Editing Game Boy Color (section)

== Reception ==
=== Sales ===
The [[Game Boy]] and Game Boy Color were both commercially successful, selling 118.69&nbsp;million units worldwide: 32.47&nbsp;million in Japan, 44.06&nbsp;million in the Americas, and 42.16&nbsp;million in all other regions.<ref name="Nintendo 2016">{{Cite web |date=April 26, 2016 |title=Consolidated Sales Transition by Region |url=https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/library/historical_data/pdf/consolidated_sales_e1603.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011145332/https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/library/historical_data/pdf/consolidated_sales_e1603.pdf |archive-date=October 11, 2016 |access-date=October 23, 2016 |publisher=Nintendo}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=A Brief History of Game Console Warfare: Game Boy |url=http://images.businessweek.com/ss/06/10/game_consoles/source/7.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070509094404/http://images.businessweek.com/ss/06/10/game_consoles/source/7.htm |archive-date=May 9, 2007 |access-date=March 28, 2008 |website=[[BusinessWeek]] |publisher=[[McGraw-Hill]]}}</ref> At the time of its discontinuation in 2003, the combined sales of all Game Boy variants made it the [[List of best-selling game consoles|best-selling game console of all time]]. In later years, its sales were surpassed by the [[Nintendo DS]], [[PlayStation 2]] and [[Nintendo Switch]], making it the fourth-best-selling console the second-best-selling handheld of all time, {{As of|2024|lc=y}}. Sales of the device were in part driven by the success of ''[[Pokémon Gold and Silver]]'' and ''[[Pokémon Crystal]]'', with combined sales of 29.5&nbsp;million units, making them one of the [[List of best-selling video games|best selling-video games of all time]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Japan Platinum Game Chart |url=http://www.the-magicbox.com/topten2.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071213230402/http://www.the-magicbox.com/topten2.htm |archive-date=December 13, 2007 |access-date=September 27, 2007 |publisher=The Magic Box}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=US Platinum Videogame Chart |url=http://www.the-magicbox.com/Chart-USPlatinum.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070421003854/http://www.the-magicbox.com/Chart-USPlatinum.shtml |archive-date=April 21, 2007 |access-date=September 27, 2007 |publisher=The Magic Box}}</ref>

Sales of the Game Boy Color were strong at launch. [[Nintendo]] of America reported a sale of one&nbsp;million units from launch to December 1998,<ref name="Gaming Intelligence 1999">{{Cite magazine |date=February 1999 |title=Game Boy Color Sales Exceed 1 Million During Holidays |url=https://archive.org/details/gaming-intelligence-february-1999 |magazine=Gaming Intelligence |page=4}}</ref> and two&nbsp;million by July 1999.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Dunne |first=Alex |date=July 1999 |title=Industry Watch |url=https://archive.org/details/GDM_July_1999 |magazine=Game Developer Magazine |pages=10}}</ref> Retail chains in the [[United States]] reported unexpectedly high demand for the console, with executives of [[FuncoLand]] reporting "very pleasant and unpredicted" sales and [[Electronics Boutique]] stating "the entire Game Boy Color line just exploded, including accessories" upon release.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Trainman |first=Steve |date=May 12, 1999 |title=Retailers Coming to E3 with High Expectations |url=https://archive.org/details/game-week-may-12-1999 |magazine=Game Week |volume=5 |issue=17}}</ref> Faced with high worldwide demand and competitive retail pricing, retailers such as [[CompUSA]] sold out of Game Boy Color stock in the weeks before the 1998 Christmas season.<ref name="Gaming Intelligence 1999" />

=== Critical reception ===
Reception of the Game Boy Color was positive, with critics praising the addition of color and improved clarity of the display. 

Affiliated publications such as ''Total Games'' praised the handheld for its "bright, colorful picture that can be viewed in direct light", [[backward compatibility]] features preserving the "vast catalogue of original Game Boy games", and improved technical performance.<ref name="Total Games Guide">{{Cite magazine |date=1998 |title=Introducing The Game Boy Color |url=https://archive.org/details/Total_Game_Boy_Issue_01/page/n3/mode/2up?q=%22game+boy+color%22 |magazine=Total Games Guide to Game Boy Color |publisher=Paragon Publishing |location=Bournemouth |pages=6–9}}</ref> ''[[Computer and Video Games]]'' praised the Game Boy Color for making the Game Boy library of games "look better than ever – everything is crystal clear, bright and in [color]".<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=December 1998 |title=Portable Colour Gaming Is Here! |url=https://archive.org/details/Computer_and_Video_Games_Issue_205_1998-12_EMAP_Images_GB/page/n7/mode/2up?q=%22game+boy+color%22 |magazine=Computer and Video Games |issue=205}}</ref> Writing for ''[[GameSpot]]'', Chris Johnston stated that the display was "crystal clear" and free of motion blur, stating that ''[[Tetris DX]]'' was the "killer app" of the launch titles on the platform.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Johnston |first=Chris |date=1998 |title=Hands On: Game Boy Color |url=https://www.gamespot.com/articles/hands-on-game-boy-color/1100-2465339/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607230501/https://www.gamespot.com/articles/hands-on-game-boy-color/1100-2465339/ |archive-date=June 7, 2019 |access-date=November 13, 2022 |website=GameSpot}}</ref> 

