A loose, working original Game Boy (model DMG-01, 1989) sells for about $40-100 as of late 2026, a Game Boy Color for about $50-120, a Game Boy Advance for about $40-90 and a backlit Game Boy Advance SP (AGS-101) for about $120-250. Those are the common handhelds and they were made in the tens of millions. Nintendo sold about 119 million Game Boy and Game Boy Color units and about 81 million Advance units, so the supply is deep and the prices are honest rather than exciting. The value moves up in three ways: the complete box with inserts and manual, which roughly doubles or triples the price; special editions and colors, some of which sell for about $200-800; and the Japan-only and limited models, the Game Boy Light, the Game Boy Micro Famicom edition and the Mother 3 Deluxe Box, which sell for about $250-1,500.
The model code on the back label (DMG-01, MGB-001, MGB-101, CGB-001, AGB-001, AGS-001, AGS-101, OXY-001) identifies the unit in a second. The screen, the battery compartment and the shell color decide the price inside the model.
Quick answer
- Original Game Boy DMG-01, working, loose: about $40-100. Boxed and complete: about $150-400.
- Game Boy Pocket: about $40-100. Game Boy Light (Japan only): about $200-500.
- Game Boy Color: about $50-120 for the standard colors; Pokémon, Tommy Hilfiger, Ozzie and Japan-only editions about $150-600.
- Game Boy Advance: about $40-90. SP AGS-001: about $60-120. SP AGS-101 backlit: about $120-250. Special edition SPs: about $150-500.
- Game Boy Micro: about $120-300. Famicom edition about $300-600. Mother 3 Deluxe Box about $600-1,500.
- Screen defects, battery corrosion and a yellowed shell cut the price. A sealed box multiplies it.
How to identify and value a Game Boy, step by step
- Read the model code on the back label. DMG-01 is the original gray brick (1989). MGB-001 is the Pocket (1996). MGB-101 is the Light (1998, Japan only, with a backlit screen). CGB-001 is the Color (1998). AGB-001 is the Advance (2001). AGS-001 is the first SP (2003, frontlit). AGS-101 is the second SP (2005, backlit, brighter). OXY-001 is the Micro (2005). The label also carries the serial number and the region code.
- Tell the two SP models apart. Both say AGS on the label; the 101 is printed on the label of the later unit, but labels are often worn or swapped. The reliable test: turn it on and press the brightness button. An AGS-101 has two bright levels and the screen reads clearly in a dark room without a glow around the edges. An AGS-001 has a dimmer frontlight that can be switched off entirely.
- Note the color and any printed branding. Standard DMG gray, Pocket in gray, red, green, yellow, black, blue, clear and silver, Color in six standard colors, Advance in glacier, indigo, arctic, black, fuchsia, and so on. Special editions carry printed graphics or unusual colors: the Pokémon Yellow and Pikachu Game Boy Color, the Tommy Hilfiger and Ozzie Smith Colors, the Toys R Us gold Advance, the NES Classic, Famicom, Pokémon Center, Zelda, Mario and Pearl Pink SPs, the Nintendo Kiosk units. These are where the money is.
- Open the battery compartment. Corrosion from leaked alkaline batteries is the most common fault. Light white crust on the terminals is cleanable; green corrosion that has eaten the spring or tracked into the board is not, and the unit should be sold as parts or a project.
- Power it on with a cartridge. The DMG needs four AA, the Pocket and Color two AAA, the Advance two AA, the SP and Micro a rechargeable pack that is often dead after twenty years. A dead SP battery is a $10 fix, not a fault.
- Check the screen. On the DMG, look for vertical or horizontal dead lines; these are a ribbon cable fault and can be fixed with a careful reflow, but a unit with lines sells for about half. On the Color and Advance, look for dark spots, scratches on the lens and uneven brightness. On the SP 101, check for a yellow tint and for the hinge, which cracks.
- Check the shell. Original DMG gray plastic yellows with UV exposure; a bright gray unit is worth noticeably more than a yellowed one. Look for cracked battery covers, missing covers, and aftermarket shells, which are usually glossier and lack the Nintendo molding marks inside.
- Look for modifications. IPS screen replacements, backlit DMG mods and rechargeable conversions are common. They make the unit nicer to use and sometimes raise the price to the right buyer, but they remove it from the collector market for originals and should be disclosed.
- Find the box and inserts. The outer box with matching serial number, the inner tray, the manual, the earphones for the DMG, the link cable where included. A matching serial on box and unit is the detail that moves a boxed unit into the top of the range.
- Search sold listings for the model code and color. Loose, boxed and sealed are separate markets. Match the condition and whether the comparable was tested.
What the common models sell for
Prices assume a working unit with a clear screen, no corrosion and a decent shell, as of late 2026.
| Model | Code and year | Loose, working | Boxed, complete |
|---|---|---|---|
| Game Boy, gray | DMG-01, 1989 | About $40-100 | About $150-400 |
| Game Boy, Play It Loud colors | DMG-01, 1995 | About $80-200 | About $250-600 |
| Game Boy Pocket, standard colors | MGB-001, 1996 | About $40-100 | About $120-300 |
| Game Boy Light | MGB-101, 1998, Japan | About $200-500 | About $400-900 |
| Game Boy Color, standard colors | CGB-001, 1998 | About $50-120 | About $150-350 |
| Game Boy Color, Pokémon Yellow or Pikachu editions | CGB-001, 1999 | About $120-300 | About $300-700 |
| Game Boy Color, Tommy Hilfiger, Ozzie Smith, Kiosk | CGB-001 | About $150-600 | About $400-1,200 |
| Game Boy Advance, standard colors | AGB-001, 2001 | About $40-90 | About $120-250 |
| Game Boy Advance SP, frontlit | AGS-001, 2003 | About $60-120 | About $150-300 |
| Game Boy Advance SP, backlit | AGS-101, 2005 | About $120-250 | About $300-600 |
| Game Boy Advance SP, special editions (NES Classic, Famicom, Pokémon Center, Zelda, Pearl Pink) | AGS-001 or 101 | About $150-500 | About $400-1,200 |
| Game Boy Micro, standard | OXY-001, 2005 | About $120-300 | About $300-600 |
| Game Boy Micro, Famicom edition | OXY-001, 2005, Japan | About $300-600 | About $600-1,000 |
| Game Boy Micro, Mother 3 Deluxe Box | OXY-001, 2006, Japan | About $600-1,500 with the game | About $1,000-2,500 |
The first row is the honest answer for most readers: the gray brick in the drawer is a good, working, forty-year-old handheld worth about $40-100. Sealed, never-opened examples of any model are a different market, with sealed DMG units selling for about $1,000-4,000 and more at specialist auctions, and they should be treated as collectibles rather than electronics.
