trj22487 | 350 Posted September 11, 2021 Share Posted September 11, 2021 (edited) I have always had a massive soft spot for this line of Game Boy systems, the Green one pictured below is my original from childhood and I always kept the original packaging and posters in extremely nice shape. I was born in 1987 and wanted a Game Boy for many years as a young kid. My mother ran an at-home day care in the Early 90s and I would usually have about a dozen kids over to my house after school or during the Summer, and a lot of them would bring over their Game Boys and we would play Tetris on the link cable. But my parents would never buy me one because we already had a Super Nintendo and Genesis and they thought a third system was unnecessary. A few years down the road though, my parents decided to divorce and I needed something to do on the long rides between custody swap. So in 1995 I finally convinced my Dad to let me get a Game Boy. I still remember going to Walmart and seeing the rows of new Play It Loud merchandise for Nintendo, the rainbow of Game Boy and Virtual Boy systems behind the glass shelves. I decided to pick green which was basically my favorite color as a kid, and got a copy of Super Mario Land 2 and Donkey Kong. I remember turning on Donkey Kong in the car and being blown away. And so for the rest of the 90s that Game Boy got me hundreds of hours of entertainment. As of this post I have 52 carts, with 52 official dust cases, and enjoy playing on the DMG still. As an young adult in the late 2000s I managed to strike deals on copies of the Black and Clear versions in mint shape for extremely cheap. The Black one still has the original batteries and registration card in mint shape, and the sticker seals on the bottom. Once I managed to get those, I really wanted to find a Yellow and Red to complete my set. And so I looked....and looked....and never got a good opportunity at a CIB. Got scammed on a few auctions using stock photos that turned out to be nothing more than loose Game Boys. Those little pieces of cardboard are the key necessity for me, those are what I am looking for. As prices started to climb higher, and Yellow & Red systems seemed to almost never pop up at all, I figured I was probably stuck at 3/5. But lately a trickle of these systems have started to appear on eBay at extremely high asking prices. And then this week, it happened, finally a Yellow appeared at an asking price I could afford on the spot. I did not hesitate. The only issue in the photos, is in every shot, only 3 out of 4 sides of the cardboard seemed to be there, but I knew there was a chance that the cardboard was just improperly rotated, and the 4th side was being hidden by the front piece. As soon as I received it today, I could tell I was right, and opened it up to turn it and find the cardboard is in fact flawless. And the system is super mint. I'm so happy. Can't believe I finally got a Yellow and am at 4/5! It would be a dream to land a Red and finally complete a collectors fantasy that I have had for over 25 years! As a bit of an added bonus, I've always had this pamphlet since I got my Game Boy back in '95 too. I picked it up at the service desk of a little electronics shop, the address is even still on the back. I've always thought this pamphlet was really cool, not only is it really uncommon, but I find it really cool that the same pamphlet contains both an original model NES, and a clear Play it Loud Game Boy. I remember grabbing this in case anything ever went wrong with my system. 25 years later and haven't needed to call the number. Edited September 11, 2021 by trj22487 10 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowser | 598 Posted September 11, 2021 Share Posted September 11, 2021 After getting the red one will you go for the extended set by getting blue and white? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trj22487 | 350 Posted September 11, 2021 Author Share Posted September 11, 2021 Just now, bowser said: After getting the red one will you go for the extended set by getting blue and white? Nope, only the USA ones interest me. Just that memory of being at Walmart with my Dad, my parents freshly divorced, and seeing the big rows of all 5 colors behind the glass and how cool they looked. I've always wanted them since I began collecting. It's honestly my first memory of even being at a Walmart store. I don't think I had ever seen a Walmart in person before that, only the scene in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
croagunk | 798 Posted September 11, 2021 Share Posted September 11, 2021 They look so pretty! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoctorEncore | 3,691 Posted September 11, 2021 Share Posted September 11, 2021 Congrats! Hopefully you'll find that red one soon! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trj22487 | 350 Posted September 11, 2021 Author Share Posted September 11, 2021 (edited) I honestly thought the Yellow would be the last one I would ever be able to find, not Red. I missed my chance on a Red one back in July While I don't anticipate I'll ever be able to land one, and I don't really consider it to be part of this set, there actually is a 1995 version of the original Grey Game Boy as well. It is a variant that promotes Killer Instinct and the Super Game Boy on the back of the box, and included the same 'Play it Loud!' poster that came with the colored releases Edited September 11, 2021 by trj22487 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeevan | 8,911 Events Helper · Posted September 11, 2021 Share Posted September 11, 2021 oof, I just searched ebay out of curiosity and there is a sealed red one, u can always watch it and see.....but at 1000 lol 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeevan | 8,911 Events Helper · Posted September 11, 2021 Share Posted September 11, 2021 Oh, and congrats and good luck!!!