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00:00Well, the sonar works, and it found some fish on this side of the dock, so let's see if we
00:04can catch one.
00:05Welcome to MojoPlays, and today we're looking at Nintendo's OG handheld consoles,
00:10and talking about the things we missed.
00:12These are 25 things you didn't know about the Game Boy and Game Boy Color.
00:16Let's go.
00:17Before we continue, we publish content all week long,
00:20so be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to get notified of our latest videos.
00:26Kirby is white.
00:32Here's a weird little bit of history.
00:34When Kirby first showed up in the West, he wasn't pink.
00:36He was white.
00:38This mostly came down to the confusion on Nintendo's side.
00:41When Nintendo of America received the game to localize,
00:44nobody clearly told them what color Kirby was supposed to be.
00:48Since his debut was on the Game Boy, which, let's be honest, wasn't exactly bursting with color,
00:52it left things pretty ambiguous.
00:54So they just rolled with white and called it a day.
00:57Typical West.
00:58I don't really know what that means.
00:59I just wanted to sound political and cool.
01:07Boot function.
01:08Boot screens have pretty much always been a part of turning on a console,
01:11but the Game Boy handled it differently than your PS2 or your Apple Pippin.
01:16You guys remember the Apple Pippin?
01:17Sorry, focus.
01:18When you powered up the Game Boy, that iconic Nintendo logo
01:21would drop down from the top of the screen and land in the center.
01:25Looks simple, but here's the twist.
01:26That logo wasn't stored on the console at all.
01:29It actually came from the cartridge you had plugged in.
01:32If you ever turn the Game Boy on without the game inserted,
01:34you'd just see a blank block instead of the logo.
01:37Neat.
01:49The Game Boy had multiplayer way before wireless was a thing,
01:53thanks to its link cable,
01:55though most people didn't use it to its full potential
01:57because its full potential was a little bit OP.
01:59Usually, games supported between one and four players,
02:02which was already pretty impressive for the time.
02:04But one game completely pushed the limits.
02:07Spaceball 2000 somehow managed to support up to 16 players at once,
02:12which even earned it the Guinness World Record.
02:14I didn't even have 16 friends,
02:16let alone 16 friends with Game Boys and Link cables.
02:25Sewing Boy
02:34For some reason,
02:35people were obsessed with making the Game Boy
02:37do literally anything except play games.
02:40But even this is a weird one.
02:42Singer Sewing Machine Company jumped in around the year 2000
02:45with something called the Isaac.
02:47It was designed as a beginner sewing machine for kids.
02:50But here's the twist.
02:52You actually controlled it using a Game Boy connected by a cable.
02:55Through the handheld,
02:56you could pick from up to 80 different stitching patterns
02:58and it could even embroider letters and short messages.
03:01The whole thing feels odd.
03:02The kind of odd that only took off in Japan.
03:05God, I love Japan.
03:09Two different crystals.
03:18Most people point to Pokemon Gold and Silver
03:20as the biggest hit on the Game Boy Color.
03:22But there's a strange little detail with Pokemon Crystal
03:25that a lot of players miss.
03:26It actually had two different versions released.
03:29The regular version and then the 1.1 release.
03:32The weird part?
03:34Almost nobody really knows what was changed or fixed in that update.
03:37It's one of those tiny gaming mysteries
03:39that's never received a solid answer.
03:44Built for Ports
03:49The Game Boy kept things simple
03:51but in a really, really smart way.
03:53It used an 8-direction D-pad along with 4 buttons
03:55A, B, Start and Select.
03:57If that sounds familiar,
03:58it's because it's basically the exact same layout
04:00as the Nintendo Entertainment System controller.
04:03That familiarity was a big deal.
04:06Players could pick it up
04:07and instantly know what they were doing.
04:08No learning curve needed.
04:09But it also helped developers just as much
04:12since the controller scheme matched the NES so closely
04:14it made porting games over to the handheld way easier.
04:18Which the Game Boy did.
