Game Boy Popularity Continues to Rise

Nintendo of America announced Tuesday that its first quarter sales of the handheld Game Boy have more than tripled over the same period last year, booming more than 250 percent. Sales were powered in large part by the debut of Nintendo's new Game Boy Color system and the extensive Pokemon video-game craze sweeping across America. Game Boy Color sales have averaged 94,000 units per week in 1999, compared with 31,000 in 1998, according to independent sales data.

"Game Boy is the most successful video-game system in history and currently dominates 99 percent of the handheld market with more than 70 million systems in people's hands around the world," says Peter Main, Nintendo's executive vice president of sales and marketing. "Since the Game Boy Color debut in the US stores last November, we've already sold more than two million units. Worldwide, our parent company has shipped more than eight million Game Boy Color units since its release."