Editing Game Boy Color (section)

== History ==
When the original Game Boy was first introduced in 1989, many questioned why Nintendo had chosen to develop a monochrome handheld, considering competitors like the [[Atari Lynx]] and [[Sega Game Gear]] featured color screens. However, while these color displays were visually impressive, they led to criticism that the rival devices had poor battery life and were bulky. The Game Boy, in contrast, offered superior portability and longevity, propelling it to immense popularity.<ref name="McFarren 2016">{{Cite book |last=McFarren |first=Damien |title=Videogames Hardware Handbook |publisher=[[Imagine Publishing]] |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-78546-239-9 |edition=2nd |volume=1 |location=Bournemouth |pages=157–163}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Ryan |first=Jeff |title=Super Mario: How Nintendo Conquered America |publisher=Portfolio Penguin |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-59184-405-1 |location=New York |pages=102–105 |language=en}}</ref> Publicly, Nintendo pledged to develop a color Game Boy, but only when technology limitations could be addressed.<ref name="Day 2016">{{Cite book |last=Day |first=Ashley |title=Videogames Hardware Handbook |publisher=[[Imagine Publishing]] |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-78546-239-9 |edition=2nd |volume=1 |location=Bournemouth |pages=236–239}}</ref>

Internally, a team led by [[Satoru Okada]], who played a key role in the original Game Boy's design, was experimenting with color displays. Their early-1990s prototype, codenamed "[[Game Boy Advance#Project Atlantis|Project Atlantis]]," featured a color screen and a powerful 32-bit processor from Sharp. However, the team was not satisfied with the outcome and shelved further development.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Satoru Okada – Interview |url=https://www.nintendo.co.jp/nom/9902/b_box/staff/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000529053545/https://www.nintendo.co.jp/nom/9902/b_box/staff/index.html |archive-date=May 29, 2000 |access-date=January 15, 2019 |website=Nintendo}}</ref><ref name="Kurokawa 2022">{{Cite web |last=Kurokawa |first=Fumio |date=2022 |title=Satoru Okada – 2022 Retrospective Interview |url=https://shmuplations.com/okada2022/ |access-date=April 8, 2024 |publisher=[[4gamer.net]]}}</ref>

Despite the lack of color, consumer interest in the Game Boy remained strong. In 1996, Nintendo released the slimmer [[Game Boy Pocket]], and the launch of the [[Pokémon (video game series)|''Pokémon'' series]] that same year further boosted sales.<ref name="Day 2016" /> But developers were losing interest in creating new games for the aging platform.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=May 1998 |title=Nintendo's Next Generation Handheld |magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]] |publisher=[[Imagine Media]] |page=22 |issue=41}}</ref>

Additional market pressure for Nintendo came in October 1997 when news broke about [[Bandai|Bandai's]] new handheld, the [[WonderSwan]]. The project was led by [[Gunpei Yokoi]], the engineer who led the development of the [[Game & Watch]] series and the original Game Boy. Yokoi had left Nintendo in 1996 following the commercial failure of his final project, the [[Virtual Boy]]. His departure caused a stir, with investors dumping Nintendo stock, forcing a temporary halt on trading at the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Yokoi was killed in a roadside accident in 1997 before the WonderSwan's release.<ref>{{Cite book |last=McFerran |first=Damien |title=Videogames Hardware Handbook |date=2016 |publisher=[[Imagine Publishing]] |isbn=978-1-78546-239-9 |edition=2nd |location=Bournemouth |page=235}}</ref>

Faced with mounting pressure, Okada revisited Project Atlantis. Prioritizing quickly bringing a device to market over processing power, he dropped the 32-bit chip in favor of a faster version of the existing Game Boy's 8-bit processor that would allow for a sooner launch and maintain compatibility with the existing library of Game Boy games.<ref name="Kurokawa 2022" />

The Game Boy Color was announced in March 1998 and released in Japan that October.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Game Boy Color hardware |url=https://www.nintendo.co.jp/n02/dmg/hardware/color/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220525051241/https://www.nintendo.co.jp/n02/dmg/hardware/color/ |archive-date=May 25, 2022 |access-date=July 24, 2016 |website=Nintendo}}</ref> It received an international rollout throughout November (amid the busy Christmas holiday shopping season), reaching North America on the 18th, Europe on the 23rd, and Australasia on the 27th. Launching at a price of {{USD|79.95|1998|round=-1}},<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=November 1998 |title=Introducing Game Boy Color |magazine=Nintendo Power |publisher=Nintendo |page=85}}</ref> the Game Boy Color ultimately outsold the WonderSwan, which went on sale in March 1999.<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 9, 1998 |title=Fun in the Palm of Your Hand |url=http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:AWNB:ORLB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=0EB4F474A0E83D50&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=0ECC86DE7A4704AD |url-access=subscription |access-date=May 24, 2014 |work=[[The Orlando Sentinel]] |via=[[Newsbank]] |agency=Associated Press}}</ref>

The Game Boy Color had a relatively short lifespan, being on the market for only two and a half years before being succeeded by the [[Game Boy Advance]] in 2001. The successor finally brought the 32-bit processing power envisioned in Project Atlantis. Despite the new system, the Game Boy Color remained in production, serving as a budget-friendly alternative.<ref name="Day 2016" /> The last units were reportedly sold by March 2003.<ref name="Nintendo 2016" />