Condition and what adds or subtracts
| Factor | Effect on price |
|---|---|
| Clear screen, no lines or dark spots, lens unscratched | The baseline for the prices above |
| Vertical or horizontal lines on a DMG screen | About 40-60 percent off; repairable |
| Light battery terminal crust, cleanable | Minor deduction once cleaned |
| Green corrosion into the board | About 70-90 percent off; parts unit |
| Yellowed DMG or Pocket shell | About 20-40 percent off; retrobright restores it but should be disclosed |
| Missing battery cover | About $10-20 off; replacements are available |
| Cracked SP hinge | About 30-50 percent off |
| Aftermarket shell or buttons | About 30-50 percent off for collectors; neutral for players |
| IPS screen mod, done well | Different market; about $100-200 as a modded unit regardless of model |
| Original box with matching serial | Roughly doubles or triples the loose price |
| Manual, inserts, earphones, link cable | Adds about $20-60 on common models, more on special editions |
| Sealed | About 10-40 times the loose price, and worth a specialist sale |
Which editions are rare and why
Nintendo made dozens of regional and promotional colors, and the rarity ranges from mildly scarce to a few hundred units. The ones that come up and bring real money: the Game Boy Light in gold and silver, the Astro Boy and Tezuka Osamu Lights, the Famitsu DMG and Pocket editions, the Pokémon Center Gold and Silver Colors, the Tommy Hilfiger Color sold through clothing stores, the Ozzie Smith Color from a Cardinals promotion, the Kiosk demonstration units with their distinctive gray shells and screw-locked cartridge slots, the Toys R Us gold Advance, the Pokémon Center New York SP in charizard orange, the NES Classic SP, the Famicom 20th Anniversary SP, the Mother 3 Micro. Most of them look ordinary from across a room and extraordinary up close, which is why the label and the printed graphics matter.
The games are often worth more than the handheld. Our guide to old Nintendo games value covers the Game Boy cartridge market, where a boxed Pokémon or Zelda outsells the console it played on. Other handheld electronics from the same drawer follow the same boxed-versus-loose logic; see the guide to old iPod value.
How WorthPic reads Game Boy photos
WorthPic runs on the newest and most capable AI model available, tuned for exactly this kind of identification. From a photo of the back label it reads the model code, the region and the serial, and from the front it reads the shell color, any printed edition graphics, the screen lens and the button set, which together place the unit in the table above. From the powered-on screen it looks for dead lines, dark spots and uneven light, and from the open battery compartment it judges corrosion, which is the single detail that most changes a Game Boy's price. From the box it reads the model, the region and the serial and checks it against the unit. It then gives an honest value range for loose or boxed as appropriate, and when something is not visible it says which photo would settle it: for an SP, the screen lit in a dark room decides 001 versus 101; for a DMG, the powered-on screen with a cartridge decides whether there are lines; for a suspected aftermarket shell, the inside of the battery cover shows the molding marks. It identifies and estimates. It does not authenticate a limited edition, it does not test electronics and it does not appraise for insurance. A sealed unit, a Japan-only edition or anything it places above about $300 should be seen by a retro gaming shop or a specialist reseller with the unit in hand.
Common mistakes
- Assuming the Game Boy is the valuable part. The cartridges in the same drawer are often worth more.
- Listing an SP as backlit without checking. Buyers test the brightness button and return it.
- Throwing out the box because it is crushed. Even a worn box with a matching serial roughly doubles the price.
- Leaving old batteries in. The leak will do more damage every month.
- Cleaning the shell with strong solvents, which frost the plastic and wipe the printed graphics on special editions.
- Retrobrighting a yellowed shell and not saying so. The treatment is accepted but buyers expect disclosure.
- Treating a modded unit as an original collectible. It has a market, but a different one.
What to photograph
- The back label straight on and sharp, showing the model code and serial number. This is the photo that identifies the unit.
- The front, powered on with a cartridge running, in a dim room, which shows screen lines, dark spots and, on an SP, the backlight type.
- The battery compartment open with batteries removed, showing the terminals and springs.
- The screen lens close up under raking light, for scratches.
- Each side and the top, showing the shell color, yellowing, cracks and the cartridge slot.
- The box from the front and the end with the serial, the inserts laid out, and the manual cover.
When to get it looked at in person
A standard gray Game Boy, a common Color or a glacier Advance can be sold on the open market without expert help, and a local retro gaming shop will usually make an offer on the spot. A Japan-only model, a Kiosk unit, a sealed box or a promotional edition you cannot find in sold listings is worth a visit to a retro gaming shop or a specialist reseller, who will check the shell against known originals, confirm the serial and the box, and route it to a collector sale if that is where it belongs. The same shops buy the cartridges, and if there are board games or other toys in the same closet, our guide to vintage board games value covers them.