The Game Boy Micro is a

handheld game console A handheld game console, or simply handheld console, is a small, portable self-contained video game console with a built-in screen, game controls and speakers. Handheld game consoles are smaller than home video game consoles and contain the cons ...

developed and manufactured by

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...

. It was first released in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

on September 13, 2005 as a smaller, lighter redesign of the

Game Boy Advance The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo as the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, in North America on June 11, 2001, in the PAL region on June 22, 2 ...

. The system is the last console in the

Game Boy line The Japanese multinational consumer electronics company Nintendo has developed seven home video game consoles and multiple portable consoles for use with external media, as well as dedicated consoles and other hardware for their consoles. , i ...

, alongside the AGS-101 model of the

Game Boy Advance SP The Game Boy Advance SP (GBA SP), released in Japan on February 14, 2003, is a sixth-generation handheld game console developed, released, and marketed by Nintendo that served as an upgraded version of the original Game Boy Advance. The "SP" in ...

. Unlike its predecessors, the Game Boy Micro lacks

backward compatibility Backward compatibility (sometimes known as backwards compatibility) is a property of an operating system, product, or technology that allows for interoperability with an older legacy system, or with input designed for such a system, especially i ...

for original

Game Boy The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America later the same year, and in Europe in late 1990. It was designed by the same ...

and

Game Boy Color The (commonly abbreviated as GBC) is a handheld game console, manufactured by Nintendo, which was released in Japan on October 21, 1998 and to international markets that November. It is the successor to the Game Boy and is part of the Game ...

games.

History

According to Nintendo of America vice president

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...

, the idea for a smaller version of the Game Boy was first discussed in 2004. Harrison explained that unlike the traditional console development process, Nintendo was always thinking about new ideas for the Game Boy, describing it as a "continuous process of invention". Developed under the code name "Oxy", the company tried many ways to see how small they could make the Game Boy, opting for a metallic casing that, according to Nintendo Co. Ltd president

Satoru Iwata was a Japanese businessman, video game programmer, video game designer, and producer. He was the fourth President (corporate title), president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Nintendo from 2002 until his death in 2015. He was a major contr ...

, was "unusual for Nintendo". The Game Boy Micro was announced by Nintendo of America's vice president of sales and marketing,

Reggie Fils-Aimé Reginald Fils-Aimé ( ; born March 25, 1961) is an American businessman best known for being the president and chief operating officer of Nintendo of America, the North American division of the Japanese video game company Nintendo, from 2006 ...

, at the company's

Electronic Entertainment Expo E3 (short for Electronic Entertainment Expo or Electronic Entertainment Experience in 2021) is a trade event for the video game industry. The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) organizes and presents E3, which many developers, publisher ...

press conference on May 17, 2005. The system was released in

on September 13, 2005, in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

on September 19, 2005, in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

on November 3, 2005., and in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

on November 4, 2005. It was released in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

as the

iQue iQue, Ltd. () is a Chinese video game/game localization and support development company located in Suzhou. It was founded as a joint venture between Wei Yen and Nintendo in 2002 as a Chinese video game console manufacturing company. The follo ...

Game Boy Micro on October 1, 2005, and later released in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

on November 9, 2005.

Design and specifications

The Game Boy Micro retains some of the functionality of the

, but in a more compact form factor. Additionally, it has a backlit screen with the ability to adjust the brightness. The shape itself is oblong, similar to the style of the

Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in America ...

controller. The Game Boy Micro cannot play original

and

games due to design changes. While the 8-bit Sharp LR35902 coprocessor and graphics hardware necessary to run games from older Game Boy systems is still present, it lacks other internal hardware necessary for backwards compatibility. It is also incompatible with the

Nintendo e-Reader The Nintendo e-Reader, stylized as ereader, commonly abbreviated as e-Reader, known in Japan as the is an add-on manufactured by Nintendo for its Game Boy Advance handheld video game console. It was released in Japan in December 2001, with a N ...

and other peripherals due to similar design issues. The Game Boy Micro features removable, decorative

housing Housing, or more generally, living spaces, refers to the construction and assigned usage of houses or buildings individually or collectively, for the purpose of shelter. Housing ensures that members of society have a place to live, whether it ...

called a faceplate. Designs with special faceplates were sold as a customization feature. Faceplates for the Micro are made using

in-mould decoration In-mould decoration, a special type of plastic molding, is used for decorating plastic surfaces with color and/or with an abrasion resistant coat. Principle A carrier film is placed inside the opened mould. It carries the dried paint layers which ...

