Game Boy Color

The Game Boy Color is the fourth model of the Game Boy as well as its successor. It is similar to original Game Boy units, with its main differences being a full color display and a processing power at twice the speed. The Game Boy Color was released in late 1998.

Some games made for the original Game Boy display more colors if played on a Game Boy Color. Other games were made exclusively for the Game Boy Color. The older versions could not play these, but the Game Boy Advance, the Game Boy Advance SP, and the Game Boy Player could. It also had the shortest lifetime of a Nintendo handheld, as it was discontinued in 2003, and the last game was released later the same year.

The Game Boy Color has identical controls to that of the original Game Boy and the Nintendo Entertainment System controller. These are, , , and buttons and the. There are no compatibility issues with games made for the original Game Boy being run on a Game Boy Color. All games, accessories that are programmed for a particular game (such as a Game Link Cable), and non-standard features (such as the camera protruding out of a Game Boy Camera cartridge) will work on a Game Boy Color. Playing games that did not have any color can now be played in color using a color palette by using a combination of and, , or no additional button being pressed to select presets, similar to the Super Game Boy how someone can change the colors into the typical monochrome display.

Like the Game Boy, a select number of Game Boy Color games were released through the Nintendo 3DS's Virtual Console service.

Hardware specifications

 * CPU: Zilog Z80 (customized)
 * CPU Speed: 8 Mhz
 * RAM: 16 kB
 * Resolution: 160x144 pixels (same as Game Boy)
 * Colors: 32,768 (15-bit RGB)
 * Maximum number of colors on screen: 56
 * Maximum sprite size: 8x16 or 16x8 pixels
 * Maximum number of sprites on screen: 40 sprites, 10 per scanline (same as Game Boy)
 * Maximum number of colors on sprite: 4 (Same as NES)
 * Minimum/Maximum cartridge size: 256 kb - 64 mb
 * Sound: 4 channels

Compatibility modes
All older cartridges are compatible with the Game Boy Color, but not always the other way around. Here is a chart to explain.

Accessories
All official accessories compatible with the Game Boy are compatible with the Game Boy Color.

IR communication
Exclusive to the Game Boy Color is an infrared LED, indicated by the black rectangle on top of the unit, that a Game Boy Color can use. This was the primary method in which Mystery Gift worked in Pokémon Gold and Silver Versions and Pokémon Crystal Version, but Super Mario Bros. Deluxe can make use of this feature by sending high scores and other data to other copies.

BIOS colors
These colors will also work on a Game Boy Advance, a Game Boy Advance SP and a Game Boy Player when a Game Boy game is inserted.

The Game Boy Color will display a unique hardware-coded palette of colors for some titles using an internal list of original Game Boy games. Super Mario Land and Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins are two examples of games that use this feature:

Trivia

 * The Game Boy Color, the Nintendo GameCube, and the Wii U were all released on the same day of their respective years in the Americas.
 * This is Nintendo of Australia's first portable console.
 * Each letter from the word "COLOR" in the logo is displayed in one of the system's five launch colors.
 * In many English-speaking countries (e.g. Great Britain), the correct spelling for "color" is "colour". Despite this, the name of the console was never changed outside of America to reflect this difference.
 * The Chronicle in Super Smash Bros. Brawl does not treat the Game Boy Color as separate from the original Game Boy.
 * This is one of the systems to appear on the Nintendo Gateway System.