THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF GAME BOY: A CELEBRATION IN PHOTOS

When our editors started talking about doing a feature for the 30th anniversary of the Game Boy, I immediately knew I wanted to do this series of photos. I guess the nostalgia factor came into play; it brought back all the memories I'm sure many of you also share with this device.

I should mention that this whole meeting took place in a bar during one of those after-work drinks with the team. Minutes after the drinks were served, all of us were searching eBay to find some of the old accessories : the link cable, Game Boy camera, external battery and Game Genie, all came from various places in the US and around the world. Some, to our surprise, were never opened or used.

The centerpiece, an original Game Boy itself, came from news editor Sean Hollister. It was in pristine condition in a not-so-pristine case, which some of you may remember or still have somewhere in your attics or basements.

30TH ANNIVERSARY OF GAME BOY

Sunday, April 21, 2019, marks the 30th anniversary of Game Boy. We're posting stories all week to celebrate the influential handheld device, looking at the many ways it shaped the gaming industry and its importance as a cultural object. Stay tuned for new pieces each day through Friday, and keep track of all the stories right here .

My approach for the photo shoot was to keep it simple. One option was to take it as a standard review: take it out into the world and photograph it like we do with any other product, such as a new phone or laptop. The second was to shoot it in the studio with a plain color that would match the product. I decided to do both.

For the photo shoot in the studio, I chose purple as my main color. The same shade of purple seen in the Game Boy branding font on the front of the device. And if I may say so myself, I think the color works quite well.

The main photo (the first one you'll see below) was made as a composite of six other images. Each had cartridges placed around the frame in a different position and orientation that were then aligned and merged in Photoshop. Initially, I had touched up the dust from inside the screen, but went back to reverse those changes, because I felt it belonged there.

I ended up with a wide range of photos that fit the wide range of topics we discussed throughout the week; everything from odd accessories to music to emulation. So to further celebrate the Game Boy anniversary, I decided to gather all the photos right here in one place.

Check them out below. In the meantime, I'm going to grab some extra AA batteries (and that bulky battery pack) and enjoy a Robopon .