04:19A lot.
04:26Early Wireless Connection
04:27And today we're going to try
04:29at least try to use the infrared ports on the Game Boy Color.
04:33If you always hated linking two Game Boy Color systems
04:36because of the cable restrictions
04:37well boy do I have a surprise for you.
04:39Some games could connect using the infrared port
04:42built into the top of the consoles.
04:44No wires, no setup mess
04:45just line the systems up and it worked.
04:48It was so rarely used that most of us just forgot it existed.
04:52Looking back, that's pretty cool.
04:54From what I found,
04:55the Game Boy Color was actually the first handheld
04:57to include any kind of wireless communication.
04:59Unless you count my broken PS1
05:01with the power cord ripped out of the back.
05:02We're going to press A in 3, 2, 1, go.
05:09Jazzy scent Grimer doll.
05:11Can play in color.
05:16One of the coolest things about the Game Boy Color
05:18and even the Game Boy Advance
05:19is how they handled older games.
05:21You didn't need to mess around
05:22with the codes or the settings.
05:24You just slot your original Game Boy cartridge in,
05:26turn the system on
05:27and it would automatically display in color.
05:29It wasn't true full color remakes
05:31or anything like that
05:32but the system added preset color palettes
05:34that made those older games feel a bit more alive.
05:4212 secret colors.
05:44Did you know that on the Game Boy Color
05:45for regular Game Boy games
05:46you could actually change the color palette
05:48when the game starts up?
05:49I only learned this
05:49when I fully and totally legally
05:51emulated some old Game Boy games
05:53but the Game Boy Color
05:54lets you swap between different color palettes
05:56when playing original Game Boy titles
05:58and it's surprisingly easy to do.
06:00Each palette uses around 7 to 10 colors
06:03with options like negative,
06:04grayscale and pastel mix
06:06that can totally change how a game looks.
06:08To activate it
06:09just hold different directions on the D-pad
06:11along with A or B
06:12during the startup screen.
06:14Miss that moment
06:14and you're out of luck
06:15until the next reset.
06:16With that color palette
06:17so if you don't like the original one
06:19that it goes with
06:19you can go ahead and change it
06:21and you'll get a completely different
06:22color palette for it.
06:23It's pretty neat.
06:2514 year lifespan.
06:26It isn't humanly possible
06:27but now you can have
06:29all the power and excitement
06:30of Nintendo
06:31right in the palm of your hand.
06:33The Game Boy first launched
06:34back in 1989
06:36and through the entire 90s
06:37it was everywhere.
06:38It quickly became
06:39one of the most popular consoles around
06:41and somehow just refused to fade out
06:43even when newer hardware showed up.
06:45When the Game Boy Advance
06:46released in 2001
06:47you'd think that would be the end
06:48but no,
06:49the original kept selling.
06:51It didn't officially get discontinued
06:52until 2003
06:54which means
06:55it stuck around
06:56for a massive 14 years.
06:58A whole year longer
06:59than the PS2
06:59the highest selling console
07:01of all time
07:02which only lasted 13 years.
07:04And make the season bright.
07:06Wii Boy.
07:10Here's another first
07:11that doesn't get talked about enough.
07:13Kirby Tilt and Tumble
07:14was actually one of the earliest
07:16motion controlled games
07:17ever made.
07:18Instead of using buttons
07:19the whole time
07:19you physically tilted
07:21the Game Boy
07:21to move Kirby around.
07:23It's basically a maze style game
07:24but the controls
07:25are what made it stand out.
07:27I've never played it myself
07:28but after watching clips
07:29I want it.
07:30I want it.
07:30Good lord, I want it.
07:31Kirby Tilt and Tumble
07:33rated E for everyone.
07:34Only on Game Boy Color.
07:35Get into it.
07:36Four shades of grey.
07:45Looking back
07:46the 8-bit Game Boy
07:47felt like magic to kids
07:49but technically
07:50it wasn't exactly cutting edge
07:51even at the time.
