Nintendo Game Boy (Original DMG, 1989)

Nintendo's 1989 launch handheld runs on four AA batteries or a 6V DC barrel jack via the official DMG-03 adapter — there is no rechargeable battery and no USB. The proprietary 6-pin EXT link port at the side carries the original DMG link cable for two-player games like Tetris and Pokémon trades; the smaller link ports introduced on Game Boy Pocket need an adapter to talk to it. A 3.5mm stereo headphone jack sits on the bottom edge, and the cartridge slot at the back accepts only original DMG-style Game Paks.

Nintendo’s 1989 launch Game Boy with the original 6-pin DMG link cable port, 3.5mm stereo headphone jack, and a 6V DC barrel power inlet.

Device Information

Manufacturer
Nintendo
Release Year
1989
Model Number
DMG-01
Category
Gaming Handheld

Available Ports

Connector Quantity Label Notes
Nintendo Game Boy DMG Link Cable Port 1 EXT (right side) Original 6-pin DMG link cable port. Physically larger than the smaller link port introduced on Game Boy Pocket / Color — needs a universal link adapter to bridge the two.
3.5mm TRS (Stereo Audio) 1 PHONES (bottom) Stereo headphone output; many DMG games make use of the discrete left/right channels.

Notes & Compatibility

Battery: 4× AA (alkaline, ~15–30 hours). External power via the proprietary DMG-03 6V DC barrel adapter. The original 6-pin DMG link port is physically larger than the Game Boy Pocket / Color port — a DMG-to-MGB universal link adapter is required to connect across generations. Cartridge slot accepts DMG carts only (Game Boy Color carts will physically fit but only original DMG-format Game Paks run on this hardware). Uses several proprietary connectors not yet in the database — power inlet and cartridge slot are placeholder names for the post-batch connector-creation pass.

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