Game Boy Color

The Game Boy Color (Japanese: ゲームボーイカラー Game Boy Color) is Nintendo's 8-bit gaming handheld which succeeded the Game Boy; it was later succeeded by the Game Boy Advance. It is slightly taller and thicker than the Game Boy Pocket. The main feature of this model, as the name suggests, is the color screen. It is also the first Game Boy not to include a contrast knob. Its most popular games are , selling approximately 14.51 million copies in Japan and the US combined. The Game Boy Color was discontinued in 2003, shortly after the release of the Game Boy Advance SP.
Like all systems in the Game Boy family, it is not region encoded.
==Console colors==
The logo for Game Boy Color spelled out the word COLOR in the five original colors in which the unit was manufactured. They were named:
Several other colors include:
Other colors were sold as limited editions or in specific countries. 
===Special Pokémon editions===
*Pokémon Yellow Game Boy Color: A yellow and blue GBC was decorated with , , and . It retailed for US$109.99.
*Clear Green Pokémon Game Boy Color: A clear green GBC was decorated with , , and . It was sold in .
*Clear Blue Pokémon Game Boy Color: A clear blue GBC was decorated with , , and . It was sold in .
*Pikachu and Pichu Silver Game Boy Color: A silver GBC that is decorated with and 
*Pokémon Gold and Silver Game Boy Color: A gold faded to silver GBC that was decorated with and was released in 2001 to celebrate the release of Pokémon Gold and Silver. It retailed for US$99.99.
*Pikachu and Pichu Game Boy Color: A yellow version of the special Gold and Silver Game Boy Color was released and sold separately.
*Orange and Blue Game Boy Color: An orange (front) and blue (back) Game Boy Color featuring , , , and released to celebrate Pokémon's third anniversary (Japan only)
*White Game Boy Color: A white Game Boy Color featuring , , , and released to celebrate Pokémon's third anniversary (Japan only)
File:Pokémon Yellow Game Boy Color.png|Special edition Game Boy Color that was bundled with Pokémon Yellow
File:Pokémon Game Boy Color clear green.png|Special edition Game Boy Color sold in 
File:Pokémon Game Boy Color clear blue.png|Special edition Game Boy Color sold in 
File:Silver Pichu GBC.png|Special edition silver Game Boy Color
File:Game Boy Color Gold and Silver edition.png|Special edition Game Boy Color that was bundled with Pokémon Gold and Silver
File:Pikachu Pichu Game Boy Color.png|Yellow Pikachu and Pichu Game Boy Color
File:Orange Blue Game Boy Color.png|Orange and blue Game Boy Color released to celebrate Pokémon's third anniversary
File:White Pokémon Game Boy Color.png|White Game Boy Color released to celebrate Pokémon's third anniversary
==Color palettes used for original Game Boy games==
When playing an original Game Boy game on a Game Boy Color or Game Boy Advance (including the Game Boy Advance SP and the Game Boy Player), the user can choose which Game Boy Color color palette is used. This is achieved by pressing certain button combinations, namely either A or B (or neither) and a direction key while the Game Boy logo is displayed on the screen.
These palettes each contain up to ten colors. In most games, the four shades displayed on the original Game Boy would translate to different subsets of this 10-color palette, such as by displaying movable sprites in one subset and backgrounds, etc. in another. The grayscale (Left + B) palette produces an appearance essentially identical to that experienced on the original Game Boy.
Some licensed Game Boy games have a special default palette. Pokémon Red and Blue use primarily red and blue palettes, respectively.
Button combination	Palette
Up 	
Up + A 	
Up + B 	
Down 	
Down + A 	
Down + B 	
Left 	
Left + A 	
Left + B 	
Right 	
Right + A 	
Right + B 	
==Technical specifications==
The processor, which is a Z80 work-alike with a few extra (bit manipulation) instructions, has a clock speed of approx. 8 MHz, twice as fast as that of the original Game Boy. The Game Boy Color also has four times as much memory as the original. The console boasted an impressive palette of 32,768 colors and was capable of simultaneously displaying 56 colors at once. It could also add basic four-color shading to games that had been released for the ordinary Game Boy. Additionally, a new palette-change feature was added for original Game Boy games; by holding the B button and any one of the directional arrows, the user could change the basic color palette for the game.
Game Boy Color games cannot be played natively on the Nintendo DS or Nintendo DS Lite handheld. The Nintendo DS lacks the Game Boy's -like , as does the Game Boy micro. Game Boy Color cartridges also do not fit in the Game Boy Advance slot of the Nintendo DS.
==Pokémon games==
These are games made for the Game Boy Color. Non-Japanese has Game Boy Color features, but is officially classified by Nintendo as an original Game Boy game.
|- style="background:#FFF"
| 
| Card game
| 1998
|- style="background:#FFF"
| Pokémon Pinball
| Pinball
| 1999
|- style="background:#FFF"
| 
| Core series RPG
| 1999
|- style="background:#FFF"
| Pokémon Puzzle Challenge
| Puzzle
| 2000
|- style="background:#FFF"
| 
| Core series RPG
| 2000
|-
| style="background:#FFF; " | Pokémon Trading Card Game 2: The Invasion of Team GR!
| style="background:#FFF" | Card game
| style="background:#FFF; " | 2001
|}
===By backwards compatibility===
Due to backward compatibility, all Pokémon games from the original Game Boy are also playable.
|- style="background:#FFF"
| 
| Core series RPG
| 1996
|- style="background:#FFF"
| 
| Core series RPG
| 1996
|- style="background:#FFF"
| 
| Core series RPG
| 
|-
| style="background:#FFF; " | 
| style="background:#FFF" | Core series RPG
| style="background:#FFF; " | 1998
|}
===Unreleased===
Title	Genre
 	Puzzle
==Trivia==
* Although the walls of Fuchsia Gym are normally invisible in the Generation I core series Pokémon games, the Game Boy Color exposes them when using a multi-colored palette.
* If Pokémon Puzzle Challenge is being played, it is possible to input a code at the title screen that boots the game into Game Boy mode which will allow the player to input a code to play as the game was mostly left intact while being remade into Pokémon Puzzle League.
==References==
==Related articles==
Category:Electronic devices
Category:Nintendo consoles
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