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The Game Boy Player is a device made by Nintendo for the Nintendo GameCube which enables Game Boy (although Super Game Boy enhancements are ignored), Game Boy Color, or Game Boy Advance cartridges to be played on a television. It connects via the High Speed (Parallel) port at the bottom of the GameCube and requires use of a boot disc to access the hardware. The hardware in the Game Boy Player is the same as a Game Boy Advance without the screen or batteries. The Game Boy Player is not compatible with Game Boy Advance Video paks for copy prevention reasons; see Game Boy Advance Video for details. (Furthermore, the videos themselves would be of low quality if viewed on a Game Boy Player due to compression; this was proven by playing Chain of Memories, which uses GBA Video technology for the FMV cutscenes, on a Game Boy Player.)
The Game Boy Player is available in Indigo, Black, Spice, or Platinum in Japan; Black in North America and Europe (the colour limitations are to prevent confusion from retailers); and Black and Indigo in Australia. A special Game Boy Player for the Panasonic Q GameCube/DVD player had to be made due to the Q's legs. All Game Boy Players have screws on the bottom to secure it to the bottom of the GameCube and also have an eject button on the right side of the unit for removing Game Boy Advance games. Game Boy and Game Boy Color games stick out from the unit, as with the Game Boy Advance and Game Boy Advance SP, so they can just be pulled out when the system is off or Change Cartridge has been selected from the menu. Prototypes have featured a storage compartment on the left side of the Game Boy Player, but it is not featured in the retail product.
One interesting feature of the Game Boy Player is that of being able to set a timer on play time from one to sixty minutes.
Unlike most Nintendo GameCube accessories, Game Boy Player will not be compatible with Nintendo's next home console, Wii. Wii lacks the hi-speed port of the GameCube into which the Game Boy Player fits; in addition, Game Boy Player matched the GameCube's footprint. Wii has a substantially different footprint, making compatibility too complicated to be included.
Controllers
The Game Boy Player allows for control either through a GameCube controller or a Game Boy Advance or Game Boy Advance SP hooked up with a GameCube-Game Boy Advance Cable. When using a Game Boy Advance, the buttons are identical, but due to the GameCube controller's different layout, there are two different mappings you can use. Also, at least one GameCube controller must be plugged in for access the Game Boy Player's internal menu, which can be accessed by pressing the Z button. For a select few GBA games, such as Drill Dozer, Superstar Saga, Ruby & Sapphire, and Super Mario Bros. 3, the rumble feature can be enabled on the GameCube controller in Controller Socket 1.
All controllers, Game Boy Advances, and Game Boy Advance SPs connected to the GameCube are recognized as the same player. This allows a sort of co-op mode for games that don't normally have it (most likely this was not intended by Nintendo). Furthermore, allowing for multiple controllers recognised as the same player allows for simpler and more comfortable play of single system multiplayer Game Boy Advance games, such as those found in Mario Party Advance. This is in lieu of up to four players wrapping their hands around one Game Boy Advance unit.
If players want to link other hardware, they'll need to connect to the extension port on the Game Boy Player with the proper cable, which depends on whether the game was designed for Game Boy Advance or a Game Boy system released before the Game Boy Advance.
| GameCube Button | GBA Equivalent - Map One | GBA Equivalent - Map Two |
|---|---|---|
| Control Stick/Directional Pad | Directional Pad | Directional Pad |
| A/B Buttons | A/B Buttons | A/B Buttons |
| L/R Buttons | L/R Buttons | Select |
| X/Y Buttons | Select | L/R Buttons |
| Start Button | Start Button | Start Button |
| C Stick | Not Used | Directional Pad |
| Z Button | Open Menu | Open Menu |
Map One is closer to the Game Boy Advance's normal layout, while Map Two makes it easier to play with one hand.
On-screen menu
The menu has six options to choose from:
- Frame: changes the colored border around the game "screen" to one of twenty different patterns. Super Game Boy borders are not supported.
- Size: changes the size that the GBA screen takes up on the TV (Normal is about 80% and appears sharper on some sets, while Full enlarges the image to the left and right edges of the TV)
- Controller: switches between the two controller mappings
- Screen: controls a motion blur effect to reduce potential flicker from programming tricks designed for a GBA screen. Can be set to "sharp" (no blurring), "normal" (some blurring), or "soft" (more blurring).
- Timer: set an alarm for one to sixty minutes
- Change Cartridge: stops the game so cartridges can be swapped safely, without having to turn the GameCube off (it is best to save game data before doing so)
Compatibility Issues
- For copyright reasons, the GBA Video series is incompatible with the Gameboy Player (those involved feared that users could use a television recording device to copy the shows off the cartridge). The Game Boy Player detects the GBA Video carts and refuses to boot them giving an error message. Even if the carts were playable on the Player, the resolution was greatly reduced for the GBA medium, causing pixelization and sound pops that a large screen with louder speakers would pick up.
See also
External links
- About.com Guide to Game Boy - All things Game Boy: News, reviews, history, culture and development. Updated several times a week.
Nintendo hardware | Game console intercompatibility hardware
Game Boy Player | Game Boy Player | 게임보이 플레이어 | ゲームボーイプレーヤー | Game Boy Player
"Game Boy Player"