Game Boy Light

[Blarginatorr]

It's not every day that you stumble upon a Nintendo console that could be called a synonym with "rare" or "unknown", especially if it has a GameBoy label on it.

 

Then again, why would've anyone wanted a GBL back in 1998 if the GBC was planned to be released the next day?

And why would anyone want one now 12 years later?

Because it's uncommon? obscure? frontlit? or just because of curiosity?

 

I guess everyone has their own reasons to own a GBL, but I'd love to hear why people want/get one of these "already obsolete at release" things.

I personally wanted one out of curiosity.

 

 

 

Eh, so my real idea for this thread came from when here one day noticed that there is very little information about the GBL on the internet.

What I have in mind is that this thread would be a good place to discuss GBLs, exchange knowledge and facts about them, personal preferences and opinions.

And not to forget, share pictures of peoples Lights.

 

I've also wondered about production number of these units and its special edition variations.

Some sources (wikipedia) claim that "only" 5,000 Famitsu 500 edition units were made, and complete number of the whole Light production varies between 20,000 to 1 million.

Then again, I have no reliable sources for those numbers.

 

There is also some technical things I'm curious about.

My Silver GBL unit has a quite stiff D-Pad which squeaks and creaks sometimes, it's a used unit thats covered in scratches and dents (I got it used because it was affordable and I was gonna use it for gaming anyways), but is this D-Pad noise present even in fresh units?

Also the Power switch is bit unreliable, though, only for the frontlight, as the Light flickers a bit if you poke lightly the power switch, the flickering becomes more apparent when the battery is low. This also makes the Power LED flicker, even on full battery.

Then again, I guess these could be added in the list of Cons the GBL has, like, not so ergonomic design and rattling battery cover.

 

Anyways, please share your Light experiences.

 

I have no good camera around at moment, so a phone picture of my GBL will have to do.

[figgler]

I rock a golden GBL that I bought brand new for some ungodly price on eBbay. I've always embaced the fact that the GB line has been region-free and so an import-only exclusive system with added features was something I would have to own eventually.

I hold the system in the highest regard and use it only for "special occasions". I never bring it out of the house and never leave it out of its protective case. But, once in a great while I'll be playing a GB game that I am just really into and need to check it out on the GBL.

There are a couple options for playing a GB in the dark, but not many good ones and a GB Light is definitely the best.

I wanted it because it's something unique, and I have what I think is a pretty great GB game collection and like to have options a far as how I play.

 

Eh, so my real idea for this thread came from when here one day noticed that there is very little information about the GBL on the internet.

What I have in mind is that this thread would be a good place to discuss GBLs, exchange knowledge and facts about them, personal preferences and opinions.

 

Well, I can say that I've linked it to other regular GBs to trade Pokemon and it of course works well. You would need the adaptor though because the GBL has the GB Pocket cable port.

 

There is also some technical things I'm curious about.

My Silver GBL unit has a quite stiff D-Pad which squeaks and creaks sometimes, it's a used unit thats covered in scratches and dents (I got it used because it was affordable and I was gonna use it for gaming anyways), but is this D-Pad noise present even in fresh units?

 

Mine doesn't do that. I have a "beater" GBC though that creaks like that.

 

Also the Power switch is bit unreliable, though, only for the frontlight, as the Light flickers a bit if you poke lightly the power switch, the flickering becomes more apparent when the battery is low. This also makes the Power LED flicker, even on full battery.

Then again, I guess these could be added in the list of Cons the GBL has, like, not so ergonomic design and rattling battery cover.

 

Mine doesn't do this either, and being a Nintendo unit I wouldn't expect it. But, sounds like your system has seen a lot of use, so not too surprising. Hopefully these things won't bother or hinder you. It does have a rattly battery cover though

[raskar42]

i've always wanted one, but never got the courage(or the money) to buy one.

 

 

someday.....

[Blarginatorr]

Mine doesn't do this either, and being a Nintendo unit I wouldn't expect it. But, sounds like your system has seen a lot of use, so not too surprising. Hopefully these things won't bother or hinder you. It does have a rattly battery cover though

I bought a used one because I wanted to use it where ever I went and not needing to worry about it getting scratched.

The scratches and a bit worn out appearance doesnt bother me much either, as it just shows that the console has been used a lot, therefore the previous owner mustve liked it.

Also the slight flickering has no effect on gameplay really.

 

I still keep it in a proper carrying case where its safe.

