor.