A two-inch screen and an 8-bit system, all packaged in a hard grey plastic case that ran on four AA batteries.
On July 31, 1989, the Game Boy hit the American markets and video games haven’t been the same since. Although the Game Boy was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, it wasn’t until a few months later that the console made it to America.
The NES made Nintendo famous, but it was the Game Boy that helped to solidify Nintendo’s legacy. The Game Boy sold 1 million units within just a couple of weeks. Until 2004, th console sold better than any other Nintendo system, including the original, the Super NES, and Nintendo 64. It wasn’t until the Nintendo DS was released that the record was beaten.
Although the Game Boy is almost prehistoric now compared to the consoles people carry around every day, compared to smartphones even, in 1989 a portable gaming device was breakthrough technology. The game almost wasn’t made at all due to difficulties with the device’s technology and logistics. However, ultimately the problems were resolved due to advancements in tech and software, mainly with LCD screens.
The Game Boy may have become the biggest console, but it was not the only one. The Atari Lynx was released a few months after the Game Boy, and the Sega Game Gear a few months after that. Yet, the Game Boy stood apart and rose above the competition. The handheld game was easier to hold, cheaper, and had a longer battery life.
The console was also packaged with Tetris, a puzzle game that appealed to people of all ages. Initially, Super Mario Land was going to be packaged with the game, but Henk Rogers convinced Nintendo to use Tetris instead. The goal was that, instead of just kids wanting the game, people of all ages could find interest in it. Because of this decision, the Game Boy became the first console to be played in space, and Tetris became the first game played in space.
The game library was steadily built up through the years, with many of the early games being adaptations of popular arcade games. Pokémon, Legend of Zelda, and Super Mario Land are just some of the games that drew people to the console.
Nintendo has continued its reign of handheld devices with the Nintendo Switch, which blends portability with larger, more powerful gaming systems.
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Author: Lily Elizabeth Bolanos