[Video]

Isn't it actually backlit, like the old indigo style watches with the bluish greenish backlight? I always thought that was how they did it..

 

Anyhow, I always wanted one, but have never been able to find oe, even looking up Gameboy Light will on Ebay will only net you the various maglight and worm light options. I would have sure gotten one if it had ever poped up though.

[figgler]

Isn't it actually backlit, like the old indigo style watches with the bluish greenish backlight? I always thought that was how they did it..

 

Ha ha, yeah it's totally 90s Indiglo style. It works very well too. I much prefer it over the front lit GBA, but you still get the old-school GB screen blur so it's a trade off.

Perhaps later I will post up a pic of my system. The box for it is pretty cool too

[Blarginatorr]

Isn't it actually backlit, like the old indigo style watches with the bluish greenish backlight? I always thought that was how they did it..

 

Anyhow, I always wanted one, but have never been able to find oe, even looking up Gameboy Light will on Ebay will only net you the various maglight and worm light options. I would have sure gotten one if it had ever poped up though.

Ah, well, you see, the "indiglo" is just a trademark for Electroluminence tech used in watches.

The EL thats used in watches and in the GBL is pretty much just a thin transparent sheet that lights up when electric current is fed to it.

So atleast on the GBL the EL sheet is in front, and it still retains the reflective background layer, therefore the GBL can be played fine without the light, like normal GB's.

Try this with a true backlit console like Lynx or PSP... no go.

 

Cant find a GBL on eBay? huh, strange... usually theres a few used ones and maybe one or two special edition ones if lucky.

Keep in mind that 98% of GBLs have to be bought from Asia.

 

Hmm, I went eBay and typed in "Game Boy Light console", and first 3 results were GBLs of various editions.

However, this is the cheapest alternative eBay Auction -- Item Number: 360315491310

But, I'd say that one is way overpriced for a beaten up silver one. After all, I managed to get a better condition one for less than 50USD, and the seller was nice enough to include a free game with it.

[PeculiarSatyr]

Isn't it actually backlit, like the old indigo style watches with the bluish greenish backlight? I always thought that was how they did it..

 

Anyhow, I always wanted one, but have never been able to find oe, even looking up Gameboy Light will on Ebay will only net you the various maglight and worm light options. I would have sure gotten one if it had ever poped up though.

 

Search for "game boy light" then sort by price. The one your looking for will be like 60 USD and up. There are quite a few on ebay right now.

[TwinChargers]

Its a shame they never brought this over to the US. What would have been the harm? Were they losing money on the hardware?

[Blarginatorr]

Its a shame they never brought this over to the US. What would have been the harm? Were they losing money on the hardware?

In a way I guess, it couldve eaten GBC's marketshare a small bit. Hence affecting the sales of GBC games.

 

Truth to be told, GBL came too late, it shouldve come out in '96 inplace of the GBP.

Even if the GBL is a bit chunkier than the Pocket, it could still be considered a reasonable hardware update compared to the DMG-01.

Wish they wouldve actually done that... that way the GBL mightve been a quite huge success, and maybe nintendo handhelds wouldve had screen light as standard since that.

Oh, maybe even GBLs made in color variations where the plastic itself was dyed and not just the cheap flakey paint layer crap they did on the silver and gold.

 

Btw, now that I looked thru ebay, I found used GBLs as low as 40USD.

[TwinChargers]

Its a shame they never brought this over to the US. What would have been the harm? Were they losing money on the hardware?

In a way I guess, it couldve eaten GBC's marketshare a small bit. Hence affecting the sales of GBC games.

 

 

I can't recall, were GBC games sold at a higher price-point than your standard GB game?

[Blarginatorr]

Its a shame they never brought this over to the US. What would have been the harm? Were they losing money on the hardware?

In a way I guess, it couldve eaten GBC's marketshare a small bit. Hence affecting the sales of GBC games.

 

 

I can't recall, were GBC games sold at a higher price-point than your standard GB game?

Not that I know. I meant that if people got their hands on a brand new GBL back in '98, some might been less interested to upgrade right away to GBC, therefore, less GBC unit/GBC games sales.

[TwinChargers]

Its a shame they never brought this over to the US. What would have been the harm? Were they losing money on the hardware?

In a way I guess, it couldve eaten GBC's marketshare a small bit. Hence affecting the sales of GBC games.

