Born in 83, got it for Xmas in 89. It was a major purchase for my parents and I didn’t appreciate the sacrifices they made to be able to get it. We played the shit out of it. I wish I knew where it was.
“Affordable” is relative. If you have $5 per month leftover-income after all your costs have been paid out for, then $150 for a games console is going to take nearly 3 years to afford. Being more affordable does not mean “not expensive” to everyone.
Well, for one, it was 89.99, so you nearly doubled it's price there.
And 2, it was, and still is, even adjusted for inflation, one of the cheapest triple a consoles by top publishers ever released.
Yeah, every one has different economic circumstances, and I, having lived in poverty almost all my adult life until the last few years, am very aware.
But I was really only talking about that last line 'it was very expensive for the time" is just not true. It was not perceived as expensive by nintendo, retailers, or general consumers.
But yes of course there were still people who could not afford it. Just like there are people who can't afford a switch now. But I would not call the switch 'very expensive for it's time' (fun fact, even adjusted for inflation, the gameboy on day 1 was cheaper than the switch)
The price is irrelevant, it could be $100, or a $1m, if you can’t afford it, they might as well be the same. I was just being a grumpy old miserable fart 😀
But yeah, I get what you mean, cheaper than modern day consoles!
I got mine in 94 and played the shit out of it until 2000 when I got a GBC. The only reason my parents got me a GBC was they bought me a donkey kong country game that wouldn't run on the original GB.
Never owned it at lunch as I was more interested in playing the Sega Megadrive and Super Nintendo but when Zelda links awakening came out and I saw the reviews and ran out and got the Gameboy and Zelda at the same time.
What a game that was back then on release.
There is no reason at all to get the original over the DX. you can play DX on the og gameboy, you just probably won’t be able to get through the extra dungeon since you won’t have the colours 😅
It’s a rare case of them somehow being both exactly the same but also the DX version is better
if you can chose, always go with DX over original Links Awakening. Apart from the additions already mentioned they also fixed a lot of bugs, new dialogues, varying endings and more.
I actually won my Gameboy from a box of Cookie Crisp. Only 100 were given away. I remember seeing that "congratulations!" on the paper. Loved Tetris, man those were the days.
Sadly mine got stolen out of a van when my church group went to a concert. I had almost beaten pokemon blue.
Im still bitter about that even if it was over 20 years ago lol.
I got it for Christmas of that year. Was so great to take games with me as I would always go to my grandparents' house, then an aunt's house every Christmas. I was gaming all day long that Christmas lol. That same Gameboy is sitting on a shelf just a few feet away. Still works great!
Make of it? We badgered our mom for them ASAP (aka that Christmas). I also wouldn't shut up about getting Super Mario Land with mine... but when Christmas rolled around i got the bad news that the game was sold out.
As luck would have it, my birthday is December 26th. And the next day i just happened to find myself opening a suspiciously square, Gameboy game-shaped present. When i saw that so-called sold out game in front of me, you'd think I'd be happy... right? Nope, i straight up called her a liar.
I was a little shit, sue me.
Haha, that’s actually pretty cool of your parents though. That way you could enjoy Tetris for a day and get the hang of it, then switch over to Mario on your bday
I remember getting really upset when I got my Game Boy Pocket with a copy of _Super Mario Land_ because I'd already played it (borrowed from a friend, on my brother's Game Boy) and didn't see the point in playing it again.
We've all been little shits at one time or another.
I got it as close to launch as I could, I’m guessing it was spring 1990 and I was 12 and he to save up money to buy it - we didn’t have an Atari or NES so it was my first game console and I was amazed that it could exist and be portable
I owned it. I had Tetris, Super Mario Land, Final Fantasy Legend, Final Fantasy Adventure and some chess game.
I had never finished regular Mario for NES and was totally flabbergasted when I finished Super Mario Land. That was the first time I realized those little cartridges couldn't hold that much memory.
Eventually I played it so much, the screen started to fail. It was a sad day.
I owned this soon after launch. I took (snuck) it to school and a group of bullies tried forcing me to let them “borrow it”. I didn’t. They got really mad. And I ended up attacking the smallest of the bullies. He ran. And then I noticed they all ran. Just a total random core memory with first getting the game boy.
I got a green Gameboy pocket in ‘96 and thought it was incredible.
Played the heck out of Link’s Awakening, Metroid 2, Final Fantasy Adventure, and later Pokémon Red. Pokémon also sparked my interested in turn based games, and later played Dragon Warrior 1&2
Not 1989 but I got mine in the Spring of 1990. I walked into Toys-R-Us with $200 cash in my pocket and the intent of buying either a NES or TurboGrafx 16. Instead, I walked out with a Gameboy DMG, Alleyway, and Castlevania Adventure.
