My cousin and I have debated whether or not the Game Boy Color was a successor or upgrade to the Game Boy. I can see the merits to either argument and would like to see what you guys think. I think the Game Boy Color was a successor to the Game Boy.
Evidence for the Game Boy Color as a sucessor to the Game Boy
-Some games with tilt and rumble controls
-A large chunk of Game Boy Color games could only be played on the Game Boy Color
-Improved graphics beyond color
Evidence for the Game Boy Color as a hardware upgrade to the Game Boy
-A good chunk of Game Boy Color games could be played on the Game Boy
-Sales statistics lump the Game Boy and Game Boy Color together.
What Would W. Do?
3DS Friend Code: 3609-1033-1732 | Nintendo Network ID: Wman1996
It was an upgrade to prolong the GB's lifespan.
The GBA was already in development before the GBC was even released.
I know I read about the GBA when it was code-named "Project Atlantis" and I want to say the rumors were as early as 1996. Effectively confirmed a few years ago when Nintendo showed off a GBA SP prototype console they dated to the mid '90s.
Bit of both to be honest. On the one hand, it was a much smaller change than the GBA, so it was almost like an upgrade. On the other hand, the addition of colour, plus a lot of games exclusive to the system (Wario Land 3, Zelda Oracle games, etc) meant it was more like a successor, since you had to buy it in order to not miss out on more great Nintendo titles.
There's weren't enough new features in my opinion. It was just color and a slimmer design. The tilt and rumble I remember was made possible by the cartridge, not the console.
the gameboy color was a stop gap. as somebody mentioned, they were already working on the gameboy advance. the gameboy pocket was an upgrade then the gameboy color was an upgrade. GBA = successor to gameboy.
no need to debate and guess when the facts are out there.
the gameboy color is faster, has more memory and obviously has updated graphics. why does that make it a successor? sounds exactly like the New 3DS - is that a successor to the 3DS just because it's faster, has more memory and updated the graphic/3D capability? no - it's a stop gap, the successor to the gameboy/pocket/color was the GBA/SP/micro. then the DS/DSi/DS lite. now the 3DS family. we can clearly see the difference in upgrades and successors.
It depends on if the game had a backward compatibility mode.
Backward-compatible games were black carts the same shape as original Game Boy.
Color-only games were clear carts.
(the most telling sign is that BC carts had a little indented part in the upper-right corner. That is because the original brick Game Boy's power switch was right next to the cart slot, and when turned on, the plastic switch would slide into that space to block the cart from being removed.)
Both A successor does upgrades. However, upgrades don't usually mean becoming a successor, such as with the New 3DS. Although, I don't really know in the end. This is just my logic.
G-64
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Topic: Was the Game Boy Color an upgrade or successor to the Game Boy?
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