Game Boy Camera



The Game Boy Camera, known as Pocket Camera (ポケットカメラ, Pokettokamera) in Japan, is an accessory for the Game Boy (and compatible with the Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance) released in early 1998 which allows the user to take up to 30 grainy monochrome pictures (although that amount can be increased through third-party devices) and view them and edit them on the Game Boy screen and print them out using the Game Boy Printer. It was discontinued in 2002. Both the camera and the printer contain many references to the Mario franchise.

The Japanese version can connect to Mario Artist: Paint Studio via Transfer Pak.

Blurb
Quoted from the box.

Shoot-View-Play
Turn any Game Boy system into a digital camera! With this accessory, you can shoot photos, doodle on them, add stamps and even send them to a friend with another Game Boy Camera!
 * Shoot, save and edit 30 different snapshots.
 * Arrange your shots into animated sequences.
 * Trick Lens mode lets you flip, stretch, zoom split the screen, and more.
 * Panorama mode shoots both tall and wide formats.
 * Use the Self Timer and Time Lapse modes to take shots not possible with a standard camera.
 * Includes 4 minigames: Space Fever II, Ball, D.J. and Run! Run! Run! You can even put your face into a game!

Game Boy™ Printer
Look for the Game Boy Printer accessory when you're ready to print out the snapshots taken with your Game Boy Camera. Special printer paper lets you turn your photos into stickers!

In other media
A comic called "Rummelplatzquatsch" was made to promote the Camera in Germany, and also featured the Camera heavily.

The comic centers around a Game Boy Camera used by a self-proclaimed fortune-teller to foresee the future. Mario falls for the trick when the Game Boy Camera depicts a toilet brush to him and few seconds later such a brush is dashed into his face indeed. Immediately he buys the Camera, being excited about foreseeing his own future. However, the device only brings misfortune to him. After depicting a cake, one is thrown into his face; after depicting a train, he is run down by one; and so on.

Trying to get rid of the Camera, Mario returns to the fortune-teller who turns out to be Luigi, explaining that it was just a normal Game Boy Camera he sold to his brother, and that it cannot foresee the future. He attempts to prove his point by turning the device on. After it shows Poochy, suddenly a herd of dogs enters the tent. Now Luigi is terrified as well and the brothers run away, dropping the Camera. At the end of the comic, the reader sees Satan's hand grabbing the Game Boy Camera, and it is explained that this is the only copy that has fallen into his hands.

Trivia

 * While the Game Boy Camera features images of popular Nintendo entities, the user is able to access very disturbing images of some people's vandalized faces. These faces can be accessed if the user presses "Run" numerous times, or if the user presses the A button if they don't have enough frame shots. If done correctly, the faces will appear, with a caption saying "Who are you running from?" appears. If the player tries to exit, the face might reappear, with the sign saying "Don't be so silly!" appearing.