. * Dimensions: * Weight: * Processor: 32-bit 16.8 MHz ARM processor (ARM7TDMI) * Case Colors: various * Screen: 51 mm / 2 inches, backlight with adjustable brightness. * Resolution: 240×160

pixel In digital imaging, a pixel (abbreviated px), pel, or picture element is the smallest addressable element in a raster image, or the smallest point in an all points addressable display device. In most digital display devices, pixels are the smal ...

s *

Framerate Frame rate (expressed in or FPS) is the frequency (rate) at which consecutive images ( frames) are captured or displayed. The term applies equally to film and video cameras, computer graphics, and motion capture systems. Frame rate may also be ...

: 60 Hz * Colors: 512 (character cell mode) or 32,768 (bitmap mode) * Battery: built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery, up to 5 hours of battery life with top brightness and sound or 8 hours with both features on default * Headphones: standard 3.5mm headphone jack The Game Boy Micro has a two-way switch on its right side for adjusting volume. By holding down the left shoulder button, the switch can also be used to adjust the backlight between five levels of brightness.

Software and hardware

The Game Boy Micro is compatible with Game Boy Advance games, including

Game Boy Advance Video Game Boy Advance Video was a format for putting full color, full-motion videos onto Game Boy Advance ROM cartridges. These videos were playable using the Game Boy Advance system's screen and sound hardware. The cartridges were all developed and p ...

Game Paks. The following games/accessories are not compatible with the Game Boy Micro system: * Original Game Boy Game Paks * Game Boy Color Game Paks * Game Boy or Game Boy Advance Game Link cables * Game Boy Advance Wireless Adapter *

Nintendo GameCube Game Boy Advance cable is a Japanese multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produced handmade playing cards ...

Game Boy Printer The Game Boy Printer, known as the in Japan, is a thermal printer accessory released by Nintendo in 1998 which ceased production in early 2003. The Game Boy Printer is compatible with all the Game Boy systems except the Game Boy Micro and is des ...

Game Boy Camera The Game Boy Camera (GBC), released as in Japan, is a Nintendo accessory for the handheld Game Boy game console. It was released on February 21, 1998, in Japan, and manufacturing was ceased in late 2002. As a toy for user-generated content, it ...

While Game Boy or Game Boy Advance Game Link cables and the Game Boy Advance Wireless Adapter are not compatible with the Game Boy Micro system, adapters and a Game Boy Micro-compatible Wireless adapter have been released. Nintendo also redesigned their Play-Yan music/video adapter to better fit the Game Boy Micro. This device is able to play MP3 and digital video files from SD cards. As with the Game Boy Advance and

systems, there are no regional lockouts on software, so

North American North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Ca ...

games can be played on

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

hardware and vice versa.

Packaging

In Japan, the Game Boy Micro was released in four different base colors:

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when obs ...

purple Purple is any of a variety of colors with hue between red and blue. In the RGB color model used in computer and television screens, purples are produced by mixing red and blue light. In the RYB color model historically used by painters, pu ...

, and

silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

. Also available at launch was a limited edition version, based on the controller of the Japanese version of the

, the Famicom. In October 2005,

Square Enix is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational holding company, production enterprise and entertainment conglomerate, best known for its ''Final Fantasy'', ''Dragon Quest'', ''Star Ocean'' and ''Kingdom Hearts'' role-playing video game ...

announced that they would be releasing a special faceplate, featuring artwork by

Yoshitaka Amano is a Japanese visual artist, character designer, illustrator, a scenic designer for theatre and film, and a costume designer. He first came into prominence in the late 1960s working on the anime adaptation of ''Speed Racer''. Amano later became ...

, to promote their re-release of ''

Final Fantasy IV known as ''Final Fantasy II'' for its initial North American release, is a role-playing video game developed and published by Square (now Square Enix) for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Released in 1991, it is the fourth main instal ...

'' on the Game Boy Advance. On November 17, 2005, Nintendo released a ''

Pokémon (an abbreviation for in Japan) is a Japanese media franchise managed by The Pokémon Company, founded by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures (company), Creatures, the owners of the trademark and copyright of the franchise. In terms of ...

'' version in Japan, featuring a red Micro with a black faceplate containing the silhouette of

Pikachu is a fictional species in the ''Pokémon'' media franchise. Designed by Atsuko Nishida and Ken Sugimori, Pikachu first appeared in the 1996 Japanese video games ''Pokémon Red'' and ''Green'' created by Game Freak and Nintendo, which w ...

. Another special edition of the Micro was released on April 20, 2006, which bundled ''

Mother 3 is a 2006 role-playing video game developed by Brownie Brown and HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance. It is the third entry in the Mother (video game series), ''Mother'' series. The game follows Lucas, a young boy ...

