Game Boy Camera

Nintendo exclusiveBundle / compilation

The Game Boy Camera is a Nintendo accessory for the handheld Game Boy game console. As a toy for user-generated content, it can be used to shoot grayscale photographs, edit them or create original drawings, and transfer images between GBC units or to the 64DD art game suite Mario Artist. Its images can be printed to thermal paper with the Game Boy Printer. The GBC's cartridge contains minigames based on Nintendo's early games such as the arcade video game Space Fever and the Game & Watch handheld game Ball, and a chiptune music sequencer.

Released: 21 February 1998
Platforms: Game Boy
Genres: —
Developers: —
Publishers: —
Languages: English
Copies sold: 500,000 as of 1998-03-18

About

The Game Boy Camera, released as Pocket Camera in Japan, is a digital camera accessory for Nintendo's Game Boy game console. It was released on February 21, 1998, in Japan, and manufacturing ceased in late 2002. A device designed for user-generated content, it can be used to take grayscale photographs, edit them or create original drawings, and transfer images between Game Boy Camera units or to the 64DD art game suite Mario Artist. The accessory featured a 180°-swivel front-facing camera that allowed users to capture selfies.

Its images can be printed to thermal paper with the Game Boy Printer. The Game Boy Camera's cartridge contains minigames based on Nintendo's early games such as the arcade video game Space Fever and the Game & Watch handheld game Ball, and a chiptune music sequencer; photographers have embraced its technological limitations as artistic challenges.

Keywords

super game boy enhancement
non-game software
game boy printer support
nintendo 64 transfer pak

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Development

Initially, the Game Boy Camera was not well received within Nintendo. However, Masato Kuwahara approached Creatures, Inc. President Hirokazu Tanaka regarding the development of the software for the device, which solidified the project. The camera's built-in software was co-developed by Nintendo Research & Development 1 and the Japanese company Jupiter, with Tanaka directing the project. The Game Boy Camera was launched with an initial MSRP of US$49.95.

In addition to Mario Artist, some Nintendo 64 games had planned Game Boy Camera support that was removed during development. During development of Pokémon Snap (1999), Satoru Iwata experimented with letting players transfer their photos to Game Boy Camera for printing, but decided the resulting image quality was insufficient and removed the feature. Perfect Dark was intended to feature a mode called "Perfect Head", which would allow photos to be transferred from the camera for use on characters' faces in the multiplayer mode. However, this mode was removed prior to release, as a result of both technical issues and a wave of anti-violent video game sentiment after the Columbine High School massacre.

Legacy

The Camera sold close to 500,000 units in its first three weeks of availability in Japan.

As one of the earliest consumer digital cameras, the Game Boy Camera has been legitimized for user-generated content, especially photography. Modern computer connectivity has required experimentation for image retrieval.