07:52The iconic screen
07:53could only show
07:54four shades of grey and green
07:56which is super unimpressive.
07:58It sounds like a 50 Shades parody
08:00set in an old person's home.
08:01Meanwhile
08:02other handhelds
08:03were already pushing things further.
08:04The Sega Game Gear
08:05for example
08:06had a full colour screen
08:07and much more
08:08of a modern look
08:09compared to the Game Boy's
08:10chunky grey brick design
08:11but still
08:12Game Boy won the handheld war.
08:20Calculator Inspiration
08:21Okay
08:22so it's not a Game Boy.
08:23The idea for the Game Boy
08:24actually came from
08:25a pretty everyday moment.
08:26One of Nintendo's
08:27top hardware developers
08:28was on a train
08:29when he noticed
08:30a businessman
08:30messing around
08:31with a calculator
08:32doing that thing
08:33where you flip numbers
08:33upside down
08:34to make words
08:34you know
08:35boobs.
08:36That simple bit of boredom
08:38sparked something.
08:39They took that idea
08:40and working with
08:41Nintendo's R&D1 team
08:42turned it into a handheld
08:44system you could play
08:45anywhere
08:45and the rest is history.
08:47Sadly
08:47he passed away
08:48in a car accident
08:48years later.
08:50Dammit
08:50that's a sad way
08:51to end an entry.
08:52Uh
08:52boobs!
08:55And I don't even have a head.
08:57Backlit
08:57before SP.
08:59Yeah
08:59that's right
08:59I'm seeing nothing.
09:01Nintendo
09:01fix this
09:02I'm legally blind.
09:03If you ever tried
09:04playing the Game Boy
09:04at night
09:05you probably remember
09:05the struggle.
09:07No backlight
09:07meant you basically
09:08needed a lamp
09:09just to see anything.
09:10Trying to play
09:10under the covers
09:11good luck.
09:12The SP is when
09:13everything changed
09:14in the West.
09:15In Japan
09:15Nintendo had actually
09:16fixed this issue.
09:17They released the Game Boy
09:18Light
09:19which finally added
09:19a proper light up screen.
09:21In the West
09:22we got weird
09:22peripheral attachments
09:23that barely worked.
09:24Six months
09:25pretty much half a year
09:26before the Game Boy
09:27Color
09:28released in Japan.
09:301998.
09:30Not the First Handheld
09:34The Game Boy
09:35might be the most
09:35iconic handheld ever
09:37but it definitely
09:38wasn't the first
09:39to try the idea.
09:40That title actually
09:41goes to the Microvision
09:42a cartridge based system
09:43released in 1979
09:44by Milton Bradley.
09:46It had some early success
09:48but things didn't last long.
09:49Only 12 games were made
09:51and it was discontinued
09:52about two years later.
09:53Nintendo didn't jump
09:54into handheld gaming
09:55until later
09:56with the Game & Watch series
09:57which featured
09:58standalone devices
09:59with built-in games.
10:00Those were a huge hit
10:02selling over 40 million units
10:03before fading out
10:04in the early 90s.
10:05This meant the Game Boy
10:05wasn't even Nintendo's
10:06first hit handheld console.
10:11Neil Young loves Nintendo.
10:13Well, just
10:14this is the time
10:16it worked out for me.
10:17There's no particular reason
10:18except it was an opportune
10:20time to come over here.
10:21If you're trying to figure out
10:22what Neil Young
10:22has to do with the Game Boy
10:23it's actually a pretty cool crossover.
10:25The cover for his 2000 album
10:27silver and gold
10:28wasn't taken on
10:29some high-end camera
10:31it came from
10:32a Game Boy camera.
10:33Yep, that tiny accessory
10:34was responsible
10:35for the final image
10:36and it was reportedly
10:37taken by his daughter Amber.
10:39We'll talk more
10:40about the camera soon
10:40but for now
10:41let's appreciate
10:42this god-awful image.
