Game Boy Player

The Game Boy Player (ゲームボーイプレーヤー) (DOL-017) is a device made by Nintendo for the Nintendo GameCube that allows for Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance cartridges to be played from a television screen via the system. The Game Boy Player uses physical hardware nearly identical to that of a Game Boy Advance, and it connects to the high speed parallel port at the bottom of the GameCube that acts as a base with a frontal slot for inserting game cartridges. The Game Boy Player is the successor of the Super Game Boy, an add-on for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System that allowed for original Game Boy cartridges to be played on the system.

The Game Boy Player requires use of the Game Boy Player Start-Up Disc to access the hardware. Several Game Boy Advance games gain a rumble feature when played this way. The Game Boy Player is compatible with a Nintendo GameCube Game Boy Advance Cable, enabling a Game Boy Advance to be used as a controller and as a link slot on the hardware for games that can utilize it.

The Game Boy Player hardware is about an inch thick but otherwise has the same dimensions as a Nintendo GameCube. The Game Boy Player is available in Indigo, Black, Spice, or Platinum colors in Japan; Black in North America and Europe; and Black and Indigo in Australia.

On-screen menu
The menu has six options to choose from:


 * Frame: changes the colored border around the game "screen" to one of twenty different patterns. Super Game Boy borders are not supported.
 * Size: changes the size that the Game Boy Advance screen takes up on the TV (Normal is about 80% and appears sharper on some sets, while Full enlarges the image to the left and right edges of the TV)
 * Controller: switches between the two controller mappings
 * Screen: controls a motion blur effect to reduce potential flicker from programming tricks designed for a GBA screen. Can be set to "sharp" (no blurring), "normal" (some blurring), or "soft" (more blurring).
 * Timer: set an alarm for one to sixty minutes
 * Change Cartridge: stops the game so cartridges can be swapped safely, without having to turn the GameCube off (it is best to save game data before doing so)

Trivia

 * Like the Super Game Boy, the Game Boy Player has a Metroid-themed packaging, as it depicts a scene from Metroid Fusion where Samus Aran approaches a Fake Chozo Statue. This image also appears on the back of the sleeve containing the plastic box for the disc and all Game Boy Player ads.