Every Game Boy Accessory and Peripheral: A Complete Guide

No console has a stranger, richer accessory ecosystem than the Game Boy. Because the machine was cheap, popular and endlessly hackable, third parties and Nintendo alike bolted on every idea imaginable, from the sensible to the gloriously absurd. This guide maps that whole world, grouped by what the add-on actually did, with a link to the full story of each.

If you only know the Game Boy as a games machine, prepare to meet the version that scanned barcodes, found fish and played the radio.

Scanners, Sensors and the Truly Odd

Some peripherals turned the Game Boy into something else entirely. Years before amiibo it could read barcodes with the Namco Barcode Boy, and in 1998 Bandai turned it into a working fish finder with the Pocket Sonar. Others chased the pocket-organizer dream, from FM radio add-ons to Konami's NanoNote, the Berlitz and Frommer's translator cartridges and even calculator and clock cartridges.

Playing Together

Multiplayer meant hardware. The humble Link Cable made gaming social, the 4-Player Adapter put four on one game, and a handful of rumble and tilt cartridges made the games move.

Bigger, Louder, Brighter

Others simply amplified the experience. The Konami HyperBoy and the wider family of Game Boy arcade cabinets turned the pocket machine into a tabletop arcade, while the Sunsoft Sound Boy and Nuby amplifier gave it real volume and lights and magnifiers let you play in the dark.

Keeping It Running

Four AA batteries were only the beginning. Explore the Game Boy's power ecosystem, including the inventive solar charger that fed it with sunlight.

Cartridges Beyond Games

The cartridge slot did more than hold games. See the Nintendo Power downloadable cartridge, the cheat machines behind Game Genie and Action Replay, and modern EverDrive and flash cartridges.

Collectible Families

Some accessories are best understood as sets. Discover the keychain Mini Classics and the elusive Japanese boxed accessory line, one of the toughest challenges in DMG-01 collecting.

See Them in Person

Every accessory named here is photographed and catalogued in the collection with its packaging and details.