Oh yeah, and for those of you who didn't know, FAQ stands for Frequently Asked Questions.  (I actually got a few emails about it :)    ) 
  

March 9, 1999

I've made some changes, and have gotten rid of some useless info, as well as updated some important stuffin.

Released in 1988 (japan) and 1989 (USA), the system has sold over 60 million units worldwide in both Gameboy and Gameboy Pocket forms. The library of games has grown to over 1000 over the last ten years despite being  the least technically impressive.   

It ran on 4 AA batteries for anywhere from 15-30 hours, and was based on the Z80 processor architecture.  The screen used 4 shade greyscale LCD.  The Pocket model, released in 1996, ran on 2 AAA batteries for 10 hours, with a higher contrast screen.   
 
Over the years there have been dozens of variations of the gameboy.  Counting all possible combinations of colors and sizes, I think the grand total of different North American gameboys is somewhere around 17-20.

Basically, it is a gameboy on steroids with a color screen provided by sharp, an 8 MHz Z80-esque Processor (also made by Sharp) with additional main memory as welll as some other nifty features, most listed in this document.   

The GBC was released Oct. 23, 1998 in Japan, Nov. 19 in the states, Nov. 23 In Europe and most other places.  I saw first signs of the GBC in Calgary on Nov. 21. 

The GBC could be compared to the atari 7800 because of its advancements over its predecessors as well as backwards compatability. 

There will be 3 levels of compatability with the GBC as follows:  

Monochrome GB- will work on any gameboy  (Or Standard GB game with a 10-color built in palette for GBC) 

Enhanced GBC- will work on any gameboy, but with GBC color enhancements  
       The three methods for doing this are: 

• Colorized DMG/MGB Model-  Merely adds 7 to 10 fixed colors to a game without altering any artwork, and making no use of GBC special features.
• Dual Engine Model-  Two entirely different programs exist in a single cartridge using a simple Bootstrap program to choose the correct version of the code for the platform 
• Adaptive model-  Both GB and GBC will use the same basic engine, but will use separate sets of subroutines and functions to make use of the GBC's hardware (ie faster processor, color graphics, expanded RAM)

The 32 and 56 color modes will still have 4 color sprites (with one transparent) but the games with CGB enabled modes will correct a bunch of sprite priority bugs in the original gameboy (yes there were bugs in the original gameboy!) Also, there can now be up to 512 tiles on screen because of the double size of the graphics buffer. (16K)  But still, alot of this technology is still undocumented (or at least undisclosed).   The number of BG colors in the 56 color mode is 32 colors, and the maximum number of colors for sprites will be 24 (3colors per sprite*8 pallettes).  Raster effects are also possible. 

More on the 10-color mode: 

When you turn on the GBC you will be able to select from 12 different palettes by pressing different combinations of the direction keys and the A, B buttons. 

Here's the table as previously promised! 
 

Key combination	Background	Sprite 1 color	Sprite 2 color
Default	Green / Blue	Red	Red
Up	Brown	Brown	Brown
Up + A	Red	Green	Blue
Up + B	Dark Brown	Brown	Brown
Left	Blue	Red	Green
Left + A	Dark Blue	Red	Brown
Left + B	Gray	Gray	Gray
Down	Yellow, Red, Blue	Yellow, Red, Blue	Yellow, Red, Blue
Down + A	Yellow & Red	Yellow & Red	Yellow & Red
Down + B	Yellow	Blue	Green
Right	Green & Red	Green & Red	Green & Red
Right + A	Green & Blue	Red	Red
Right + B	Reverse	Reverse	Reverse

  
 

You should know by now :)
 
 

I also found out (next generation on-line: the only magazine on the net that gives a care about the GBC) that the GB will have four-player split-screen linkup capabilities with the N64!  This is achieved through four GBC's connected through the joystick ports.  The N64 and the GBC have the hardware to do such built right in!  

DKL series 
SML series 
Kirby games 
Metroid 2  
Tennis 
Alleyway 
Kid Icarus 
Baseball 
Zelda 
Street Fighter 2 
Duck Tales 
Donkey Kong 95 
Tetris 

Bandai is releasing its own portable, with twice the gameboy's resolution (greyscale).  The unit is called the WonderSwan- it seems to be a fairly powerful little system, although not color.  This is also the brainchild of the gameboy's creator, and several conspiracy theories have been circulating which attribute the WonderSwan to the gameboy creator's death. 

Tiger's Game.Com is still around- it offers mediocre greyscale, a blurry screen, single channel PCM sound, I don't think it'll be around for too long.  Infact, I've never seen a store in Canada that carries game.com.  Tiger recently released the Game.Com pocketpro, which looks like a smaller Game.Com with a backlit screen, and no second cartridge port. 

WARNING:  The GameGenie and Game Shark are INCOMPATABLE with GBC games, however the units still function with old GB games when used in a GBC. 

1)  Check any major video game or electronics store. 
2)  If they don't have any, check an online importer- they very well might be able to get a GBC and games to you. 

Also, be aware that I am unable to order GBC's for you, nor give a GBC to you free of charge.  I don't even have my GBC yet!