lose in Cult and Retro Dodo have collaborated to assemble oodles of essay on the art of thehandheld equipment . From thehardwareto the games themselves , A Handheld History : A Celebration of Portable Gaming is a gorgeous self-examination into the decades ofgamingthat many of us commend from recollective rides on trains , planes , and automobiles . The inside is full of gorgeous photos and representative , and the full leger is a loving feeling atthe screenswe spent hours crouched over .
io9 presents an excerpt from the Good Book written by Brandon Saltalamacchia , the founder ofRetro Dodo . He talks about theGame Boy Colorand what it mean to him as a child , and even now . From discarded AA battery to plug - in overhead light , read on for an ode to the ubiquitous equipment of the ‘ ninety and early 2000s .
Game Boy Color
By Brandon Saltalamacchia
I have a very special place in my centre for the Game Boy Color . It was the first handheld console table that I ever owned and it single - handedly got me to where I am today . It spark off my love for picture game as a baby , it motivated me to begin my career in the games industry as a young gentleman’s gentleman , and it eventually pushed me over the edge to get out my full - time job to develop Retro Dodo with nothing but a small bit of pouch money and a carload of passion .
Handheld consoles have affect 1000000 of masses lives , and I am just one of them . What I am strain to say is that the Game Boy Color made this book that you are holding today possible — crazy , right ? Some of my good puerility moments revolve around this incredible piece of technology , so much so that it ’s actually linked to some of my other memories .
Image:Lost in Cult | Harper Collins
I recollect vividly opening up Pokémon Yellow for my 8th birthday — I was so excited that I retrieve my little embonpoint 4 understructure frame was pumped with epinephrin . The first matter I did was rive the box to shreds ( I now rue that decision after seeing the price of a boxed-in Pokémon Yellow on eBay ) , blow the fanciful detritus out of the new magazine , slot it into my peacock blue Game Boy Color , and pull out the over - sized gaming guidebook that I purchase with my own pocket money the week before . I ’ll never forget that solar day .
The Game Boy Color launched in October 1998 , and , although it was n’t really psyche - blow when you look at how the descent of Game Boys evolve over time , it was the first coup d’oeil at Nintendo ’s take on color screens for their portable devices . confessedly , Sega and Atari got there first , but Nintendo had the advantage of the Game Boy Color being far more portable , while also permit gamers to use their old subroutine library of Game Boy cartridges , making it more appealing for parents who already forked out on the original DMG model . Nintendo knew what it was doing !
Unfortunately , the new colour cover was not backlit , but with its new display and brand young colour game , it was enough to fend off the contention . The Neo Geo Pocket and Bandai ’s WonderSwan ( which became its closest competition ) saw just how popular the cabinet was and decide to release their very own consoles with color sieve short after for compete — the Neo Geo Pocket Color and the WonderSwan Color . As you could imagine , they did n’t come close to Nintendo ’s cut-rate sale .
Image:Lost in Cult | Harper Collins
concisely after the launch of the Game Boy Color , Nintendo release Pokémon Gold & Silver into the wild , and it feel like the humankind was n’t quick for what was about to happen . The secret plan sold over 23 million unit of measurement worldwide , make it one of the salutary selling Nintendo game of all fourth dimension .
I remember see tenacious lines of gamers queuing to get a copy . The local parks were filled with trading cables and Pokémon were being swop for absurd things — I saw a tike trade three Beyblades and a bagful of sweets for a Mareep , which , for those of you that do n’t know , is one of the most vulgar Pokémon in the game and chance to look like a sheep . ill-starred , buddy .
The new curved shell combine with the people of colour screen , and the penury for only two AA batteries to power it , is what helped push the $ 69 handheld into many family . It was also one of the first handheld consoles to be absolutely pound with cheap , screwball - looking peripheral gadget . Yes , the Game Boy DMG set forth this obscene market , but the Game Boy Color is what took it to a whole new level , featuring all kinds of different magnifiers , wormlights , grip , speakers , and battery packs . Not to mention the special branded editions of the console .
The way to tell if your friends at school had wealthy parent was n’t the fact that they had a sword newfangled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles haversack , and Buzz Lightyear sunglasses far too big for their head ; it was in reality showcased by how bragging and ugly their Game Boy Color look due to the sheer amount of accessories that were attached to it – not to mention the status of having a special branded edition of the handheld under all that extra gear .
At this moment the earth bed who Nintendo was , even if they had never touched a games console in their life . For me , and many gamers worldwide , it was the minute that the handheld play manufacture became mainstream . It may only have been a simple upgrade from the original , but it just goes to show what a difference a colour concealment can make .
“ Game Boy Color ” from A Handheld chronicle : A Celebration of Portable Gaming by Brandon Saltalamacchia is reissue with license from Harper Collins .
A Handheld History : A Celebration of Portable Gaming will be available October 17.Preorder here .
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