Game-changing Game Boy turns 30

Nintendo launched the Game Boy in North America 30 years ago, creating the handheld video game market which it has dominated ever since


First impressions: Sells 40,000 units on day one of release in U.S.

Tetris: Game Boy’s biggest selling game, shifting 35 million copies

Screen: Four shades of olive green, with resolution of 160×144 pixels

Inventor: Gunpei Yokoi (1941-1997). He also creates D-pad – still in use today in virtually all video game controllers

D-pad (or “cross button”)


Sep 20, 2019: Switch Lite released – 2,000 times more powerful than Game Boy


LIFESPAN AND SALES (handheld devices with over 1m unit sales worldwide)

200 million
150
100
50
0	1990 	2000 	2010

Nintendo
Consistent success since release of Game Boy

SEGA
Fails to compete with Game Boy in 1990s

Sony
Exits market after failure of second device

Game Gear
10.62m

Game Boy *
118.69m

Game Boy Advance
81.51m

DS
154.02m

PSP
82m†

3DS ‡
75.08m

Switch ‡
34.74m

PS Vita 15m†


*Launched in Japan (Apr 21, 1989), reaching North America (Jul 31) and Europe (Sep 28, 1990) – 
sales include Game Boy Pocket, Game Boy Light and Game Boy Color iterations

†Estimate (Sony does not divulge individual platform sales) 

‡Current generation console


Sources: Retro Gamer (issue 196), Engadget, Nintendo, Versus 
Picture: Nintendo
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