 

 

I can't recall, were GBC games sold at a higher price-point than your standard GB game?

Not that I know. I meant that if people got their hands on a brand new GBL back in '98, some might been less interested to upgrade right away to GBC, therefore, less GBC unit/GBC games sales.

 

I guess I see the Gameboy Light as more of an updated "last gasp" like the top-loading NES or the mini SNES. A good way to get some sales in for a dying platform before they close down its doors, much like the GB Micro did before the DS came out. I think that many people would have replaced there older GB's for the light and would have also eventually gotten the new GBC once that gained momenum.

[Blarginatorr]

Its a shame they never brought this over to the US. What would have been the harm? Were they losing money on the hardware?

In a way I guess, it couldve eaten GBC's marketshare a small bit. Hence affecting the sales of GBC games.

 

 

I can't recall, were GBC games sold at a higher price-point than your standard GB game?

Not that I know. I meant that if people got their hands on a brand new GBL back in '98, some might been less interested to upgrade right away to GBC, therefore, less GBC unit/GBC games sales.

 

I guess I see the Gameboy Light as more of an updated "last gasp" like the top-loading NES or the mini SNES. A good way to get some sales in for a dying platform before they close down its doors, much like the GB Micro did before the DS came out. I think that many people would have replaced there older GB's for the light and would have also eventually gotten the new GBC once that gained momenum.

True, wiki says that the Light was released at the price of 6,800yen, I assume it made the Light kinda a normal/low cost unit...?

Then again, GBC was considered a "minor" update, "only" adding color, hence I guess part reason for the black cartridges that were designed for the GBC but had backwards comptability.

I guess Ninty tried to make the console upgrading a bit smoother that way, but also showing some heart and not forcing people to switch to GBC.

 

However, GB Micro didnt sell so well in the end. Well, less than nintendo had expected.

[Video]

Well, they weren't available back in the day, I haven't had a paypal or Ebay account in nearly 5 years now, so finding them on ebay now isn't any use to me anyways.

 

As for the gameboy Micro, It didn't do well fro two reasons. 1) it was expensive. Remember, the GBA and even the SP cost on the lines of $70 (I think ?69.99 TBO, and $4999 for the standard version) and here this thing comes out at $120 (it quickly dropped to $100, and lingered there forever) And 2) no backwards compatibility. That hurt it as much as anything, I don't know about anybody else, but if I'm supposed to pony up the extra cash for essentially the same console I already got, it should at least support what the current one does. IIRC, it doesn't even support link cables...so there goes some of the more popular games right there.

 

I eventually got a micro, but I paid $25 for it on blowout when walmart was just trying to get the damn things to move...Last time I was at the next town over, they still had micros....cause they wouldn't drop the price. And it's ok for a standalone GBA unit. Unfortunately, it's to little to late, and I got mine more as a collector piece and it will rarely be played.

[godslabrat]

Well, they weren't available back in the day, I haven't had a paypal or Ebay account in nearly 5 years now, so finding them on ebay now isn't any use to me anyways.

 

As for the gameboy Micro, It didn't do well fro two reasons. 1) it was expensive. Remember, the GBA and even the SP cost on the lines of $70 (I think ?69.99 TBO, and $4999 for the standard version) and here this thing comes out at $120 (it quickly dropped to $100, and lingered there forever) And 2) no backwards compatibility. That hurt it as much as anything, I don't know about anybody else, but if I'm supposed to pony up the extra cash for essentially the same console I already got, it should at least support what the current one does. IIRC, it doesn't even support link cables...so there goes some of the more popular games right there.

 

I eventually got a micro, but I paid $25 for it on blowout when walmart was just trying to get the damn things to move...Last time I was at the next town over, they still had micros....cause they wouldn't drop the price. And it's ok for a standalone GBA unit. Unfortunately, it's to little to late, and I got mine more as a collector piece and it will rarely be played.

 

Yeah, the lack of backwards compatibility was exactly the reason I didn't get a Micro. Well, that, and the fact that even though I love small systems, I'm not going to re-buy something just for a better form factor. Still, I might have at least CONSIDERED it if it worked with all GBA games.

 

The GBL was a good idea that, yes, just came too late. I actually managed to milk my original 1989 Gameboy right up until 2000, when I finally replaced it with a GBA. Totally skipped the GBPocket, GBL (which I would have had to import anyway) and GBC. I did use my Super GameBoy a lot towards the end of the 90s, though...