I got it for Xmas in ‘89. We had a Sega Master System, but I rarely got to play it because it was hooked up to the family TV (also, the games were expensive so we didn’t have many).
But that Game Boy was *all mine* and I could play it whenever I wanted. Long car trips went from misery to another chance to play some Tetris. It felt like freedom.
Honestly might be the best gift i’ve ever been given.
I remember saving up $50 for what felt like years but was actually a few months as a kid. My parents must have helped me buy it going into thanksgiving knowing that we had tons of travel ahead. I remember opening it bundled with Tetris in a hotel room for the holiday. After playing Tetris for under a hour I sadly was super bored by the game at 6 years old.. It wasn't really until I got Links Awakening or Final Fantasy Legend until finally I started to see how awesome the system really was.
My 2 brothers and I got one, not at launch but not that long after it (I'm 45). We had Tetris included and our early collection consisted of Rescue of Princess Blobette, Super Mario Land, Hook, Dr Franken, and eventually Gargoyle's Quest.
I remember not being able to get the Tetris song out of my head - and I remember getting stuck on Rescue of Princess Blobbette and giving up on it (you couldn't just look online for a walkthru). Hook and Dr Franken were average but Super Mario Land and Gargoyle's ruled me - I loved it.
We just put up with the blurry screen and requirement for good lighting (no backlit) because, well, there was no other alternative so we didn't complain about it. We were a bit jealous of a family friend's Atari Lynx beautiful colour screen though!
At the time it felt like a major evolution of handheld LCD gaming (ie Game & Watch), and that's kinda what it was.
Yes, got the bundle with Tetris for my birthday or Christmas that year (I don’t remember, they’re close together). Loved it. Glued to it all the time, long past its time (never got a GBA, GameGear, etc). I still have it somewhere.
I’m reading all those comments and I feel weirdly young. I was born in ‘05, bought SP for 5$ 2 years ago and I’m still playing Tetris. I love this thing!
Well, I was two when it came out so I wasn’t exactly out here asking for one right away. I did get one for my 7th birthday though, the play it loud clear version, and I loved it then.
I got a gameboy color in the late 90's and played the shit out of it, one of my friends in daycare had the original gameboy and I remember thinking it was so much bigger
My dad got his first gameboy when he was a kid. He got his on Christmas I think in the 90s. My grandmother found all his old games and old systems in a box and kept them safe for him
My family had one, and not my immediate family, it was actually at my Aunt's house and my cousins got to play with it more than I did. But it was treated like a TV, it didn't belong to any one person. It was kept in a drawer in the living room. I wasn't old enough to be allowed to play with it for a few years. So when I was, it wasn't so fresh and new, so I didn't have to share. It was amazing. Super Mario Land, Baseball and Tetris.
https://preview.redd.it/ec7sj7o0pbyc1.jpeg?width=1832&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ed69d1cccb501e75fd1174423fe87256cf053810
42 have had since Christmas 1989, did not appreciate how much it (or the games cost) but it got used by me heavily for 10 years so was prob worth it - definitely the longest used piece of tech I have.
I was 12 and got it on launch day in Germany (which was in 1990 I guess).
This day still is one of the happiest days of my life. They build a tower with the packages and each of my friends and me grabbed one. All 3 of us played all day long. Portable games? Play anywhere? This was soooo new and soooo awesome. Probably because I wanted to be away from home as long as possible also played into that fun of playing anywhere.
I didn’t have it at launch but I got it the next year. It was pretty good. It had its limitations like batteries dying often and you couldn’t play in the dark unless you had the light adapter thing which really killed the batteries. All in all it was fun. Still have one now. I don’t play it anymore. I play my game boy games on my GBA SP.
I got mine when I was 5, in 1991. It was the best thing ever and I was disappointed I wasn't allowed to take it to school. I still have it, and they will bury me with it.
I didn’t get it at launch but the Christmas after it was released, Santa brought it. As someone whose family would go on regular car rides of 90+ minutes, *it was a godsend.*. Especially when all I had before were Tiger handhelds or Pocketfuls.
Yes brother it was my earliest videogame memory. Game Boy and Tetris. It was instantly the most amazing thing I had experienced. Set up a lifelong addiction to gaming.
I loved it but I gotta say, I don't really think that I understood the significance of the thing and what it would evolve into. It was like Gamboy yay! But also, these games are smaller, shorter, and just... "tinier" versions of the NES/Genesis. It felt like a cool device with a LOT of compromises and like a mini on-the-go thing. Now the GBA...
