When did the Game Boy Light come out?

The Game Boy Light was released in 1998.

How many games are licensed for the Game Boy Light?

Approximately 1,057 licensed games were released for the Game Boy Light.

How many Game Boy Light units were sold?

Around 1.5 million Game Boy Light units were sold worldwide.

Can the Game Boy Light be modded?

The Game Boy Light supports softmodding — no hardware modification required. Custom firmware: N/A (no OS); flashcarts — EZ-Flash Junior, Everdrive GB X3 / X5 / X7.

Game Boy Light

Variant of Game Boy

Manufacturer: Nintendo
Released: 1998
Generation: Gen 4
Type: Handheld
Region: JP
Units sold: 1.5M

About Game Boy Light

The Game Boy is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America on July 31, 1989, and in Europe on September 28, 1990. Nintendo's first handheld to use ROM cartridges, it succeeded the Game & Watch line of handheld electronic games and competed with Sega's Game Gear, Atari's Lynx, and NEC's TurboExpress in the fourth generation of video game consoles.

Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA 4.0).

Read about the Game Boy Light in the Chapter 4: The 3D Revolution era of our long-form console history.

Library & collector facts

Software library

1,057licensed games

North America: 1,057

Best-selling game

Tetris

What's different from Game Boy

+ Added

Electroluminescent (EL) backlit screen — first backlit Game Boy
On/off switch for backlight to conserve battery
Smaller form factor similar to Game Boy Pocket
Japan-exclusive release

− Removed

Worldwide availability (JP-only)

± Changed

screen: Reflective LCD → indiglo-style green EL backlit LCD playable in the dark
battery life: ~10h on 2 AAAs (GB Pocket) → ~12h backlight-off / ~20h backlight-on on 2 AAs
power source: 2 AAA → 2 AA batteries

Lineage

Game Boy LightGame Boy Color →

Launch titles & exclusives

Launch titles

Tetris · Super Mario Land · Alleyway · Baseball · Yakuman (JP launch only) · Tennis

Pack-in game

Tetris (NA / EU launch bundle) — credited as the system-seller

Notable exclusives

Tetris · Pokemon Red / Blue / Yellow · Super Mario Land 1 & 2 · The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening · Metroid II: Return of Samus · Kirby's Dream Land · Wario Land · Donkey Kong (1994, the puzzle remake)

Final licensed game

Pokemon Yellow (1998, NA) was among the last major releases; some Japan-only titles released into 1999

Most valuable collectible

Hello Kitty World (JP, very limited); Spud's Adventure (NA, low print run); sealed launch DMG-01 units

Hardware specs

Cpu: Sharp SM83
Ram: 8 KB RAM, 8 KB Video RAM

Hardware revisions

Original DMG-01(1989)
launch hardware, reflective monochrome LCD, 4 AA batteries, ~10–15h life
Game Boy Pocket MGB-001(1996)
~half the size, true black-and-white screen (vs. green-tinted DMG), 2 AAA batteries
Game Boy Light MGB-101(1998)
JP-only, EL backlight, the only original-line Game Boy with a lit screen

Launch colorways & special editions

Launch colors

SilverGold

Special editions

Astro Boy / Tezuka Osamu Limited (JP, 1998)
Pokemon Center Yellow Pikachu Edition (JP)
Famitsu translucent variants (JP)

Modding scene

Difficulty: soft-mod
Custom firmware: N/A (no OS); flashcarts — EZ-Flash Junior, Everdrive GB X3 / X5 / X7

Reception & legacy

Launch reception

Skeptical reception inside Nintendo — staff feared the monochrome screen would lose against the color Atari Lynx and Sega Game Gear, but battery life proved decisive

Notable controversies

JP exclusivity bred resentment in Western collectors; original EL inverter is failure-prone and emits a faint high-pitched whine some users find annoying

Cultural significance

Defined handheld gaming for a decade; Yokoi's 'lateral thinking with withered technology' (cheap, proven parts) ethos shaped every later Nintendo handheld through the DS era