This is the original Game Boy, Nintendo's first portable console with interchangeable game cartridges, in its 1989 Japanese release.

The layout set the template for the whole line: a directional pad, A and B buttons, Start and Select, and a monochrome green LCD with no backlight, all running on four AA batteries. Launched in Japan on 21 April 1989, the Game Boy went on to become the best-selling portable console of its generation, and this is where that story begins.

This is the UK 'console only' Game Boy, sold without a pack-in game.

Europe was the last of the major markets to get the Game Boy, on 28 September 1990, more than a year after Japan. This British retail version (DMG-S-GA-UKV) is preserved in good condition and is a standard DMG-01, the same hardware that sold in the tens of millions worldwide.

This US Tetris bundle includes the console, Tetris and the classic stereo headphones.

It has one detail collectors particularly like. For a time in the United States the Game Boy's serial number was attached to the outside of the box together with the warranty card. The warranty card could be peeled off, but the serial number stayed on the box. What looked untidy at the time now works in a collector's favour, because the serial on the box is a good sign that the packaging is original and not a reproduction.

This UK Tetris bundle is one of the fuller versions of the classic set. Alongside the console and Tetris it includes a game link cable and the original stereo headphones.

The link cable let two players connect for head-to-head Tetris, which was a big part of the game's appeal, and the headphones added stereo sound the console's own speaker could not manage. Both accessories are catalogued separately in the collection as well; here they come as part of the complete boxed package.

The classic Game Boy Tetris bundle paired the console with the puzzle game that did more than any other to sell the hardware, and in this version Nintendo added the original stereo headphones.

This is the German edition of that set, in well-preserved condition. The stereo headphones are the same DMG-02 type catalogued elsewhere in the collection, sold here as part of the complete package rather than on their own.

This is the Italian Fire Edition of the Game Boy Tetris bundle, a regional version of the classic pairing of console and Tetris.

Nintendo released the Game Boy in many market-specific bundles, and the Fire Edition is the Italian entry in that family. It is preserved here in good condition with its original packaging.

The Game Boy was sold in many bundle variations, and the best known was the console packed with Tetris.

This UK set is a rarer variant that adds Super Mario Land alongside Tetris. Mario's first handheld outing was the game Nintendo originally expected to carry the console before Tetris took that role, so having both titles in one box makes this an appealing set. Complete boxed examples are hard to find.

This rare UK bundle combines a Game Boy with Super Mario Land 1 and 2 and a carrying bag sized for the console and up to four games.

Consolevariations.com puts the print run at only 500 to 1000 examples, making it one of the scarcer sets here. It is closely related to the yellow-console version of the same bundle, which the collection also holds; this is the standard-console edition.

This rare UK bundle brings together a yellow Game Boy, Super Mario Land 1 and 2, and a carrying bag with room for the console and up to four games.

According to consolevariations.com, only between 500 and 1000 examples of this bundle were released, which puts it among the scarcer console sets in the collection. The presence of both Super Mario Land games and the original bag in one box is what makes complete examples so hard to find. The collection also holds the standard-console version of the same bundle.

The Super Star Set was a German-only Game Boy bundle, and it pairs the console with two of the system's biggest titles: The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening and Super Mario Land 2.

Bundles built around major first-party games like these were a strong selling point, and because the set was limited to one market, complete examples are rare today.

The Super 3 Set was a German-only Game Boy bundle from 1994, and it is one of the rarer console sets of its kind.

It came with three popular games of the period: Tetris, Mega Man II and The Amazing Spider-Man. Three-game bundles were unusual, and because the value lies in keeping all three games with the console and box, complete examples are difficult to find today.

This is a rare UK console bundle that pairs the Game Boy Classic with two games, Tetris 2 and Golf, in a single boxed set.

Bundles like this were usually put together for a particular market or a seasonal promotion, which is why complete examples are uncommon today. For collectors the appeal lies in the original packaging and the specific game pairing, both of which are easy to split up over time and therefore harder to find intact.

This is the rare Game Boy Star Wars bundle from 1997, distributed only in the United Kingdom as a limited edition.

Tie-in bundles around big entertainment licences were unusual for the Game Boy, and the UK-only run makes complete examples hard to find. The collection also holds Star Wars software for the Game Boy, which connects directly to this set.

The Game Boy was Nintendo's first portable console with interchangeable game cartridges. It launched in 1989 in a plain grey case, and over the following years Nintendo released a series of coloured housings.

This console comes from the Play It Loud series, sold in red, green, black, yellow, white, blue and clear. The example here is the red version for the Spanish market (DMG-S-RA-ESP). Like every DMG-01 it has a directional pad, A and B buttons, Start and Select, a monochrome green screen without a backlight, and runs on four AA batteries. Coloured regional variants like this one are popular with console collectors.

This is a well-preserved Japanese Game Boy in green. Japan was the first market to receive the console, on 21 April 1989, ahead of the United States and Europe.

The finish here is the Japanese retail version (DMG-S-MA). It is a standard DMG-01 in every respect, with the monochrome green screen and four-AA power that the console became known for.

This is a well-preserved Japanese Game Boy in black (DMG-S-KA). Black was one of the cleaner finishes offered in Japan, the market that first received the console in 1989.

Underneath the colour it is a standard DMG-01, with the same green monochrome screen and four-AA setup as every Game Boy.

This is a rare white version of the UK 'console only' Game Boy. White was an uncommon finish for the British market, which makes well-preserved examples like this one harder to come by.

It is otherwise a standard DMG-01, sold on its own without a pack-in game.

Red is one of the most recognisable colours in the European Limited Edition series, the run that took the DMG-01 beyond its original grey.

The full line covered red, green, black, yellow, white, blue and clear, and this collection holds all seven. The console itself is a standard Game Boy, with the monochrome green screen and four-AA power that defined the hardware.

The green Limited Edition Game Boy has a nice symmetry to it, since the console's screen was itself a shade of green. It is one of seven colours in the European Limited Edition series.

The rest of the run, all held in this collection, covered red, black, yellow, white, blue and clear. Mechanically nothing changes from colour to colour: the same green monochrome display and four AA batteries as every DMG-01.

Yellow was one of the boldest colours in the European Limited Edition series, and it has stayed a favourite with collectors who like the brighter end of the DMG-01 range.

The series also appeared in red, green, black, white, blue and clear, all of which are present in this collection. Underneath the coloured shell it is a standard Game Boy with the usual green screen and four AA batteries.