Hardware

Compare the consoles

Which Game Boy plays what. Everything from the DMG-01 to the Micro, side by side.

Comparison of Game Boy consoles by compatibility and specifications
Attribute	Game Boy	Game Boy Pocket	Game Boy Color	Game Boy Light	Game Boy Advance	Game Boy Advance SP	Game Boy Micro
Year	1989	1996	1998	1998	2001	2003	2005
Model code	DMG-01	MGB-001	CGB-001	MGB-101	AGB-001	AGS-001 / AGS-101	OXY-001
Plays Game Boy	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Plays Game Boy Color	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No
Plays Game Boy Advance	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Headphone jack	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Power	4 × AA (about 15-30 hours)	2 × AAA (about 10 hours)	2 × AA (about 10-20 hours)	2 × AA (about 20 hours lit, 12 hours with light on)	2 × AA (about 15 hours)	Internal rechargeable Li-ion (about 10-18 hours)	Internal rechargeable Li-ion (about 6-10 hours)
Screen	2.6" reflective STN LCD, 160 × 144, 4 shades of grey	2.56" reflective STN LCD, 160 × 144, 4 shades of grey (true black)	2.28" reflective TFT, 160 × 144, up to 56 colours on screen	2.56" reflective STN LCD with EL backlight, 160 × 144	2.9" reflective TFT, 240 × 160, 32,768 colours	2.9" TFT, 240 × 160, front-lit (AGS-001) or backlit (AGS-101)	2.0" backlit TFT, 240 × 160, very high density

= yes, = no.

The Game Boy, Pocket and Light also play black “dual mode” Game Boy Color cartridges (in their original four shades of grey). The SP is the only model with no headphone jack. The Micro plays Game Boy Advance cartridges only.