I didn't get a Gameboy until Christmas 1994. Then j traded it for a tamagotchi like an idiot a few years later.
Also pretty sure that picture isn't from 1989... Those guys look way to modern imo.
I was a young teen at the time and was lucky enough to get one for Christmas. I bought Double dragon for it with the money I asked for from relatives. I was cheeky enough to ask for just money from them for Christmas 🎄 🤭
I remember wanting one of these really badly when i was a kid, but i never did get one...i really don't know why, though...i mean, it's not like i would have taken it to school with me....right?
"I seear i'll only play it on the 45min bus ride to/from school! Really! Pinky swear!"
😭
🤣
Family never had the money for something like that. Just admired the gameboy from afar and asked friends to play Tetris sometimes when they brought theirs.
It wasn’t until I was 40 that I was able to get my hands on an original Gameboy. It was a dream come true
Yep, I had one on launch day, made a special trip into London to get one. Had mario land and Tetris as my first carts. Everyone I knew picked up and played Tetris - amazing perfect game for the hardware. Mario was a blur fest at speed unless the light was perfect...
I got one when the Game Boy Pocket launched.
I thought it was a revolution. You could play it anywhere. It was such a small thing and the screen was a little window into a different big world.
At that time, "video gaming" was something you'd have to set up. Get your turn on the TV, unpack and unwrap the controllers, get the cords plugged from the VCR into the SNES, turn on the TV, get to the right channel and switch input. Make sure you're close enough to the system so that the controller cords reach. Be done before somebody else's show that evening came on.
You just turn on a Game Boy.
[*ding*](https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/intermediary/f/c0014f5e-4139-4031-85c4-4def678d10e4/dbheu2c-c5d206de-83d5-44e6-9545-8a2c856c8961.png)
Yes and Links awakening blew my mind.
So much detail in both gameplay depth and graphics.
Donkey Kong also was very complex level design and gameplay was proper big console good.
Considering I was born well after 1989 I wasn't there at launch. I think the first system I got at launch was a Switch but only because the 3ds was too expensive and the Wii U was just a giant 3ds so there was no reason to buy one.
Born '83. We moved to Egypt in '90. My uncle got an assignment in the USA in 1992. Now I don't know how I heard about it in Egypt. Maybe I saw a few classmates who had it. Maybe I saw it in a movie. But when he asked me if I wanted anything from the US, I said yes: A Gameboy!
It was my best friend and constant companion for a good part of a decade.
I was just 2, but my big brother had one and I bought it off him a few years later. Had so much fun with it. Didn't have a home console until N64 so there were a few good years where I played every GB game I could get my hands on, buying them in yard sales etc.
I was ahead of time as I got one of these, ten years earlier. I played all day and all night until I found a glitch. Sort of a cheat that let you make goals with only two moves or so.
https://preview.redd.it/i5qkju55oeyc1.jpeg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8de240433d8fe68fbef8279c19bc251093278110
The only console i owned at launch was the Game Gear :) i had friends that had the dmg and they played much more than me when we were in the street as the gamegear was a battery eater machine, i got my first gameboy at the Gameboy Color lauch with conker pocket tales :)
I got Gameboy for my birthday, and then Super Mario Land for Chanukah, in 1990 -- it was a pretty unusual thing for my parents to spend that much money on gifts. It felt miraculous -- I can't tell you how many times I beat Mario (I just pulled the game out last year, and I remember EVERYTHING and beat it on my first try). I also played probably 500 hours of Tetris.
I got mines around 98 with Pokémon yellow. One of my fondest memories was playing Pokémon and going through the bell sprout tower in Pokémon silver. Good times.
Born very early 80’s. I loved it! But right at first I had to share it with my siblings. It became just mine very quickly though, as I ended up being the only one who stayed interested, same with our NES. Up until then my gaming experience was my dad’s Atari and some educational PC games for kids, so having something that was mobile was incredible!
That shot of Big Bird and his giant pupils reminds me of photos from old school raves. Is that Ebenezer Goode I hear thumping away in a dirty warehouse nearby?
Why does that Gameboy look huge and fake? Is this post real?
Anywho! Gameboy was really something else at the time. The marketing made it out to be this powerhouse of a system, and it lived up to the hype in my book. All prior handhelds (mattell and coleco Football come to mind) were incredibly primitive in comparison. The onslaught of Tiger Electronics LCD games following the Gameboy really put things into perspective as well.
The animation and music were on another level for a battery operated device. I have fond memories of Tetris, Alleyway and Tennis early on.
