Game Boy Player

This article is about the Nintendo GameCube accessory. For the key item that has a similar name in the Japanese Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, see GB Sounds.

ゲームボーイプレーヤー Game Boy Player

A black Game Boy Player

Release dates Japan: March 20, 2003 North America: June 24, 2003 Europe: June 20, 2003 Australia: ? South Korea: N/A China: N/A Hong Kong: N/A Taiwan: N/A

Technical specs N/A

Related information Console generation: Sixth generation Pokémon generations: I*, II*, III Console type: Accessory Colors: Black White

External links Wikipedia NintendoWiki

The Game Boy Player (Japanese: ゲームボーイプレーヤー Game Boy Player) is an accessory for the Nintendo GameCube that allows the player to play Game Boy, Game Boy Color, or Game Boy Advance games. It plugs into the "High Speed Port" on the bottom of the GameCube. It requires a boot disc to run. Like the Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance, the Game Boy Player hardware is region-free. However, the boot disc is not.

Nearly any Game Boy, Game Boy Color, or Game Boy Advance title can be played on the Game Boy Player, with the exception of the Game Boy Advance Video series (to prevent users from copying the GBA Video titles to recordable media such as blank VHS tapes or DVDs). Some games, such as Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble and the Game Boy Camera, can run on the Game Boy Player, but are impractical to play as they were designed with the portability of the Game Boy in mind.

The Game Boy Player is the successor to the Super Game Boy and Super Game Boy 2, which are accessories for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System which is very similar in function. However, the Game Boy Player cannot activate any of the special Super Game Boy enhancements.

In North America and Europe, the unit is only available in black; indigo is available in Japan and Australia, and spice and platinum are only available in Japan.

Features

The Game Boy Player can set a timer from one to sixty minutes.

Compatibility

The Game Boy Player attached to a Platinum GameCube

Accessories

There is a game link port, so accessories like the Game Link Cable, Game Boy Advance Wireless Adapter, and the Game Boy Printer can be used. It is possible to connect a Game Boy Player to other Game Boy Advance Systems for multiplayer games, although the manual recommends that players do not connect two Game Boy Players to each other with a Game Link cable. Due to the shape of the plastic around the plug of the Game Boy micro Converter Connector (the converter from the Game Boy micro plug to the Game Boy Advance plug), it is not possible to connect the Game Boy micro to the Game Boy Player's game link port; however, this is a physical limitation, not an electronic one—modified and third-party converters allow the Game Boy micro to link to the Game Boy Player. Additionally, the Game Boy micro can communicate with a game being played on the Game Boy Player using a Wireless Adapter.

The Game Boy Player is compatible with the Nintendo GameCube Game Boy Advance cable, allowing a Game Boy Advance to be used as the controller (as long as there is no game pak in the Game Boy Advance). However, the Game Boy Player cannot be used to connect a Game Boy Advance to a GameCube game (such as Pokémon Colosseum), unless the user has one GameCube or Wii running the GameCube game and another GameCube with the Game Boy Player running).

The Nintendo e-Reader is compatible with the Game Boy Player.

The Game Boy Camera is difficult to use with the Game Boy Player, as the camera would be in a fixed position. However, previously stored photos may be easily viewed or edited on the Game Boy Player.

Most GameShark and Action Replay devices are constructed in a way that makes them difficult or impossible to properly insert into the Game Boy Player.

Games

The Game Boy Advance Video cartridges were made incompatible with the Game Boy Player so that users could not record the shows to media such as blank VHS tapes or DVDs.

The Game Boy Color game Chee-Chai Alien and the Game Boy Color release of Pocket Music are incompatible with the Game Boy Advance, and thus the Game Boy Player, giving an error message stating that they can only be played on the Game Boy Color if attempted. Chee-Chai Alien uses the infrared port of the Game Boy Color to detect light as a fundamental part of the game. Pocket Music utilizes the Game Boy Color's sound chip in ways not possible on the Game Boy Advance, so a separate version was released for the Game Boy Advance.

Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble, Yoshi Topsy-Turvy, WarioWare: Twisted!, Koro Koro Puzzle Happy Panechu! are impractical to play on the Game Boy Player due to their built-in motion sensors, requiring the player to pick up the GameCube and move it around. While the manual claims motion sensor Game Paks cannot be played on the Game Boy Player, it is possible to run them. While the Game Boy Advance games allow manual or automatic re-calibration due to the different positions of the Game Pak between the original Game Boy Advance and the Game Boy Advance SP, Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble assumes the Game Pak is in the same place as on the Game Boy Color, which would also cause the neutral position for the game on the Game Boy Player to be unusual.

The rumble feature of Game Boy Color games like Pokémon Pinball and Perfect Dark will not work as intended on the Game Boy Player because the rumble mechanism is in the cartridge itself; however, the gameplay of games such as these is unaffected.

The rumble feature of the Game Boy Advance game Drill Dozer is disabled on the cartridge and emulated on the GameCube Controller; the only other Game Boy Advance game to have a built-in rumble feature is WarioWare: Twisted!, which is impractical to play on the Game Boy Player due to using motion controls. Additionally, several games without built-in rumble mechanisms, including Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire and Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, will have the GameCube controller rumble when played on the Game Boy Player (the only way to have these games rumble).

The Boktai games, for which a solar sensor on the Game Pak is a fundamental part of the game, can be played on the Game Boy Player, but it is impractical to do so due to the lack of light.

Systems

The Game Boy Player is not compatible with the Wii because it lacks the accessory slots that are present on the bottom of the GameCube. The footprint of the Wii is also substantially different from the GameCube.

Controllers

Nintendo GameCube - Game Boy Advance link cable

A Nintendo GameCube controller or a Game Boy Advance or Game Boy Advance SP hooked up with a Nintendo GameCube Game Boy Advance cable is used as a controller.

Third-party manufacturer Hori created a controller specifically made for the Game Boy Player. It resembles a Super Nintendo Entertainment System controller and was released in Japan only.

Pokémon games

Title	Genre	Release
Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire	Core series RPG	2002
Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire	Pinball	2003
Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen	Core series RPG	2004
Pokémon Emerald	Core series RPG	2004
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team	Dungeon crawler	2005

By backwards compatibility

Due to backward compatibility, all Pokémon games from Game Boy and Game Boy Color are also playable.

Title	Genre	Release
Pokémon Red and Green	Core series RPG	1996
Pokémon Blue	Core series RPG	1996
Pokémon Red and Blue	Core series RPG	1998
Pokémon Yellow	Core series RPG	1998
Pokémon Trading Card Game	Card game	1998
Pokémon Pinball	Pinball	1999
Pokémon Gold and Silver	Core series RPG	1999
Pokémon Puzzle Challenge	Puzzle	2000
Pokémon Crystal	Core series RPG	2000
Pokémon Card GB2: Here Comes Team GR!	Card game	2001