The 90s were a great time to be a gamer. The jump to 3D gaming was the most revolutionary change in gaming since the North American video game crash of 1983. Nintendo set the standard of 3D games with the likes of Super Mario 64 and Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Sony produced titles such as Metal Gear Solid, and Capcom released Resident Evil. However, the handheld space really started to emerge in the background of the 3D revolution.
Nintendo led the way with the highly popular, and cheap original Game Boy. Sega and Atari (among others) tried to break Nintendo’s grip in the handheld space to no avail. The original Game Boy was big and bulky, and the screen was hard to see when you weren’t in direct sunlight.
However, it had great games and a long battery life. Then in 1996, the Game Boy Pocket was released. The Game Boy Pocket was small, and sleek, and had a much better screen. It could run for hours on two AAA batteries. It was smaller and arguably looked better than both the Game Boy Color and Game Boy Light which were released later. The Game Boy Pocket also received a massive boost in sales because of Pokemon’s release. Now, in 2025, the Game Boy Pocket remains a great system and one that is valued when retrofitted with a backlit screen. Here are some facts about the Game Boy Pocket!
Background
The Game Boy Pocket released seven years after the release of the Game Boy. The Pocket originally had multiple colors available, including transparent. The system’s design was just so much more ergonomic, and it didn’t drain those precious batteries as fast as the original Game Boy. On top of this it had a bigger and clearer screen compared to the Game Boy DMG. The screen was thinner, and made from less expensive material compared to the original Game Boy. A legendary figure at Nintendo was a driving force during the development of the Game Boy Pocket.
Gunpei Yokoi was instrumental in the development of the Game Boy Pocket. He was inspired to create a less bulky system after marketing intelligence notified his team that the bulkiness of the original Game Boy was limiting its sales. He realized that the market wasn’t saturated with old-style Game Boys and that the Pocket would theoretically be a big success. After the disappointment of the Virtual Boy, the Game Boy Pocket was one of the last pieces of hardware that the legendary Gunpei Yokoi worked on at Nintendo before his tragic passing in 1997.
Iterations
The early Game Boy Pocket systems interestingly had no power-led indicator. This meant the player couldn’t tell when the system was low on battery and the system would simply turn off when the battery was depleted. I have a modded system which is of this variety and even with a retrofitted IPS screen, I don’t notice the battery life being any shorter than the later version. It simply means you don’t worry about low battery. You only know when the system turns itself off during play.
The Game Boy Light was released in Japan on the 14th of April 1998. It looked like a slightly larger Game Boy Pocket, had a more ergonomic back side and implemented a front light. We wouldn’t see a backlit, or front-lit Game Boy until the Game Boy Advance SP. The first iteration of the GBA SP introduced a frontlight, and the second iteration had a much clearer backlight. The Game Boy Light’s display was not as impressive as modern IPS displays, and the system didn’t sell well compared to the Game Boy Pocket. It was never officially released outside Japan.
Library
The Game Boy Pocket can play all Game Boy games released from 1989 to 1998. When the Game Boy Color was released the games with a black cartridge were enhanced when played on GBC, but could still be played on the original Game Boy and Game Boy Pocket.
There are over 1000 Game Boy games and around 300 Game Boy Color games that can be played on the older models. Renowned development studios and publishers such as Rare, Square Enix, Ubisoft, Capcom, EA, Activision, and many more have released games on the system. Pokemon Red and Green (Blue in most territories) are the highest-selling titles with over 45 million units sold. Tetris is runner-up with over 35 million units sold. Pokemon, Zelda, and Mario are the big draws to those who are Nintendo fans. There are also Metroid, Kirby, and Donkey Kong games available and published by Nintendo.
Pokemon was such a revelation as the gameplay loop is so novel and addictive. It uses concepts from real evolutionary biology as part of the loop of catching and leveling up Pokemon. It was a real phenomenon. It’s sad that the series has lost its way recently. In 2025, the Pokemon series is mainly a yearly franchise and the games lack polish. Back at the release of Red and Blue, they were the most polished and well-made experiences that you could have on a Game Boy. Hopefully, Pokemon Legends Z-A will be a fresh Pokemon experience as it releases later this year.
Conclusion
The Game Boy Pocket arrived just before the Pokemon games launched. It was the best handheld in the mid to late 90s. The system sold millions of units. To this day there are indie developers still developing unofficial regular Game Boy games. Drangonborne is a turn based RPG and is a great example of the work being done.
The Game Boy Pocket was one of Gunpei Yokoi’s final products. The innovations and use of old technology in new ways are commended by the existence of communities of hundreds of thousands of people who work with these system trying to make them better, more efficient gaming devices. Whether you play Game Boy Pocket as part of your work, or you just play it for fun, I challenge you to think about whether there really is a more iconic handheld system out there.