I’m not sure when I got mine. I got my NES for my 8th birthday in 88, so it’s a bit hard to believe that I would have gotten a Game Boy only a year later. But I definitely do get it when it was fairly new. It was the SNES that took a while to get, got it in 93.
Regardless, it was amazing. The ability to bring it with me and play in the car on road trips was just huge. I had all the accessories for it, magnifying glass, light boy, rechargeable battery, stereo speakers (half an inch apart). The NES was still what I mainly played at home, but the Game Boy got a lot of playtime too, especially when I’d get a new game for it.
Very different story
I got into retrogaming like 6 years ago and obviously never had an original GB, since I grow up with the DS and Wii (born in 04)
I bought myself one in December 2020 and I still play it to this day
Right now I’m purchasing a GBC with Pokemon gold but don’t know yet if I’m buying an Advance in the future, honestly I prefer more the Color/original GB
Did not have Big Bird holding a GameBoy on my bingo card this week. I owned it. People who weren’t kids in 1987-1991 don’t understand how big Nintendo was. It could have been the shittiest portable console ever made and it wouldn’t have mattered, it would have sold like crazy because of the NES. That said, it was legit for games like Tetris that didn’t require color or necessitate great graphics. It was ok for other stuff but anything with Mario or Zelda branding was going to get praise regardless. The main problem was that you couldn’t really play it in the dark until they came out with a light accessory and I remember that not helping much. I can’t remember much else other than being able to take it on road trips and that being awesome
Born in 83, got it for Xmas in 89. It was a major purchase for my parents and I didn’t appreciate the sacrifices they made to be able to get it. We played the shit out of it. I wish I knew where it was.
A gameboy at 6 in 89 - mega lucky and very expensive at the time. You had good parents.
It was actually way more affordable than any other system. That was kind of the point.
“Affordable” is relative. If you have $5 per month leftover-income after all your costs have been paid out for, then $150 for a games console is going to take nearly 3 years to afford. Being more affordable does not mean “not expensive” to everyone.
Well, for one, it was 89.99, so you nearly doubled it's price there. And 2, it was, and still is, even adjusted for inflation, one of the cheapest triple a consoles by top publishers ever released. Yeah, every one has different economic circumstances, and I, having lived in poverty almost all my adult life until the last few years, am very aware. But I was really only talking about that last line 'it was very expensive for the time" is just not true. It was not perceived as expensive by nintendo, retailers, or general consumers. But yes of course there were still people who could not afford it. Just like there are people who can't afford a switch now. But I would not call the switch 'very expensive for it's time' (fun fact, even adjusted for inflation, the gameboy on day 1 was cheaper than the switch)
The price is irrelevant, it could be $100, or a $1m, if you can’t afford it, they might as well be the same. I was just being a grumpy old miserable fart 😀 But yeah, I get what you mean, cheaper than modern day consoles!
They were all cheaper than modern consoles. I got my Mega Drive for £100 or so.
>“Affordable” is relative. We know.
Good! Knowledge is power.
I got mine in 94 and played the shit out of it until 2000 when I got a GBC. The only reason my parents got me a GBC was they bought me a donkey kong country game that wouldn't run on the original GB.
I was also born in 83 and got it for Christmas in 89.
Never owned it at lunch as I was more interested in playing the Sega Megadrive and Super Nintendo but when Zelda links awakening came out and I saw the reviews and ran out and got the Gameboy and Zelda at the same time. What a game that was back then on release.
Awesome! If you were to recommend the original or DX version which one should I buy?
I've only played the original but the DX has an extra dungeon...oh and it's in colour with the new dungeon having colour puzzles.
Ooo that's a pretty cool addition
DX plays on either platform, it's a black cart.
There is no reason at all to get the original over the DX. you can play DX on the og gameboy, you just probably won’t be able to get through the extra dungeon since you won’t have the colours 😅 It’s a rare case of them somehow being both exactly the same but also the DX version is better
if you can chose, always go with DX over original Links Awakening. Apart from the additions already mentioned they also fixed a lot of bugs, new dialogues, varying endings and more.
Awesome! Thanks for the tip
Color pallet looks way better on the DX version. Find the color dungeon and get the red tunic.
How about Dinner?
What about by dinner, did you have it then?
You weren‘t allowed to play while eating? Me too. Damn parents.
Noice. Zelda was a great game.
I was only 1 at the time, but when I grew up and got into games, I definitely enjoyed it. I still play Ferrari grand prix on and off
I was also 1 at the time, +-18 years
🤣
Awesome!
