The Game Boy introduced Nintendo’s interchangeable handheld game cartridges in 1989. Nintendo released the system in Japan on April 21, followed by North America in July and Europe in September of the same year.
Designed by Gunpei Yokoi and Nintendo’s Research & Development 1 team, the Game Boy used a monochrome screen and an efficient processor rather than aiming for the most powerful portable graphics. Its interchangeable cartridges allowed one device to support many different games, a major advantage over single-game handhelds.
The launch package in Japan included Super Mario Land. In North America, Tetris became the system’s defining pack-in game and helped broaden its audience beyond children and dedicated players. The Game Boy’s battery life and rugged design also contributed to its popularity.
The Game Boy family later expanded with the Game Boy Pocket, Game Boy Light, and backward-compatible Game Boy Color. The original Game Boy itself remained commercially important for years, selling more than 118 million units when combined with the Game Boy Color.