Game Boy Game Pak

Game Boy Game Pak

Game Boy Game Paks from left to right: original, Color, Advance
Media type	ROM cartridge
Encoding	Digital
Capacity	Original/Color: ROM: 32 KB–8 MB, RAM: 8–128 KB Advance: ROM: up to 32MB, RAM: up to 128 KB
Standard	Proprietary
Developed by	Nintendo
Dimensions	Original/Color: 6.5 cm (2.6 in) high × 5.8 cm (2.3 in) wide Advance: 3.5 cm (1.4 in) high × 6 cm (2.4 in) wide
Usage	Game Boy Game Boy Color Game Boy Advance Nintendo DS
Released	Original: April 21, 1989 (1989-04-21) Advance: March 21, 2001
Discontinued	Original/Color: 2006 Advance: 2012 (2012)[1]

Game Boy Game Pak is the brand name of the ROM cartridges used to store video game data for the Game Boy family of handheld video game consoles, part of Nintendo's line of Game Pak cartridges. Early Game Boy games were limited to 32 kilobytes (KB) of read-only memory (ROM) storage due to the system's 8-bit architecture. Nintendo later incorporated a memory bank controller into cartridges to allow for more storage by switching between ROM banks. This change allowed Game Paks to reach 8 megabytes (MB) of storage, allowing for more complex games.

In addition to ROM, cartridges could also include random-access memory (RAM) chips that could be used for increased performance or to save game progress. A battery in the cartridge would keep the RAM powered when the Game Boy was off. Later cartridges could also include real-time clock functionality that could keep track of time even when the device was off or a Rumble Pak to add vibration feedback to enhance gameplay.

Game Paks for the Game Boy Advance, which uses a 32-bit architecture, could accommodate up to 32 MB of game ROM. The Game Boy Advance was the last major handheld device to use cartridges as its primary storage format. Later systems, like the Nintendo DS and Nintendo 3DS, use game cards, which are similar to SD cards.