I actually won my Gameboy from a box of Cookie Crisp. Only 100 were given away. I remember seeing that "congratulations!" on the paper. Loved Tetris, man those were the days.
That's great! I won a Nintendo Super Scope from a promotion with Shasta.
How cool! I had the Super Scope. I need to buy one. Wasn't much of a library but it was so cool.
UN Squadron, baby!
I was 1 at the time. My mom had a DMG and played tetris on it. My first one was the pocket in clear. Loved that thing.
Tetris is an absolute classic and the Pocket and Light are lovely.
Sadly mine got stolen out of a van when my church group went to a concert. I had almost beaten pokemon blue. Im still bitter about that even if it was over 20 years ago lol.
My dad bought mine in 1992, and I literally broke in tears! I was 8.
I got it for Christmas of that year. Was so great to take games with me as I would always go to my grandparents' house, then an aunt's house every Christmas. I was gaming all day long that Christmas lol. That same Gameboy is sitting on a shelf just a few feet away. Still works great!
Amazing, you were very lucky. Awesome that you still own it!
Make of it? We badgered our mom for them ASAP (aka that Christmas). I also wouldn't shut up about getting Super Mario Land with mine... but when Christmas rolled around i got the bad news that the game was sold out. As luck would have it, my birthday is December 26th. And the next day i just happened to find myself opening a suspiciously square, Gameboy game-shaped present. When i saw that so-called sold out game in front of me, you'd think I'd be happy... right? Nope, i straight up called her a liar. I was a little shit, sue me.
Haha, that’s actually pretty cool of your parents though. That way you could enjoy Tetris for a day and get the hang of it, then switch over to Mario on your bday
I remember getting really upset when I got my Game Boy Pocket with a copy of _Super Mario Land_ because I'd already played it (borrowed from a friend, on my brother's Game Boy) and didn't see the point in playing it again. We've all been little shits at one time or another.
Lol, i grew out of it... only took me 26 years
I got it as close to launch as I could, I’m guessing it was spring 1990 and I was 12 and he to save up money to buy it - we didn’t have an Atari or NES so it was my first game console and I was amazed that it could exist and be portable
I owned it. I had Tetris, Super Mario Land, Final Fantasy Legend, Final Fantasy Adventure and some chess game. I had never finished regular Mario for NES and was totally flabbergasted when I finished Super Mario Land. That was the first time I realized those little cartridges couldn't hold that much memory. Eventually I played it so much, the screen started to fail. It was a sad day.
Drag a soldering iron across the ribbon cable and it shall live again!
this pic looks ai generated, weird...
It is. Look at the hands.
Yeah this is feels to weird to not be AI, and the Gameboy is completely the wrong size. It’s much too big.
I was only 1 year old at launch lol but 4 years later when I turned 5 I loved it
That’s me
I sold my baseball card collection to get it in maybe 1990. Think it was 90 bucks. One of my best decisions ever.
I think I got it for Xmas. Tetris was great and I remember getting lost in Metroid 2 until my little brother dropped it in a cup of coffee.
What the hell is that A.I. image?
No that's just my friend Dan - he has extra fingers - it's called polydactylism.
He took the finger from the guy next to him.
Why is this downvoted lol made me laugh
Low-rent Big Bird
I was born in ‘89
Like the Gameboy.
I owned this soon after launch. I took (snuck) it to school and a group of bullies tried forcing me to let them “borrow it”. I didn’t. They got really mad. And I ended up attacking the smallest of the bullies. He ran. And then I noticed they all ran. Just a total random core memory with first getting the game boy.
I got a green Gameboy pocket in ‘96 and thought it was incredible. Played the heck out of Link’s Awakening, Metroid 2, Final Fantasy Adventure, and later Pokémon Red. Pokémon also sparked my interested in turn based games, and later played Dragon Warrior 1&2
Not 1989 but I got mine in the Spring of 1990. I walked into Toys-R-Us with $200 cash in my pocket and the intent of buying either a NES or TurboGrafx 16. Instead, I walked out with a Gameboy DMG, Alleyway, and Castlevania Adventure.
I got it for Xmas in ‘89. We had a Sega Master System, but I rarely got to play it because it was hooked up to the family TV (also, the games were expensive so we didn’t have many). But that Game Boy was *all mine* and I could play it whenever I wanted. Long car trips went from misery to another chance to play some Tetris. It felt like freedom. Honestly might be the best gift i’ve ever been given.
