Photo: Marta Wave

Will Game Boy games last forever?

If we subtract time passed since manufacture (~29-24 years) we can estimate that these Gameboy cartridges still have another 10-15 years of battery life left, give or take, before they too must be replaced to retain save data.

gaming.stackexchange.com - How long does original Game Boy battery backed memory last? - Arqade

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I have a Nintendo Game Boy Pocket (which plays original monochrome Game Boy games and is probably not capable of playing Game Boy Advance or similar "advanced" cartridges.) At any rate it is the original Game Boy system, released in 1989 by Nintendo in America and Japan, and 1990 in Europe. This is the system I am talking about here. I have researched a relevant question which covered much of what I was wondering about overall:

Will I definitely lose my save state while replacing the battery?

This question and its answers largely cover what to do if you really want to replace a Game Boy cartridge's battery backed memory if you have to, though the operation is risky, as you do have to keep the cartridge connected to power to pull this off, and also the battery is soldered on, so you would need a soldering iron if you really wanted to change the battery of a Game Boy cartridge (Game Pak as Nintendo called it in the day) from what I can gather.

So my question is: Just how long does this "battery backed memory" of Game Boy games last? I understand that save states on cartridges that feature this "battery backed memory" are called such because it is RAM (Random Access Memory in computing) which requires electrical power to keep its memory state. Hence, the "battery backed" part of the memory which is done in this kind of cartridge with a small battery within the cartridge, which is how these cartridges save save states of many, but not all, original (monochrome which is the kind of Game Boy I have) games for the original Game Boy. So the key question here is: Just how long do these batteries last?

I have had most of these games since 1990-1995, and I am quite amazed that the batteries backing the memory that have allowed save states to be stored on all of those cartridges has lasted as long as it has. If it lasts my entire (80+ year) life it would be incredibly sweet. But I am seeking some kind of knowledge about just how long these batteries that back original Game Boy memory last, and about when I can expect to have to replace them if I want to keep save states on those games in the mid to far future!

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How much did the original Game Boy cost?

In the U.S., it retailed for just $89.99, making it a big hit there too. In its fourteen-year lifespan, 118,69 million Game Boys (including all iterations) were sold worldwide.

one37pm.com - How Much Is An Original GameBoy Worth? - ONE37pm

enGadget

In 2020, it’s tough to find many sellers who have the original Game Boy on offer. However, there were, of course, other iterations of it that followed, like the Game Boy Pocket and the Game Boy Light. Not to mention the successors, the Game Boy Color and the Game Boy Advance. The Pocket, as the name suggests, was smaller and lighter, requiring fewer batteries. The Light, while the name might suggest a difference in weight, actually featured a backlight so that you could use it in dim settings. It was also exclusive to Japan. How do they stack up in terms of monetary value?

The general version of the Game Boy Pocket doesn’t stand out in pricing from the standard, original Nintendo console. But a quick search for the Game Boy Light gives you a range of about $140-$200. There is the special, limited edition Tezuka Osamu World Shop version that one seller asks $310 for. Going for the same higher price tag is the special Astro Boy edition. The Game Boy Pocket does boast one limited edition variant worth an incredible amount of money today due to its rarity. The Nintendo Power 100 Gold Game Boy Pocket was released to celebrate Nintendo Power magazine’s 100th issue. Not only is it gold, but it features the Nintendo Power logo below the screen. The only one you can find on eBay at the time of writing is pre-owned, and the seller is asking for a whopping $1,799. This makes it easily one of the most expensive Game Boys of all time. You can view it here. All in all, trying to relive your childhood or even to experience something you’ve heard a lot about but are too young to have lived through won’t set you back too much, thankfully.

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