Milder reviews included those by ''Arcade'', who said that while that the colors were "very impressive" they were "not as eyeball-popping as you might have hoped for [...] it's mostly seaweed greens, rusty browns, timid yellows and the like". They concluded that "nothing about [the Game Boy Color] is very radical" but said the device was "Game Boy as it always should have been".<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=December 1998 |title=The Color Purple |url=https://archive.org/details/Arcade_Issue_01_1998-12_Future_Publishing_GB/page/n61 |magazine=Arcade |pages=60–61 |issue=1}}</ref> Reviewers pointed out other drawbacks including that the system was still using an 8-bit architecture when competitors had moved onto 16-bit handheld systems and that the non-backlit screen required that the user be in a well lit area.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kapalka |first=Jeff |date=December 20, 1998 |title=A Gamer's Wish List |url=https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=AWNB&docref=news/0EEC8F80A6BD337E |url-access=subscription |access-date=May 22, 2024 |work=[[Syracuse Herald American]] |page=16 |via=[[NewsBank]]}}</ref><ref name="Pavlacka 1998">{{Cite news |last=Pavlacka |first=Adam |date=November 16, 1998 |title=Game Boy Now Offers Play in Color |url=https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=AWNB&docref=news/0EB1EEF4B4749A56 |url-access=subscription |access-date=May 22, 2024 |work=The Beacon News (Aurora, IL) |page=C1 |via=[[NewsBank]]}}</ref>

=== Legacy ===
Commentary on the legacy of the Game Boy Color has been shaped by the perception that the handheld was as an incremental and transitional upgrade of the Game Boy rather than a completely new device,<ref name="Fahs 2009">{{Cite web |last=Fahs |first=Travis |date=July 27, 2009 |title=IGN Presents the History of Game Boy |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2009/07/27/ign-presents-the-history-of-game-boy |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100528083411/http://retro.ign.com/articles/100/1007864p3.html |archive-date=May 28, 2010 |access-date=August 6, 2022 |website=IGN |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Carroll 2018" /> and had a relatively brief lifespan, being supplanted by the Game Boy Advance after two years, five months on the market.

In a history of Nintendo, author Jeff Ryan noted the Game Boy Color had a reputation as a "legacy machine" that found success mostly due to its backward compatibility, as "few wanted to lose all the ''[[Dr. Mario]]'' and ''[[Pokémon]]'' cartridges they had amassed over the years."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ryan |first=Jeff |title=Super Mario: How Nintendo Conquered America |date=September 25, 2012 |publisher=Penguin Random House |isbn=978-1-59184-563-8 |pages=208}}</ref> Quoted in ''[[Retro Gamer]]'', [[Blitz Games Studios]] developer Bob Pape acknowledged that although "backwards compatibility more or less defined (the) Game Boy Color", the handheld "ticked all the right boxes with regards to size, battery life, reliability and most importantly backwards compatibility".<ref name="Carroll 2018">{{Cite magazine |last=Carroll |first=Martyn |date=December 2018 |title=Game Boy Color |magazine=[[Retro Gamer]] |pages=50–55 |issue=187}}</ref>

Positive assessments of the legacy of the Game Boy Color have focused on the merits of its game library, particularly for its third-party and import titles. Travis Fahs for ''[[IGN]]'' noted while "the Game Boy Color's life was relatively brief", it "built up a small library of excellent games", including ''[[Wario Land 3]]'' and ''[[Pokémon Gold and Silver]]'', and a "unique" and "previously unheard of" line of successful third-party games, including ''[[Dragon Warrior Monsters]]'', ''[[Metal Gear Solid (2000 video game)|Metal Gear Solid]]'' and ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! Dark Duel Stories]]''.<ref name="Fahs 2009" /> Ashley Day of ''Retro Gamer'' noted that the handheld had an "overlooked" status, stating "the Game Boy Color (has) an unfair reputation as the one Nintendo handheld with few worthwhile titles, but this simply isn't the case...returning to the Game Boy Color now reveals a wealth of great games that you never knew existed, especially those available on import."<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Day |first=Ashley |date=May 2006 |title=Game Boy Color |magazine=[[Retro Gamer]] |pages=41–43 |issue=24}}</ref>