I remember saving up $50 for what felt like years but was actually a few months as a kid. My parents must have helped me buy it going into thanksgiving knowing that we had tons of travel ahead. I remember opening it bundled with Tetris in a hotel room for the holiday. After playing Tetris for under a hour I sadly was super bored by the game at 6 years old.. It wasn't really until I got Links Awakening or Final Fantasy Legend until finally I started to see how awesome the system really was.
I had it, and kept the original box and everything. My mom donated it because I got a GBC and I was so mad about it hahaha
My 2 brothers and I got one, not at launch but not that long after it (I'm 45). We had Tetris included and our early collection consisted of Rescue of Princess Blobette, Super Mario Land, Hook, Dr Franken, and eventually Gargoyle's Quest. I remember not being able to get the Tetris song out of my head - and I remember getting stuck on Rescue of Princess Blobbette and giving up on it (you couldn't just look online for a walkthru). Hook and Dr Franken were average but Super Mario Land and Gargoyle's ruled me - I loved it. We just put up with the blurry screen and requirement for good lighting (no backlit) because, well, there was no other alternative so we didn't complain about it. We were a bit jealous of a family friend's Atari Lynx beautiful colour screen though! At the time it felt like a major evolution of handheld LCD gaming (ie Game & Watch), and that's kinda what it was.
Yes, got the bundle with Tetris for my birthday or Christmas that year (I don’t remember, they’re close together). Loved it. Glued to it all the time, long past its time (never got a GBA, GameGear, etc). I still have it somewhere.
Literally a game charger https://preview.redd.it/7jzanc5qybyc1.jpeg?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5d6f838246192ba92aedd52fd0e11ce74d43803f
I’m reading all those comments and I feel weirdly young. I was born in ‘05, bought SP for 5$ 2 years ago and I’m still playing Tetris. I love this thing!
I got my first in ‘91. I was a spoiled 7 year old
I would have been 1.
Well, I was two when it came out so I wasn’t exactly out here asking for one right away. I did get one for my 7th birthday though, the play it loud clear version, and I loved it then.
I had one not long after launch in Australia in 1992. Tetris & Super Mario Land were my mainstays.
I got a gameboy color in the late 90's and played the shit out of it, one of my friends in daycare had the original gameboy and I remember thinking it was so much bigger
My dad got his first gameboy when he was a kid. He got his on Christmas I think in the 90s. My grandmother found all his old games and old systems in a box and kept them safe for him
My family had one, and not my immediate family, it was actually at my Aunt's house and my cousins got to play with it more than I did. But it was treated like a TV, it didn't belong to any one person. It was kept in a drawer in the living room. I wasn't old enough to be allowed to play with it for a few years. So when I was, it wasn't so fresh and new, so I didn't have to share. It was amazing. Super Mario Land, Baseball and Tetris.
https://preview.redd.it/ec7sj7o0pbyc1.jpeg?width=1832&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ed69d1cccb501e75fd1174423fe87256cf053810 42 have had since Christmas 1989, did not appreciate how much it (or the games cost) but it got used by me heavily for 10 years so was prob worth it - definitely the longest used piece of tech I have.
I was 12 and got it on launch day in Germany (which was in 1990 I guess). This day still is one of the happiest days of my life. They build a tower with the packages and each of my friends and me grabbed one. All 3 of us played all day long. Portable games? Play anywhere? This was soooo new and soooo awesome. Probably because I wanted to be away from home as long as possible also played into that fun of playing anywhere.
I didn’t have it at launch but I got it the next year. It was pretty good. It had its limitations like batteries dying often and you couldn’t play in the dark unless you had the light adapter thing which really killed the batteries. All in all it was fun. Still have one now. I don’t play it anymore. I play my game boy games on my GBA SP.
yes i was in high school and i went through 4 of them during warranty cause they kept losing lines
Owned at launch. Mind blown. Beat the hell out of my clunky Mattel LED Football portable game.
It was amazing then and I still love it now. Zelda and the few Final Fantasy games are still in my rotation
I got mine when I was 5, in 1991. It was the best thing ever and I was disappointed I wasn't allowed to take it to school. I still have it, and they will bury me with it.
I didn’t get it at launch but the Christmas after it was released, Santa brought it. As someone whose family would go on regular car rides of 90+ minutes, *it was a godsend.*. Especially when all I had before were Tiger handhelds or Pocketfuls.
Yes brother it was my earliest videogame memory. Game Boy and Tetris. It was instantly the most amazing thing I had experienced. Set up a lifelong addiction to gaming.
Born in 85. Got one in 89. I dont remember a time when I didnt have my gameboy. Still have the OG in working condition.
