Twenty-Five Years of the Gameboy

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Last week marked the 25 year anniversary of the Japanese release of the Gameboy. In a lot of ways I struggle to reconcile that it has been 25 years since Nintendo’s gray and green screened handheld burst onto the scene and dominated the entire handheld market. For all intents and purposes, Nintendo has never relented in their complete and total domination of the handheld market and as time goes on an argument could be made that no one will ever top them.

Since the launch of the original Gameboy, I have owned nearly every hardware iteration of every handheld platform that Nintendo has produced. Nintendo’s ability to produce games that are designed around short gameplay sessions, but still drive you to play more and more has been the secret to the continued success of their handhelds. Many large companies have thrown their hat in the ring in an attempt to dethrone Nintendo. The Atari Lynx was a big contender, boasting much more powerful hardware and a full color screen. The Lynx was a victim of a high price point, more than double the price of the Gameboy, and incredibly poor battery performance.  The Sega Game Gear was another contender in the space in 1990. The $150 price point, bad battery life, and inconvenient size made the Game Gear less than ideal for traveling. In the ensuing years, several other companies would throw their hat into the ring with handhelds like the Wonderswan, Game.Com, Tapwave Zodiac, Gizmondo, Neo Geo Pocket Color, etc.. But, nothing seemed to make more than a dent in sales.

Over the years several revisions were made to the original Gameboy. There were new colors, the Gameboy Pocket, and the Gameboy Color. Many will argue that the Gameboy Color is actually a separate platform. But, in truth, the true successor to the Gameboy wouldn’t arrive until 2001 with the release of the Gameboy Advance. The Gameboy Advance would go on to be the highest selling system of all-time, only to be surpassed by Nintendo’s follow-up the Nintendo DS.

The Gameboy has one of the most enduring legacies in all of video games. Receiving a Gameboy for Christmas in 1989 is one of my favorite childhood memories. I still own that big gray brick and while I haven’t turned it on in years, I have faith that if I threw in a pair of AAs it would fire right up. Below I have listed a few of my favorite original Gameboy games. Feel free to let me know if you have some favorites that I have missed.

  1. Pokemon Red/Blue
  2. Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
  3. Tetris
  4. Super Mario Land 2
  5.  Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages/Seasons
  6. Metroid II
  7. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Fall of the Foot Clan
  8. Super Mario Land 3: Wario Land
  9. Heiankyo Alien