Game Boy Player

The Game Boy Player is an accessory for the Nintendo GameCube that allows it to play Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance cartridges. The games are not emulated but instead use physical hardware that is nearly identical to that of a Game Boy Advance. The Game Boy Player also has a link port that allows for linking up to other Game Boy systems and accessories, and it is even compatible with the e-Reader. The Game Boy Player is the successor to the Super Game Boy for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.

The Game Boy Player hooks up to the GameCube by being inserted underneath it. It comes with a Start-up Disc that must be inserted into the GameCube before a game can be played. Players may play with a standard Nintendo GameCube controller or use a Game Boy Advance that is hooked up via a Nintendo GameCube–Game Boy Advance Link Cable. By pressing on the GameCube controller, an options menu appears, but the game does not pause. The Game Boy Player cannot be played via a Wii because it has a largely different footprint and lacks the slot where the Game Boy Player is inserted.

The Game Boy Player allows for a small amount of customization for playing Game Boy games, although it does not make use of those available for the Super Game Boy. Because the dimensions of a Game Boy screen is inconsistent with most television screens, a border is necessary. It is possible to configure the size of the border, the background of which can be changed to a number of different patterns. A timer ranging from 1–60 minutes can also be added.

A few games, such as Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, and Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire, show the Game Boy Player logo upon booting up, regardless of whether or not the device is being used, as they were are specially optimized for use on the device. These games have a rumble feature that can only be triggered from a Nintendo GameCube controller by playing it via the Game Boy Player. Drill Dozer is unique in that its cartridge has a built-in rumble feature that automatically disables if played on a Game Boy Player, as the rumble is emulated from the Nintendo GameCube controller instead.

Most Game Boy Players are black, which is the only color option released in North America and Europe. Indigo was also a color variant in both Japan and Australia, and the former country also had Spice and Platinum color variations.

Compatibility issues
There are a few titles that are not made for normal play on the Game Boy Player. This is even acknowledged in the instruction booklet.

Games with a motion sensor, including Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble, WarioWare: Twisted!, Yoshi Topsy-Turvy, and Koro Koro Puzzle Happy Panechu!, while they can boot up on a Game Boy Player, they cannot be played normally because the motion sensors on the cartridge would require the player to rotate the entire Nintendo GameCube, which was not designed for such play.

A few Game Boy Color games with rumble support, such as Pokémon Pinball and Perfect Dark, are said to be incompatible in the game manual. However, they can be played, but the rumble feature is not accessible because it is only output from the game cartridge rather than the Nintendo GameCube controller.

The games Pocket Music and Chee-Chai Alien are incompatible with the Game Boy Advance, and thus the Game Boy Player. Chee-Chai Alien uses the infrared port of the Game Boy Color to detect light as a fundamental part of the game, and the Game Boy Player's lack of an infrared port makes the feature unusable in general. Pocket Music utilizes the Game Boy Color's sound chip in ways that cannot be done on the Game Boy Advance, so a separate version was released for the Game Boy Advance.

The Game Boy Player blocks play of any Game Boy Advance Video cartridges. This was done so that users could not record the videos on to a VCR or a DVD recorder.