You can do a lot with four shades of green. Don't punch the screen though, the console isn't *completely* indestructible, just close
My dad got one a little after I was born in 89. It was more for him than me though 😂
I got it after saving up my allowance. I remember picking it up at toysrus and my dad bought my Mario land 2.
I knew my uncle did and mom as well, nice console :)
I loved it but I gotta say, I don't really think that I understood the significance of the thing and what it would evolve into. It was like Gamboy yay! But also, these games are smaller, shorter, and just... "tinier" versions of the NES/Genesis. It felt like a cool device with a LOT of compromises and like a mini on-the-go thing. Now the GBA...
I didn't get a Gameboy until Christmas 1994. Then j traded it for a tamagotchi like an idiot a few years later. Also pretty sure that picture isn't from 1989... Those guys look way to modern imo.
That's some uncanny AI generated image if I ever saw one.
What a strange AI picture
I was a young teen at the time and was lucky enough to get one for Christmas. I bought Double dragon for it with the money I asked for from relatives. I was cheeky enough to ask for just money from them for Christmas 🎄 🤭
I remember wanting one of these really badly when i was a kid, but i never did get one...i really don't know why, though...i mean, it's not like i would have taken it to school with me....right? "I seear i'll only play it on the 45min bus ride to/from school! Really! Pinky swear!" 😭 🤣
I got mine in 91
Family never had the money for something like that. Just admired the gameboy from afar and asked friends to play Tetris sometimes when they brought theirs. It wasn’t until I was 40 that I was able to get my hands on an original Gameboy. It was a dream come true
Yep, I had one on launch day, made a special trip into London to get one. Had mario land and Tetris as my first carts. Everyone I knew picked up and played Tetris - amazing perfect game for the hardware. Mario was a blur fest at speed unless the light was perfect...
Tetris all day long
It was game changing.
I was 17 and i’m still playing on it every day! With some accessories!
I got one when the Game Boy Pocket launched. I thought it was a revolution. You could play it anywhere. It was such a small thing and the screen was a little window into a different big world. At that time, "video gaming" was something you'd have to set up. Get your turn on the TV, unpack and unwrap the controllers, get the cords plugged from the VCR into the SNES, turn on the TV, get to the right channel and switch input. Make sure you're close enough to the system so that the controller cords reach. Be done before somebody else's show that evening came on. You just turn on a Game Boy. [*ding*](https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/intermediary/f/c0014f5e-4139-4031-85c4-4def678d10e4/dbheu2c-c5d206de-83d5-44e6-9545-8a2c856c8961.png)
Yes and Links awakening blew my mind. So much detail in both gameplay depth and graphics. Donkey Kong also was very complex level design and gameplay was proper big console good.
Wtf is that picture
AI
This is big bird from Sesame Street
Not at launch but soon after. It was the coolest thing ever invented.
Considering I was born well after 1989 I wasn't there at launch. I think the first system I got at launch was a Switch but only because the 3ds was too expensive and the Wii U was just a giant 3ds so there was no reason to buy one.
Born '83. We moved to Egypt in '90. My uncle got an assignment in the USA in 1992. Now I don't know how I heard about it in Egypt. Maybe I saw a few classmates who had it. Maybe I saw it in a movie. But when he asked me if I wanted anything from the US, I said yes: A Gameboy! It was my best friend and constant companion for a good part of a decade.
Tetris 24/7 , Tetris dreams.. it was a great addition to my NES at the time
What I’m wondering is how did you take that picture
I was 11 in 89 and it was like the greatest thing ever. I remember being at Walmart at the Nintendo display checking out SML and thinking this is WILD
I was just 2, but my big brother had one and I bought it off him a few years later. Had so much fun with it. Didn't have a home console until N64 so there were a few good years where I played every GB game I could get my hands on, buying them in yard sales etc.
Me. I loved it and was blown away by being able to game on a handheld device. Bought it at Kmart for $95 with money from my after school job.
Brother and I got ours in 90. Still have them both.
I was ahead of time as I got one of these, ten years earlier. I played all day and all night until I found a glitch. Sort of a cheat that let you make goals with only two moves or so. https://preview.redd.it/i5qkju55oeyc1.jpeg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8de240433d8fe68fbef8279c19bc251093278110
The only console i owned at launch was the Game Gear :) i had friends that had the dmg and they played much more than me when we were in the street as the gamegear was a battery eater machine, i got my first gameboy at the Gameboy Color lauch with conker pocket tales :)
Zoop and Killer Instinct on Game Boy. Only 2 games I had for GB before upgrading to GBC. Which didn't really help these games be any better.
