# Game Boy Camera

> Game Boy accessory

**Wikidata**: [Q1493056](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1493056)  
**Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_Boy_Camera)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/game-boy-camera

## Summary
The Game Boy Camera is a Nintendo-manufactured digital camera accessory for the Game Boy family of handheld consoles that was released in 1998. It lets users capture and manipulate low-resolution digital images on Game Boy hardware and is compatible with multiple Game Boy systems and the Game Boy Printer.

## Key Facts
- The Game Boy Camera is a product model and a video game accessory manufactured by Nintendo.  
- Initial release dates: Japan on 1998-02-21; North America on 1998-06-01; Europe in June 1998.  
- By 1998-03-18, about 500,000 units had been sold.  
- Launch price (1998): US$49.99 (North America) and ¥5,500 (Japan).  
- Mass: approximately 70 grams (circa).  
- Sensor: uses an active pixel sensor.  
- Compatible with: Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Pocket, Game Boy Light, Super Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, Game Boy Player, and works with the Game Boy Printer.  
- Classified as a subclass of both "video game accessory" and "digital camera."  
- Official Japanese product page: https://www.nintendo.co.jp/n02/dmg/hardware/pocket_c/  
- Alternate names / aliases: Pocket Camera; Game Boy Camera; كاميرا غيم بوي.  
- Described in Guinness World Records (point in time: 1999) and indexed across multiple game and media databases (e.g., MobyGames id 32726, TV Tropes VideoGame/GameBoyCamera).

## FAQs
### Q: What is the Game Boy Camera?
A: The Game Boy Camera is a digital camera accessory made by Nintendo for the Game Boy family that captures images using an active pixel sensor and stores/manipulates them on the handheld console.

### Q: Which Game Boy systems does it work with?
A: It is compatible with multiple Game Boy systems, including the original Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Pocket, Game Boy Light, Super Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, and Game Boy Player. It can also interface with the Game Boy Printer.

### Q: When and where was it released?
A: It first launched in Japan on 1998-02-21, then released in North America on 1998-06-01, and appeared in Europe in June 1998.

### Q: How much did it weigh and cost at launch?
A: The unit mass is about 70 grams (circa). Launch prices in 1998 were US$49.99 (North America) and ¥5,500 (Japan).

### Q: How many units were sold early on?
A: Approximately 500,000 units had been sold by 1998-03-18.

## Why It Matters
The Game Boy Camera combined a consumer digital camera with a hugely popular handheld gaming platform, bringing image capture and simple image manipulation to millions of users on a portable game system. As a hybrid product—both a video game accessory and a digital camera—it extended the functionality of the Game Boy line beyond games and accessories like printers. Its broad compatibility across Game Boy models and support for the Game Boy Printer encouraged creative use on a mainstream gaming device. Early, substantial sales (around 500,000 units by March 1998) and international releases in Japan, North America, and Europe show it reached a global audience. The Game Boy Camera is notable as an example of late-1990s experimentation with portable digital imaging on constrained hardware, and it remains catalogued across gaming and cultural databases, preserving its place in the history of handheld gaming peripherals.

## Notable For
- Selling roughly 500,000 units very early in its release cycle (reported as of 1998-03-18).  
- Small and lightweight form: approximately 70 grams (circa).  
- Broad compatibility across the entire Game Boy family and support for the Game Boy Printer.  
- Use of an active pixel sensor as its imaging technology.  
- Released internationally in 1998 (Japan: 1998-02-21; North America: 1998-06-01; Europe: June 1998).

## Body

### Overview
- The Game Boy Camera is an accessory product model manufactured by Nintendo.  
- It is classified as both a video game accessory and a digital camera.  
- Alternate names include Pocket Camera and regional/localized names.

### Release and Availability
- Japan release date: 1998-02-21.  
- North America release date: 1998-06-01.  
- Europe release window: June 1998.  
- Reported early worldwide sales reached about 500,000 units by 1998-03-18.

### Hardware and Technical Details
- Sensor type: active pixel sensor.  
- Mass: circa 70 grams.  
- The device was sold at launch prices of US$49.99 (North America, 1998) and ¥5,500 (Japan, 1998).  
- Images and product photos are publicly archived (example media: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Game_Boy_Camera_7997.jpg).

### Compatibility and Accessories
- Officially compatible with: Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Pocket, Game Boy Light, Super Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, and Game Boy Player.  
- Works with the Game Boy Printer for producing physical prints from captured images.

### Classification and Identifiers
- Instance of: product model.  
- Subclass of: video game accessory and digital camera.  
- Manufacturer: Nintendo (company with historic inception entries in source metadata).  
- Database identifiers and indexes include: MobyGames id 32726, TV Tropes id VideoGame/GameBoyCamera, Freebase id /m/02_23h, and fandom article id nintendo:Game_Boy_Camera.

### Documentation and Sources
- Official Japanese product page: https://www.nintendo.co.jp/n02/dmg/hardware/pocket_c/  
- Contemporary press and coverage include CNN and Chicago Tribune reports (1998).  
- The Game Boy Camera is listed in media and archival resources such as Guinness World Records (1999) and digital camera museum entries.

### Tags and Community Metadata
- Common hashtags: #gbcam, #gameboycamera.  
- Booru tag: game_boy_camera.  
- Wiki and language presence: multiple Wikipedia language pages and Wikimedia Commons category "Game Boy Camera".

(End of entry.)

## References

1. [Nintendo Pocket Camera](https://www.digitalkameramuseum.de/de/component/zoo/item/nintendo-pocket-camera)
2. [25 years of the Game Boy: A timeline of the systems, accessories, and games. VentureBeat. 2014](https://venturebeat.com/games/25-years-of-the-game-boy-a-timeline-of-the-systems-accessories-and-games/)
3. [周辺機器の紹介. Nintendo](https://www.nintendo.co.jp/n02/dmg/hardware/option/index.html)
4. [The Analogue Pocket breathes new life into the iconic Game Boy Camera. Digital Photography Review. 2021](https://www.dpreview.com/news/3484819029/the-analogue-pocket-breathes-new-life-into-the-iconic-game-boy-camera)
5. Freebase Data Dumps. 2013
6. [Game Boy Camera](https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Support/Game-Boy-Pocket-Color/Accessories/Game-Boy-Camera/Game-Boy-Camera-619598.html)
7. [ARE YOU GAME?. Chicago Tribune](https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1998-08-06-9808060381-story.html)
8. [周辺機器の紹介](https://www.nintendo.co.jp/n02/dmg/hardware/option/index.html)
9. [CNN - New Game Boy takes digital photos - Mar. 18, 1998](http://edition.cnn.com/TECH/computing/9803/18/gameboy_camera/index.html)
10. Quora
11. [Game Boy Printer](https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Support/Game-Boy-Pocket-Color/Accessories/Game-Boy-Printer/Game-Boy-Printer-619594.html)
12. [Inside the Gameboy Camera “Eyeball” | Robotics Society of Southern California](https://home.csulb.edu/~wmartinz/content/MS_77.html)