GBC Would you? Could you? On a bus? Without a backlight!?

[WokiBakoki]

Ever tried to play a GBC or a GBA on the go? I don't get how they survived so long and sold so many because the lack of a backlight is suuuch an issue. I know Britain is dark but come on. What were they thinking? As late as 2001 introducing a handheld with no backlight... Or proper sound! (No seriously if anyone knows I'll hear it out). Is my GBC just dim or is it so bad you really can't see a thing without pointing directly at a light source (aiming it at the sun for example)? It's so old it's fair to expect something like that but I've never seen another one irl to compare.

Trying to play Test Drive 2001 on my Game Boy on the bus was pointless, even on a bright sunny day I cant see half the time. Tried bringing it out instead of my phone, big mistake... Still cool though. I have such a soft spot for the GBC, so cute and simple. If I could see the screen, I'd take it everywhere.

 

[SamanthaSamantha's icon]

Well... Part of the reason for that is that the alternative was playing Tiger Games, which were really nice on their own right, but weren't much of an option.

That, and the fact that about a billion companies rose to the challenge and made light add-ons for days.

I actually own a Gameboy Pocket and find it borderline unusable because the screen is a nightmare to see anywhere but at home.

 

[Jayonnaise6105 Jayonnaise6105]

Back in the day, yeah. Going on long family trips and only having whatever model of Game Boy for entertainment.

That's why I enjoy having an emulator in the shape of an old Gameboy these days. I get the nostalgia trip of the familiar form factor, but with the added convenience of a better screen, better lighting, an SD card of roms for various systems to play. Oh, and it doesn't need disposable batteries XD

 

[SamanthaSamantha's icon]

Back in the day, yeah. Going on long family trips and only having whatever model of Game Boy for entertainment.

That's why I enjoy having an emulator in the shape of an old Gameboy these days. I get the nostalgia trip of the familiar form factor, but with the added convenience of a better screen, better lighting, an SD card of roms for various systems to play. Oh, and it doesn't need disposable batteries XD

And it's probably still cheaper than hunting down a real GB.

 

[Mr. SyS]

I used to when I was a kid but now I'm so used to every screen being back-lit I don't think I can anymore.

 

[WokiBakoki]

That's why I enjoy having an emulator in the shape of an old Gameboy these days. I get the nostalgia trip of the familiar form factor, but with the added convenience of a better screen, better lighting, an SD card of roms for various systems to play. Oh, and it doesn't need disposable batteries XD

Oh those things look so awesome. I'd love to have one but I've never pulled the trigger and gone for it. I don't really need one that badly and if I did I'd be scared to use it because if one of buttons breaks, that's game over. I'm really delicate with my tech. I keep my controllers in the plastic sleeve that came in the box so they don't get dusty. My gf calls me overly careful.

 

[Metroid_Hybrid]

Once again, your Presentism is front & center, on full display..

The only difference is that this time you're actually correct about it being better now..

As far as the how & why...
How? It wasn't always easy, but our eyes weren't yet reliant on absolutely everything having a backlight, is the long & short of it..
Why? Two words: Battery life. Many layers of efficiency simply wasn't at the level that it is now..

 

[Ikagura]

The GBA clearly came too soon imo. The SP model having light and a rechargeable battery is clearly better (despite the lack of a jack port).

 

[UnDubious]

It didn't bother me when I had a plain GB as a little kid - in fact, I didn't even know what a backlight was - but by the time the GBA came out it was a huge issue for me that made it practically unusable.

 

[Stookymalarkey]

It was a real struggle playing my GBA on car trips since I had to constantly try to find the right amount of light to make out the screen. I envied people that got the GBA SP since it had the backlight.

 

[Saint_C]

It was a real struggle playing my GBA on car trips since I had to constantly try to find the right amount of light to make out the screen. I envied people that got the GBA SP since it had the backlight.

I remember nights where I would have to use the streetlights we would pass while driving just to see the screen, hoping I could tell for long enough to keep up with the game. Usually it was pokemon or another rpg since I couldn't do that with an action game or anything. It's a very vivid memory, depending on the speed of the van the lights would pulse fast or it could be more slow and methodical.

