Game Boy.com
| Game Boy.com | |
|---|---|
 An archived snapshot of the main page | |
| End of service | 2011[1] |
| Language | English (United States) |
| URL | https://gameboy.com/ |
Game Boy.com was a promotional website published by Nintendo in 1999.[2] The website was initially a mirror of nintendo.com, though it would later feature unique content pertaining to the Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, and Game Boy Micro systems, as well as games released on said systems. Microsites for select games available on said systems were published as subfolders (and occasionally subdomains) on the site. Many of the games for the systems that received unique content were part of the Super Mario franchise.
History[edit]
Initial design[edit]
The website first received unique content by August of 2000.[3] The homepage featured links to various websites for Nintendo games, in addition to links to nintendo.com and pokemon.com. The site also featured a Code Bank, a feature that was also available on nintendo.com. The site's homepage also linked to a section detailing the Game Boy Color system, which also linked to an additional section covering the Game Boy Camera. The section also linked to Paint Boy, an Adobe Shockwave game that allowed players to decorate a Game Boy Color.
The site also featured sections detailing previously released games for the system, as well as a table of release dates for upcoming games. Additionally, the website featured a section detailing news pertaining to Nintendo games. Said section featured links to webpages for various games for the system, which were presented in a similar fashion to those on nintendo.com. One of the first Super Mario games featured in said section appears to have been the Game Boy Color remake of Donkey Kong Country.[4]
Around this time, the Game Boy Rules the Road contest was held. To enter in the contest, participants had to fill out a form that featured various multiple-choice questions about Game Boy games, some of which were part of the Super Mario franchise.
Second design[edit]
In 2001, the site was re-themed for the Game Boy Advance. This version of the site was also available at gameboyadvance.com, which was initially a mirror of Game Boy.com. This version of the website initially required Adobe Flash for it to function completely, though the .SWF file for the site's intro has been lost. The site initially featured general information pertaining to the system, though a "Partners & Promos" section featured links to two promotions, one of which had Super Mario content. The Lunchables promotion featured the Toad's Tips! webpage, at which both Toad and Mario (in a separate section called "Mario's Tips!") provided tips about Game Boy Advance games to the reader.
More content was added to the site by 2002. This included the game ratings activity, in which players could rate their favorite Game Boy Advance games (many of which were part of the Super Mario franchise). The highest-rated games would appear in a list of ten on the site's main page. Another section published on the site was "Life, Advanced". This section included Life, Advanced Stories, in which various users submitted stories involving their Game Boy Advance (many of which were Super Mario—related), and the Life, Advanced Quiz, which allowed participants to discover their "GBA Alter-Ego". Multiple results were related to the Super Mario franchise. The page also linked to an activity in which users could design a custom Game Boy Advance.
Various wallpapers were available to download from the site. Many of them were Super Mario—themed, including a Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2 wallpaper. Said game also received a microsite available as a subfolder of the website, at which readers could view information about the game in the style of a brochure.[5] A microsite for Mario Kart: Super Circuit was also published, though - outside of the Mario Kart Vote poll - the site is mostly lost.[6] The webpage featured e-cards themed after the game, in addition to a "Road Atlas" section. Said segment (which is referred to as the "Mario Atlas" in the URLs[7]) featured details and tips for the game's courses. A site themed after Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga was also published, which allowed viewers to participate in a joke contest.
Gameboy Advance E-Cards[8] were also available for download from the site, some of which were themed after the Super Mario franchise.
Final designs[edit]
By 2004, the site had been modified to allow the viewer to choose between websites for the original Game Boy Advance and the Game Boy Advance SP. Outside of a Raccoon Mario graphic on the site's main page from Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3, the website does not seem to feature any Super Mario content. Following this, the site briefly function as a redirect to startmayhem.com, which is currently lost.
The second to last iteration the site went through was a promotional website for the Game Boy Micro. Said site allowed viewers to look at details pertaining to the system by clicking on pop-ups and hovering over the system with their mouse. Outside of a Happy! Mario 20th-themed design being available (as well as a wallpaper of that design being available to download), the site does not appear to have had any Super Mario content. Following this, the site went through its final iteration. This iteration allowed viewers to look at either a Game Boy Advance SP site or a Game Boy Micro site. As this version of the site does not appear to fully function, it is unknown if it featured any Super Mario content.[9]
References[edit]
- ^ Final archived main page snapshot
- ^ First archived main page snapshot
- ^ August 2000 webpage capture
- ^ Donkey Kong Country webpage (archived)
- ^ Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2 microsite (archived)
- ^ Mario Kart: Super Circuit site (archived)
- ^ "Mario Atlas" page (archived)
- ^ Super Mario Advance e-card (archived)
- ^ The site's final iteration (archived)