10:43Tried to just do
10:44what I wanted to do myself.
10:46Boombox Boy
10:55If you wanted to listen
10:57to music while playing
10:58the Game Boy
10:58your options were pretty limited
11:00but some accessories
11:01tried to fix that.
11:03One of the stranger ones
11:04was the Boombox Boy
11:05which basically
11:06turned your Game Boy
11:07into a radio.
11:08Plug it in
11:08and it would pick up
11:09local stations
11:10letting you listen
11:11to the speakers
11:11or headphones
11:12while you play it.
11:13Sounds like a great idea
11:14on paper
11:14but in reality
11:15not so much.
11:17You couldn't properly
11:17tune into specific stations
11:19so you were stuck
11:19with whatever signal
11:21it grabbed.
11:21It was also
11:22way too loud
11:23and to make things worse
11:24it blocked the volume
11:25controls entirely.
11:27Basically it kind of sucks.
11:28Using your Game Boy
11:29as a power source.
11:31Amazing.
11:32I love that this exists.
11:33Surprising record.
11:35Here's a weird stat
11:36about the Game Boy.
11:37It's one of the only
11:38Nintendo handhelds
11:39where a Pokemon game
11:41didn't end up
11:41as the best seller.
11:43Even though
11:43Pokemon Red and Blue
11:44were massive
11:45they released late
11:46in the system's life
11:47so they just missed
11:48taking the top spot.
11:49Instead that title
11:50went to Tetris
11:51which moved an insane
11:5235 million copies.
11:54The only other
11:55handheld where this
11:55happened was the
11:57Nintendo DS.
12:01Workboy.
12:02Propping the Game Boy
12:03up with its
12:03accompanying stand
12:04and plugging it in
12:06promised to essentially
12:07transform it into
12:08a small personal computer.
12:10These days
12:10productivity apps
12:11are everywhere
12:12but back in the 90s
12:13you needed something
12:13like a PDA
12:14to handle that kind
12:15of stuff.
12:15For some reason
12:16someone looked at
12:17the Game Boy
12:17and thought
12:18yeah
12:18this could totally
12:20be an office device.
12:21This definitely
12:21won't make whoever's
12:22using it a pariah
12:23in the cubicles.
12:24That idea turned
12:25into the Workboy
12:26a strange add-on
12:27made by Fabtech.
12:29It came with a full
12:29keyboard and software
12:31for things like
12:31a clock
12:32a plan
12:32or even a currency
12:33converter.
12:34Basically trying to
12:35turn your handheld
12:36into a mini workstation.
12:43Game Boy Printer
12:44So you can see
12:45what it looks like
12:46here in my studio.
12:47The up and down
12:48controls will change
12:49the brightness of the picture.
12:50Okay
12:51we're back on the
12:52Game Boy Camera.
12:53Did you know
12:53there was also
12:54a tiny thermal printer
12:56to go with it?
12:57It lets you take
12:58super low quality photos
12:59and print them out
13:00on little strips of paper
13:01which honestly feels
13:02like an early version
13:03of the selfie
13:03before that was even a thing.
13:05You could mess around
13:06with your pictures too
13:07adding pixelated wigs
13:08glasses and other
13:09goofy edits.
13:10It turned into chaos
13:11pretty quickly
13:12especially at school.
13:15Space Boy
13:17One of the biggest
13:18draws of the Game Boy
13:19was being able
13:20to take it anywhere
13:21instead of being
13:21stuck at home
13:22like with a regular console.
13:24Though mine kind of
13:25just went from my bedroom
13:25to the toilet
13:26and back to the bedroom.
13:27In 1993
13:28one astronaut
13:29more adventurous than me
13:31brought his Game Boy
13:32with him into space.
13:33It went up to
13:34the Mere Space Station
13:35and stayed there
13:36for 196 days.
13:38And of course
13:38the game he chose
13:39to bring
13:40was Tetris.
