I found this interesting poster over in Tokyo, today I got around to translating it, pretty interesting stuff, I didn't know Sharp was deep into this project, I guess the screen and processor came from them. GAME BOYTM Manufacturer: Nintendo Release date: April 21, 1989 List price: 12,800 yen Model number: DMG-001 Number of software released: 1220 About Game Boy Nintendo, which had been pushing the Game & Watch, tackled this next-generation game, which became a pioneering product that essentially opened up the game market, and this is the product that allowed Nintendo to grow as a manufacturer. It is a HOM exchange type game following the Game Pocket, which was previously released by Epoch. The development of this machine was done in collaboration with Sharp, who invested 4 billion yen to establish a factory for producing Game Boy liquid crystal displays. The liquid crystal display was made by the same company, but while it was not possible to use it in stationary games at the time, this machine is monochrome due to the "lasting" battery life and price. The screen is an STN reflective monochrome liquid crystal display, and to display various different games, a dot matrix type with fine display segments arranged in a grid pattern was used. The adoption of a new liquid crystal display was considered, but in order to overcome the weaknesses of STN type liquid crystal, a contrast dial is provided to adjust the brightness of the screen. "The lower the contrast, the longer the battery life, so some people intentionally set the contrast to as low as possible. Furthermore, the Game Boy's liquid crystal had a short lifespan, and the liquid crystal would break down within six months, making the display difficult to see in games such as "Super Mario Land" and "Alleyway," in which the remaining players were displayed in a fixed position. Furthermore, the liquid crystal background was yellow-green, making it unexpectedly difficult to see. And, there is a liquid crystal protective cover, but that is a disadvantage, if dust or other debris gets inside, it becomes difficult to remove and makes it very hard to see. Some people disassembled the cover and blew the dust off with an air duster. Also, the cover caused the liquid crystal to age. In "Super Mario Land," there was a weakness in that it was difficult to see the remaining Marios displayed. It was released worldwide in 1989. The software released at the same time was "Super Mario Land" and "Alleyway" (Blotta Kuzushi). The four were "Baseball" and "Yakuman." It is possible to communicate with other Game Boys via a communication cable. Its main uses include battles and data exchange. This is because there is no "RDY/ACK" signal (a signal for preparing for communication and a signal that verifies that the communication has been carried out correctly). A tricky program structure was necessary to ensure accurate communication. There were also many accidents where the cable was accidentally or jokingly pulled out during communication, and some people used this as a bug technique, especially in Pokemon, where it became famous as a trick to copy Pokemon. There was also a warning that data would be corrupted if the cable was pulled out during communication. Generally, the Game Boy's sound channel is mono on the console's speakers. The channel automatically switches to stereo only when stereo headphones are used. Until the first price reduction, stereo earphones were included with the Game Boy. These earphones were cheap, and the sound was distorted badly, and some people found them to not fit their ears well. In this case, you could use proper earphones or headphones (you could also use multimedia speakers for your computer), but the noise would be very harsh, so cheap ones might be better. Other anecdotes The Game Boy itself is designed to be very sturdy, and there are two anecdotes that support this. When the Game Boy was being developed, the company handed the final demo unit to Hiroshi Yamauchi, who was the president of Nintendo. What did Yamauchi think? "A newly completed demo unit was knocked to the floor. This was supposedly a strength test, with the reasoning being that "game consoles are bought by children, so they shouldn't break even if they are handled roughly." The demo unit that was actually dropped to the floor worked without any problems, and the decision was made to go ahead with its release. During the Gulf War, Nintendo also provided Game Boys to American soldiers to pass the time. Later, a Game Boy was found in a barracks that had collapsed in an air raid, and although its exterior was badly burned, its interior was perfectly fine. It even turned on and worked properly. [1] This Game Boy is currently on display at the Nintendo World Store in New York, a Nintendo-owned store, and although you cannot touch it, you can see the Tetris demo screen running at all times. "When it was first released, Super Mario Land, Tetris, Makai Toushi Sa・Ga, and other titles became killer software, and the console was sold out for several months after its release. It did gain some popularity. However, in the mid-1990s, when killer software disappeared, sales plateaued. Then, in 1996, Pokemon Red・ was released, which was a huge hit. It was revived as a communication tool, especially among teenagers, and sales rapidly increased. "As of 2000, cumulative sales had topped 100 million units, and as of 2005 it was the game with the highest sales volume in the world." "According to Nintendo, by the end of March 2002, approximately 118.42 million units had been shipped worldwide (of which approximately 32.43 million were in Japan). Approximately 1,200 Game Boy software titles have been released in Japan." "It is powered by dry batteries, which are the global standard, and requires no other equipment other than the console and software to use." 5. "It is also a rare piece of hardware that is widely distributed even in ordinary households in developing countries. Although unofficial, the specifications of the hardware are widely known on the Internet and in books, and various emulators, development tools, and even doujin games are available. "Aiming to cut costs by cutting back on everything that could be cut (this is in contrast to the Game Gear, which pursued high performance). The company decided to eliminate the need for dry batteries, as foreigners were not interested in playing the game until it was charged up, but adding the communication function, which was the catalyst for the company's great success after AME BOY, did not increase production costs significantly. "It was Yokoi's idea to initially suggest adding a strap hole, but at the time the very existence of straps was a big problem," says developer Yokohira Meku, who is quoted as saying that he "added it without much thought" out of the sad thought that it might lead to an interesting game. "Apparently, it was not even widely known, so the addition was shelved. In the end, the strap hole was not implemented until after Yokoi's death. We'll have to wait until the Game Boy Color comes out. There is a rumor that the name was given by copywriter Shigesato Itoi, but this is incorrect. The name "Game Boy" once caused a problem in the UK as it was perceived as gender-neutral. On October 3, 2007, Abmily Computer ended repair support for the home consoles that supported the 90s, including the Super Famicom and Nintendo 64, as well as the monochrome series that previously included the Game Boy Light and Game Boy Pocket.
SHARP have quite a lot of tie-ins with Nintendo. The Famicom TWIN was made by SHARP and is a Famicom (NES everywhere else!) with the Famicom Disc system in one unit. They also manufactured TV's with Famicoms and Super Famicoms built in.
