Game Boy Repair

The Game Boy is an 8-bit hand-held video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America on July 31, 1989, and in Europe on September 28, 1990. This is the first handheld console in the Game Boy line, and was created by Gunpei Yokoi and Nintendo's Research and Development —the same staff who had designed the Game & Watch series as well as several popular games for the Nintendo Entertainment System.

The Game Boy is Nintendo's second handheld system following the Game & Watch series introduced in 1980, and it combined features from both the Nintendo Entertainment System and Game & Watch. The system was originally bundled with Tetris, a popular puzzle game, as well as headphones and 4 AA batteries to power the console.

Despite many other technologically superior handheld consoles being introduced during its lifetime, the Game Boy was a tremendous success. The Game Boy and its successor, the Game Boy Color, have sold a combined 118.69 million units worldwide. Upon its release in the United States, the Game Boy sold its entire shipment of one million units within weeks.

The Game Boy's model number (DMG-01) is located on a label fixed to the backside of the device. The system sports a light gray plastic casing with darker gray accents, an array of tactile buttons (including a D-pad, "Start," "Select," "A," and "B" buttons), a cartridge slot on the back for game cartridges, and a speaker on the lower right corner of the faceplate. Above the D-pad and action buttons, the system has a small "Game Boy" logo etched onto the faceplate.

The DMG-01 is powered by four AA batteries or a rechargeable battery pack, providing anywhere from 15-30 hours of play time, significantly more than other handhelds at the time offered. This is mainly due to its lack of a color screen and relatively simple, low power draw hardware, as well as the lack of a backlight or frontlight.

Total dimensions are 5.8in x 3.5in x 1.25in (148mm x 90mm x 32mm), and weighs about 7.8 ounces without batteries installed.

The 2.6in super-twisted nematic liquid-crystal display has a resolution of 60x144 pixels and supports two-bit color (four shades, from gray to the green hue of the screen).

Track down a number of hardware problems using the Game Boy Troubleshooting guide.

• Restoration Video Guide
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