Glucoboy

Nintendo exclusive

accessory for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance

Released: 2007
Platforms: Game Boy Advance
Genres: —
Developers: —
Publishers: —

About

The Glucoboy is a medical device developed by Guidance Interactive Healthcare as a removable accessory for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance. The device is a blood glucose monitor targeted at children with diabetes that provides users with incentives to monitor their blood glucose levels through the use of games and points. Advertised as the "first medical device to interface with a Nintendo Game Boy", the Glucoboy received retrospective attention for its innovative and unusual use as a peripheral for handheld devices.

A successor to the Glucoboy called the Didget was released by Bayer HealthCare for the Nintendo DS in 2009 in the UK and 2010 in the US.

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Development

The Glucoboy was developed by Guidance Interactive, an entity managed by Minnesota-based director Paul Wessel. Wessel developed the concept after noticing that his son, who had been diagnosed with diabetes, carried his Game Boy with him when travelling. Wessel stated the concept was based on a way to "marry the two types of media together - a medical testing device and a gaming system - to make testing blood sugar levels fun". 5 million from an Australian investment bank and London investment group to pilot a limited commercial release in Australia.

The peripheral was launched in Australia on 14 November 2007 in concurrence with World Diabetes Day, and sold around 70,000 units, according to Wessel. Following release, Bayer Diabetes Care acquired Guidance Interactive Healthcare after expressing interest in the company. Bayer subsequently released a similar peripheral, Didget, for the Nintendo DS and Nintendo DS Lite in 2009 in the UK and 2010 in the US. In 2023, the software for the Glucoboy was located and its ROM image was preserved online.