Game Boy Player

The Game Boy Player is an accessory for the Nintendo GameCube. As the name implies, it can be used for playing Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance games. It also has a link port for linking up to other Game Boy systems and accessories. It is the successor to the Super Game Boy.

In most regions, black Game Boy Players were shipped far more than any other color, such as indigo and platinum colors that the GameCube itself had. In Japan, a variety of colors for the Game Boy Player have been released much more evenly.

The Game Boy Player hooks up to the GameCube by being inserted underneath it. It comes with a special start-up disc that must be inserted into the GameCube before any Game Boy games can be played. Players may play with a standard GameCube controller or use a Game Boy Advance that is hooked up to the GameCube with a link cable. By pressing on the GameCube controller, an options menu appears, but the game does not stop.

The Game Boy Player allows for a small amount of customization for playing Game Boy games. Because the dimensions of a Game Boy screen does not match up 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 can also be implemented.

Certain titles have a rumble feature that can only be triggered by playing the game with a standard GameCube controller. This is similar to how the Super Game Boy can bring out certain features of certain Game Boy and a Game Boy Color games that cannot otherwise be used. The Game Boy Player, however, cannot bring out Super Game Boy features at all.

There are a few titles that are not made for normal play on the Game Boy Player, such as Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble, WarioWare: Twisted!, and Yoshi Topsy-Turvy, because the motion sensors on the cartridge would require the player to rotate the entire system, something that the GameCube was not designed to do.

While many Game Boy games may suffer from intense brightness and/or other minor graphical issues when played on a Game Boy Player, a few games, such as Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 and Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, are specially optimized for use on the device. These games are distinguished by showing the Game Boy Player logo upon booting up, regardless of whether or not the device is being used.

The Game Boy Player blocks play of any Game Boy Advance Video cartridges.