GBC

GBC commonly refers to the Game Boy Color, a handheld game console released by Nintendo in 1998 as the successor to the original Game Boy. It retained the same cartridge format and overall design while adding a color LCD and improved graphics capabilities. The system was designed to be backward compatible with existing Game Boy games, which could run in monochrome or, for some titles, with color enhancements on the GBC.

The Game Boy Color can display up to 56 colors on screen at once, from a palette of 32,768. It uses a color palette system with multiple palettes for backgrounds and sprites (eight palettes for backgrounds and eight for sprites, each palette offering up to four colors plus transparency). The display resolution remains 160 by 144 pixels. This hardware allowed both Game Boy and Game Boy Color games to exist on a single platform, with Color-exclusive titles benefiting from richer visuals while many original games could still be played.

The GBC uses a custom 8-bit processor in the Game Boy family (LR35902) running at about 4.3 MHz. It supports two-player link cable connectivity and uses standard AA batteries for portable power. There is no built-in backlight in the original model, so visibility depends on external lighting.

Nintendo continued to support Game Boy Color software after the release of the Game Boy Advance in 2001, with production winding down by around 2003. The GBC anthology includes titles across major franchises such as Mario, Pokémon, and The Legend of Zelda, contributing to the late-1990s revival of handheld gaming and helping solidify Nintendo’s dominance in portable gaming.