 

[SamanthaSamantha's icon]

I admire a lot of the things you guys are saying... I never had the patience for dealing with the console's damn screen & usually ditched it to go build a snowman or something lol.

 

[random0nonsense]

Hell yeah! I had the OG GB and a rechargeable battery pack so that bad boy went to school with me almost every day. It wasn't easy to play in that lighting, but it was doable with a bit of determination.

 

[Evaccaneer Doom]

I read this as without a black light

 

[Pinballbuzzbro]

never got why they never gave the advance a backlight initially lmao.

Like if the Game Gear could do that all the way back in 92', I see no reason why the 2001 portable device couldn't either

ESPECIALLY when you look at how mud-colored a lot of the system's early games were

 

[Metroid_Hybrid]

never got why they never gave the advance a backlight initially lmao.

Like if the Game Gear could do that all the way back in 92', I see no reason why the 2001 portable device couldn't either

ESPECIALLY when you look at how mud-colored a lot of the system's early games were

The original Game Boy got between 10~30 hours of gameplay on 4 AA-batteries, whereas the Game Gear only managed 3~5 hours off of 6 AA-batteries. The vast majority of that huge disparity was due to the Game Gear's backlight..

That's 2~6 times the battery life while only using ⅔ of the same AA-batteries. This factor alone played an outsized role in why Nintendo absolutely dominated the handheld gaming market for the entirety the 90s..

 

[Ikagura]

Thankfully in 2026 you can theoretically have the entire GB, GBC (and probably GBA) libraries in the palm of your hand with backlight, an external battery and even a modern pad with more options for the emulator.

This factor alone played an outsized role in why Nintendo absolutely dominated the handheld gaming market for the entirety the 90's...

You could say even in the 00's and early 10's since the PSP and Vita also suffered from the same issues regarding the size and battery life.

I've never cared that much about the DSi's camera or MP3 options (I was mostly for the DSiware games) and while the PSP having multi-media options was neat if you didn't want to buy a portable DVD player (and that smartphones were too expensive at that point in time) I still think that a handheld is best when it's only about games, the rest were just bonus.

Maybe the Neogeo pocket was beating it in the arcade feel department but that was only for people who liked fighting games over RPGs.

 

[Metroid_Hybrid]

You could say even in the 00's and early 10's since the PSP and Vita also suffered from the same issues regarding the size and battery life.

Maybe, sure... but by that time everything had a backlight, and therefore the whole point of the thread becomes completely null & void..

 

[Ikagura]

Maybe, sure... but by that time everything had a backlight, and therefore the whole point of the thread becomes completely null & void..

You're right, the subject is about the backlight but I think it's also a great display of Yokoi's vision and legacy regarding how to make a handheld console. Sometimes simplicity over performance is the better way to do it.

 

[Dew Prism]

We just did it. If you had any light source, it was fine. Damn, I miss my gameboy pocket and eventually gameboy color. Those were the days. Hooking up the link cable with friends was a blast.

 

[PrismRed]

I had the bulky light peripheral back then, battery is more of a problem for me.

 

[aquova]

I vividly remember playing Pokemon on a GBC on a car trip as the sun set, angling my body so that the screen would catch the very last rays of sunlight before I had to give in and put it down. There were definitely moments like that where it was a problem, but I don't think I ever had anything with a backlight until the DS came out, so I just accepted it as how it was.

That being said, I did have one of these for the GBA. It did not help much.

 

[Morgan Katarn]

Would you? Could you? On a bus? You don´t even wanna know what locations I done it on the bus the plane the train man im done it everywhere. and yes im talking about game boy or do I hehe >.<

 

[FlyingToaster]

Ever tried to play a GBC or a GBA on the go?

Yeah i did it all the time back in the day

 

[SamanthaSamantha's icon]

The original Game Boy got between 10~30 hours of gameplay on 4 AA-batteries, whereas the Game Gear only managed 3~5 hours off of 6 AA-batteries. The vast majority of that huge disparity was due to the Game Gear's backlight..

That's 2~6 times the battery life while only using ⅔ of the same AA-batteries. This factor alone played an outsized role in why Nintendo absolutely dominated the handheld gaming market for the entirety the 90s..

Facts.

My parents were always scolding us because our toys were draining batteries like there was no tomorrow... Makes you wonder why they bought them in the first place, then!