'' with a red Micro and a themed faceplate. Micro

In the United States and Canada, the Game Boy Micro launched with two regular color choices, each sold with three interchangeable faceplates included: silver with black, "Ammonite" and "Ladybug" faceplates; and black with silver, "Flame" and "Camouflage" faceplates. The "20th Anniversary" edition was released on December 4, 2005, which was the

Famicom The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in American ...

controller-inspired version released in Japan. In Europe the Game Boy Micro is available in four different colors, with one matching faceplate: silver, green, blue and pink. Game Boy Micro sold in Australia have the same colors (except Green which replaced by red color) as Europe. There are reportedly no plans to sell additional faceplates in the US retail locations (as indicated in the letter page in issue 200 of

Nintendo Power ''Nintendo Power'' was a video game news and strategy magazine from Nintendo of America, first published in July/August 1988 as Nintendo's official print magazine for North America. The magazine's publication was initially done monthly by Ninten ...

) or the UK. Nintendo of Europe cannot supply replacement faceplates of any kind, and the feature is omitted from the product's marketing, packaging, and manual in Europe. However, some third parties are manufacturing such faceplates for sale in the US and Europe, and some importers stock faceplates acquired from Japan. Nintendo of America used to sell some of the faceplates individually online, however they are no longer available since the handheld was discontinued in 2008.

Unit colors

The Game Boy Micro had numerous colors and limited editions. * Black (included silver, green camo, and fire faceplates) * Silver (included black, flower, and blue energy faceplates) * Green (Europe only) * Blue (Europe and Japan only) * Pink (Europe only) * Red (Australia only) * Lavender (Japan only) * Famicom 20th Anniversary Edition * Final Fantasy IV * Lite Blue (Japan only) * Mother 3 (red, Japan only) * Pokémon (red, and black faceplate, Japan only)

Release and sales

* The Game Boy Micro sold over 170,000 units during its first days in

. * The

n release drew some criticism; with a formal release of September 19, 2005, many stores simply ignored it, some delaying it until September 26, 2005 or as late as September 30, 2005. * According to a Q1 2007

earnings release, 2.42 million Game Boy Micro units had been sold worldwide as of March 31, 2007, including 610,000 units in Japan, 950,000 units in the Americas, and 870,000 in other territories such as

and

Oceania Oceania (, , ) is a region, geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern Hemisphere, Eastern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of ...

. * As of July 30, 2007, the Game Boy Micro had sold 2.5 million units, according to

GamePro Gamepro.com is an international multiplatform video game magazine media company that covers the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software in countries such as Germany and France. The publication, GamePro, was originally la ...

. It was ranked #8 in their "The 10 Worst-Selling Handhelds of All Time". * Generally, the Game Boy Micro did not sell well, and failed to reach the company's aim of units sold.

stated that the marketing of the

Nintendo DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in tan ...

may have hurt the Micro in the marketplace and admitted that Game Boy Micro sales did not meet Nintendo's expectations. The system retailed for

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

99, compared to US$79 for the

. The system was originally available in black and silver, and a red 20th Anniversary Edition was later released to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Nintendo Entertainment System.

Reception

The Game Boy Micro's

backlit A backlight is a form of illumination used in liquid crystal displays (LCDs). As LCDs do not produce light by themselves—unlike, for example, cathode ray tube (CRT), plasma (PDP) or OLED displays—they need illumination ( ambient light or a ...

screen, which is superior to the original AGS-001 (frontlit) Game Boy Advance SP model (a later remodel, the AGS-101, added a similar high quality screen to SP systems), has been praised for its visibility. Due to a finer

dot pitch Dot pitch (sometimes called line pitch, stripe pitch, or phosphor pitch) is a specification for a computer display, computer printer, image scanner, or other pixel-based devices that describe the distance, for example, between dots ( sub-pixels) ...

, the screen is more evenly lit, and the brightness is adjustable. The smaller dot pitch has also improved the apparent sharpness of the display. The removable faceplates have also been praised because they allow for personalization and protect the high-resolution backlit screen.

Notes

References

External links

* *
"Nintendo – Customer Service , Game Boy Micro – Frequently Asked Questions"
{{Handheld game consoles Game Boy Advance Game Boy consoles Regionless game consoles Sixth-generation video game consoles IQue consoles Products introduced in 2005 Products and services discontinued in 2008 Discontinued handheld game consoles de:Game Boy Advance#Game Boy Micro simple:Game Boy Advance#Game Boy Micro