According to Nintendo of America vice president George Harrison, the idea for a smaller version of the Game Boy was first discussed in 2004.

[5] The Game Boy Micro was announced by Nintendo of America's vice president of sales and marketing, Reggie Fils-Aimé, at the company's Electronic Entertainment Expo press conference on May 17, 2005.

The Game Boy Micro features a removable, decorative housing called a faceplate.

In Japan, the Game Boy Micro was released in four different base colors: black, blue, purple, and silver.

[15] In October 2005, Square Enix announced that they would be releasing a special faceplate, featuring artwork by Yoshitaka Amano, to promote their re-release of Final Fantasy IV on the Game Boy Advance.

[16][17] On November 17, 2005, Nintendo released a Pokémon version in Japan, featuring a red Micro with a black faceplate containing the silhouette of Pikachu.

[22][23] In Europe, the Game Boy Micro was available in four different colors, with one matching faceplate: silver, green, blue and pink.

Generally, the Game Boy Micro did not sell well, and failed to reach the company's aim of units sold.

[39] The Game Boy Micro's backlit screen, which is superior to the original frontlit Game Boy Advance SP model (a later backlit remodel added a similar high quality screen to SP systems), has been praised for its visibility.

[citation needed] The removable faceplates have also been praised because they allow for personalization and protect the high-resolution backlit screen.