
1998
AU Release
23 November 1998
AU Launch Price
$109 AUD
~$215 today
Units Sold
TBC
Processor
Sharp LR35902 @ 8 MHz (double-speed mode)
Memory
32 KB RAM, 16 KB VRAM
Storage
Battery-backed cartridge save
Media
Game Boy Color / Game Boy Cartridges
Global lifetime sales
The Game Boy Color was Nintendo's long-awaited response to years of consumer demand for a colour screen on the Game Boy. Released in 1998 — nine years after the original Game Boy — it brought a 56-colour display while maintaining near-complete backwards compatibility with the existing Game Boy library, a critical feature that gave it an immediate software catalogue of hundreds of games. The translucent coloured shell designs — grape, teal, kiwi, dandelion, and berry — became iconic fashion accessories of the late 1990s, photographed in countless school bags across Australia. Pokémon Gold and Silver were the killer apps, selling over 23 million copies and cementing the Game Boy Color's place in a generation's memory. Though technically modest, the GBC bridged the gap between the original Game Boy and the more powerful Game Boy Advance in 2001.
The Game Boy Color launched simultaneously with Pokemon Gold and Silver in Japan — the two products were so intertwined that many fans bought the console specifically for the new Pokémon games
The translucent 'berry', 'grape', 'teal', and 'kiwi' shell colours of the Game Boy Color were directly inspired by the iMac G3's colourful translucent designs, capitalising on the design trend of the era
The Game Boy Color's backwards compatibility meant players could enjoy their entire original Game Boy cartridge collection — Nintendo displayed GBC-exclusive games in a slightly different palette when played on original hardware for added incentive to upgrade
Browse Game Boy Color titles available for trade on Greatest GOAT Australia — stop paying EB Games prices.
Browse Game Boy Color GamesThe Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons
PlayStation
1994 · 102M sold

Nintendo 64
1996 · 33M sold