The Game Boy Color (GBC or CGB) is an 8-bit handheld game console, manufactured by Nintendo, which was released in Japan on October 21, 1998, and to international markets that November. Compared to the original Game Boy, the Game Boy Color features a color TFT screen rather than monochrome, a processor that can operate twice as fast, and four times as much memory. It retains backward compatibility with games initially developed for its predecessor.