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trj22487 | 350 Posted September 11, 2021 Author Share Posted September 11, 2021 9 minutes ago, Jeevan said: oof, I just searched ebay out of curiosity and there is a sealed red one, u can always watch it and see.....but at 1000 lol There are actually two sealed ones on eBay right now, which is actually pretty amazing, both asking $1000+. But these systems rarely appear at auction whatsoever. I'd say the Red and Yellow are the rarest two. In the past I've had droughts of years without spotting an auction for either. Things seem to be creeping out into the open lately. The fact that 5 or 6 of them are even up on eBay all at once right now is pretty unheard of. As far as CIB Nintendo systems go, these things are just really rare. They probably had a shorter shelf life than any other version of Game Boy. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OtraOtaku | 8 Posted September 11, 2021 Share Posted September 11, 2021 I still want the blue and white ones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanooki | 4,933 Posted September 12, 2021 Share Posted September 12, 2021 What a lucky break...good on you. You got to pace yourself, strike when the price is right, not just when it pops up unless the stars line up of course. Get that red one and have the play it loud rainbow nice. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RegularGuyGamer | 2,013 Posted September 12, 2021 Share Posted September 12, 2021 Man, I had a ebay notification on for years to get a couple more of these but last year I sold the clear and black ones that I had. I'm glad to see that you're still in the hunt! It's not easy overturning these bad boys for any sort of reasonable price these days. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkTone | 984 Posted September 12, 2021 Share Posted September 12, 2021 Does the MU edition count? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cartman | 195 Posted September 16, 2021 Share Posted September 16, 2021 I like these aswell and have the transparent and green US ones. Both with the whole paper on the back/bottom side, i wouldn't have wanted them otherwise. These casings are actually durable unlike most of the packaging out there wich is a welcomed bonus. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trj22487 | 350 Posted September 23, 2021 Author Share Posted September 23, 2021 On 9/12/2021 at 1:23 PM, RegularGuyGamer said: Man, I had a ebay notification on for years to get a couple more of these but last year I sold the clear and black ones that I had. I'm glad to see that you're still in the hunt! It's not easy overturning these bad boys for any sort of reasonable price these days. I got the clear and black ones in the late 2000s (2007-09ish) for absolute steals, I got the clear for $40 and the black for $50 on Buy It Nows, and even back then could barely believe I got them for so cheap, and then the Green one my Dad paid $50 for in 1995.......the yellow one I paid $299.99 for in 2021 but I had plenty of money to throw down on it and wasn't willing to wait any longer to jump at it. I would definitely take a unsealed red at the same price in mint condition in a heartbeat at this point. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RegularGuyGamer | 2,013 Posted September 23, 2021 Share Posted September 23, 2021 17 hours ago, trj22487 said: I got the clear and black ones in the late 2000s (2007-09ish) for absolute steals, I got the clear for $40 and the black for $50 on Buy It Nows, and even back then could barely believe I got them for so cheap, and then the Green one my Dad paid $50 for in 1995.......the yellow one I paid $299.99 for in 2021 but I had plenty of money to throw down on it and wasn't willing to wait any longer to jump at it. I would definitely take a unsealed red at the same price in mint condition in a heartbeat at this point. All things considered $300 is a great price if it's in mint condition. I bought a couple 3DS models new for $200 and now they're selling for $250-300 for mint ones so by that measure it's just what mint handhelds go for. But like you said before, it's a waiting game for them to even show up on the market! Hopefully you won't have to wait 26 years for it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trj22487 | 350 Posted September 23, 2021 Author Share Posted September 23, 2021 It's definitely mint, it just doesn't have the original batteries or warranty card. My black one has the batteries and warranty card and I only paid $50, that was highway robbery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trj22487 | 350 Posted September 30, 2021 Author Share Posted September 30, 2021 This popped up in my Facebook timeline today, this was me in my front yard using the Game Boy Camera in 1998 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foochie776 | 1,051 Posted October 1, 2021 Share Posted October 1, 2021 Those look fantastic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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