Nintendo Game Boy

On July 31, 1989, Nintendo launched its first handheld console, the Game Boy, for a mere $97. Its simple 8-bit black and white LED screen captivated many players, and started the rise of a chain of handheld video game consoles.

The Game Boy was the brainchild of Nintendo engineer Gunpei Yokoi, who knew that to create a successful console, the system needed to be small, light, inexpensive, and durable, and needed to have a varied, recognizable library of games upon its release. The layout of the buttons were similar to that of an NES controller, which made it easy for NES players to adapt to the handheld console. The Game Boy had an amazingly long 30-hour battery life that allowed players to play for long periods of time, and it featured a built-in Game Link port that allowed for a multiplayer option for games like Tetris or F-1 Race. Although it wasn’t the first handheld gaming system, it was certainly one of the most popular; by the end of the first two weeks, Game Boy sold more than 300,000 units, and by the end of its production around 16 years later, more than 200 million units were sold worldwide. Despite more technically advanced competition from handhelds like Sega’s Game Gear, the Game Boy’s simple design and selection of games was still more attractive to most players. In fact, one of the games that boosted and maintained the Game Boy’s success was the widely-popular game Tetris. The addictive nature of the game, along with the fact that it could essentially be played anywhere with the handheld console, appealed to both adults and children alike. Another interesting aspect of the Game Boy was that it effectively broadened the potential video game market, as it was the first platform to target female game players. In 1995, Nintendo claimed that 46% of Game Boy users were female, compared to the 29% for the NES, making it one of the most gender friendly consoles in history. Since the first Game Boy, Nintendo has released other versions of the Game Boy, such as the Game Boy Pocket, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance, which addressed the flaws of the original console and added several features (colored screens, slimmer design). By 2004, the Game Boy line was discontinued and the DS took over the Nintendo handheld market. Even though production has stopped, its legacy still remains in the Nintendo universe, and the Game Boy will always be seen as a classic. https://www.businessinsider.com/nintendo-game-boy-history-evolution-ds-3ds-switch-2019-4 https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/thirty-years-ago-game-boy-changed-way-america-played-video-games-180972743/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_Boy_family