13:41I know this is cool
13:42but I don't think
13:43you guys understand
13:43how big the turds were
13:44that I took
13:45while playing the Game Boy.
13:50Original Release
13:51Colors
13:57The name Game Boy Color
13:59isn't just about
13:59the screen
14:00it also ties into
14:01the actual hardware itself.
14:02When it first launched
14:03the system came in
14:04a range of different
14:05colored shells.
14:06It gave players
14:07a bit more personality
14:08when picking their system
14:09whether they wanted
14:10something bright
14:10or more low-key.
14:11But did you know
14:12that the colors
14:13it released in
14:13were the colors
14:14in the word
14:15color
14:15on the actual Game Boy?
14:17Interesting.
14:20Conboy
14:27Back in the early 90s
14:28relations between
14:29Japan and South Korea
14:30were pretty intense
14:32and Nintendo knew
14:33that could affect sales.
14:35The idea of buying
14:35a Japanese product
14:36didn't sit well
14:37with a lot of
14:37Korean consumers
14:38at the time
14:39so they found
14:40a workaround.
14:40Instead of selling
14:41the Game Boy directly
14:42Nintendo licensed it
14:44to Hyundai
14:44who released it locally
14:46under a different name
14:47the Mini Conboy.
14:48This wasn't a one-off
14:49deal either.
14:50The year before
14:50the Nintendo Entertainment
14:51System had already
14:52been rebranded
14:53as the Conboy
14:54in Korea.
14:54The partnership
14:55kept going too
14:56with Hyundai
14:56later releasing
14:57the Super Conboy
14:58and the Conboy 64
14:59which were versions
15:00of the Super Nintendo
15:01Entertainment System
15:02and Nintendo 64.
15:03At the end of the day
15:04hate will never beat sales.
15:13Nintendo Golf
15:18There's a famous
15:19Game Boy story
15:20often called
15:21the Golf War Game Boy
15:22and it's honestly
15:23kind of unbelievable.
15:24The system
15:25belonged to
15:26Stephen Scoggins
15:27who was stationed
15:28in the Middle East
15:29during the Gulf War.
15:30During a bombing
15:31the handheld
15:31was badly damaged
15:32burnt, melted
15:33and with parts
15:34of the motherboard
15:35exposed.
15:36It looked
15:36completely done for.
15:38When it eventually
15:39made its way
15:39back to Nintendo
15:40technicians
15:41didn't expect much
15:42but somehow
15:43after testing it
15:44using a copy
15:45of Tetris
15:45it still worked
15:46perfectly.
15:48Because of that
15:48ridiculous level
15:49of durability
15:49the system
15:50ended up on display
15:51at the Nintendo
15:52World Store
15:53where it became
15:53a symbol of just
15:54how tough
15:55the Game Boy
15:55really was.
16:00Fishing Boy
16:01So using this
16:01is pretty simple
16:02you basically
16:03just throw this
16:04into the water
16:05it's got a bobber
16:06on it so it's
16:06going to float
16:07so let's toss it out.
16:09If you thought
16:09the Sewing Boy
16:10was the weirdest
16:11thing ever made
16:12for the Game Boy
16:12think again.
16:14In 1998
16:14Bandai released
16:16something even stranger
16:17the Game Boy
16:18Pocket Sonar.
16:19Instead of helping
16:20you organize your life
16:21this thing helped
16:22you catch fish.
16:22It plugged into the
16:23console and acted
16:24as a fish finder
16:25letting you scan the
16:26water and spot fish
16:27up to 20 meters deep.
16:28The results would
16:29show up right on
16:30the Game Boy screen
16:31turning your handheld
16:32into a legit fishing
16:33tool.
16:33As long as you
16:34weren't night fishing
16:34it was actually
16:35a pretty dope add-on.
16:36This guy's pretty big.
16:38Well, I don't know
16:39I don't usually keep
16:40fish I always throw
16:41him back so let's
16:41just release this guy.
16:43Did you enjoy this
16:44video?
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