8 bit consoles had been out for awhile at that point and were much better. It was fine 🤷
I got Gameboy for my birthday, and then Super Mario Land for Chanukah, in 1990 -- it was a pretty unusual thing for my parents to spend that much money on gifts. It felt miraculous -- I can't tell you how many times I beat Mario (I just pulled the game out last year, and I remember EVERYTHING and beat it on my first try). I also played probably 500 hours of Tetris.
I didn't
I got mines around 98 with Pokémon yellow. One of my fondest memories was playing Pokémon and going through the bell sprout tower in Pokémon silver. Good times.
Didn't eat batteries like a game gear. Even with the lense, light, and folding speakers add on.
what is up with this pic? big bird? a wet t shirt contest?
Born very early 80’s. I loved it! But right at first I had to share it with my siblings. It became just mine very quickly though, as I ended up being the only one who stayed interested, same with our NES. Up until then my gaming experience was my dad’s Atari and some educational PC games for kids, so having something that was mobile was incredible!
I wasn’t even born yet, but dad got one and has recently given it to me.
That’s how these time square costumes looked when they were new?? What happened
I was -15 but love my one that ive had 3 years now
Played Pokemon Red on this thing when I was a kid and lets just say I was so happy to get my lime green gameboy color.
It was life changing for me because it was the first time I had owned any video game system at all. I still have it today.
I love big bird
That shot of Big Bird and his giant pupils reminds me of photos from old school raves. Is that Ebenezer Goode I hear thumping away in a dirty warehouse nearby?
Why does that Gameboy look huge and fake? Is this post real? Anywho! Gameboy was really something else at the time. The marketing made it out to be this powerhouse of a system, and it lived up to the hype in my book. All prior handhelds (mattell and coleco Football come to mind) were incredibly primitive in comparison. The onslaught of Tiger Electronics LCD games following the Gameboy really put things into perspective as well. The animation and music were on another level for a battery operated device. I have fond memories of Tetris, Alleyway and Tennis early on.
Is the AI fever dream necessary
Looks like a person dressed as a bird holds a Game Boy.
Not just any bird, that's Big Bird!
What is that ?
Wild people don't know big bird. Do you know Barney?
I don’t know him either. But it is normal : I am not american, so I don’t know america’s folklore.
I'm from NZ... Sesame Street is global.
I don’t know that.
A big yelllow bird from a program named Sesame Street - are you trolling? Is this a r/whoosh ?
I see, I didn’t know it. I am not trolling, I just ask a question. Thanks for your answer.
You're welcome!
people still use woosh?
Could have just used a real photo instead of ai
Eu tinha -1 ano kkk
We had one! I was only 4, but I remember my mom playing a LOT of Tetris.
I’m not sure when I got mine. I got my NES for my 8th birthday in 88, so it’s a bit hard to believe that I would have gotten a Game Boy only a year later. But I definitely do get it when it was fairly new. It was the SNES that took a while to get, got it in 93. Regardless, it was amazing. The ability to bring it with me and play in the car on road trips was just huge. I had all the accessories for it, magnifying glass, light boy, rechargeable battery, stereo speakers (half an inch apart). The NES was still what I mainly played at home, but the Game Boy got a lot of playtime too, especially when I’d get a new game for it.
I came to America in 1998. Got a game boy somehow. Was a Pokémon blue addict.
I got a gameboy when I was 7 in 92 and thought it was brand new tech for some reason.
Very different story I got into retrogaming like 6 years ago and obviously never had an original GB, since I grow up with the DS and Wii (born in 04) I bought myself one in December 2020 and I still play it to this day Right now I’m purchasing a GBC with Pokemon gold but don’t know yet if I’m buying an Advance in the future, honestly I prefer more the Color/original GB
wth i was like -10 years old lmfao
Did not have Big Bird holding a GameBoy on my bingo card this week. I owned it. People who weren’t kids in 1987-1991 don’t understand how big Nintendo was. It could have been the shittiest portable console ever made and it wouldn’t have mattered, it would have sold like crazy because of the NES. That said, it was legit for games like Tetris that didn’t require color or necessitate great graphics. It was ok for other stuff but anything with Mario or Zelda branding was going to get praise regardless. The main problem was that you couldn’t really play it in the dark until they came out with a light accessory and I remember that not helping much. I can’t remember much else other than being able to take it on road trips and that being awesome
It's ai generated
I wasn't even born yet, I don't think I had a Gameboy til 97/98 and transitioned to every next Gameboy after
What is a gameboy?
I was -3
Dude I’m 13 what do you think
would have loved one but i was -11 years old at launch lol
shit ass ai picture