On April 21, 1989, Nintendo released the Game Boy, a chunky grey game-playing rectangle, to stores in Japan. Despite initial skepticism, the portable console sold out its entire 300,000-unit initial run within two weeks. The Game Boy later launched in the US and the rest of the world, proving equally popular. Thirty-five years and almost 120 million sales later, it remains the fourth best-selling games console in history.
The Game Boy, developed by a team led by Satoru Okada and Gunpei Yokoi in Kyoto, is a tech design icon of its time, still instantly recognisable from its silhouette alone. It was designed so simply – with four buttons and a cross-shaped directional pad – that users knew how to use it as soon as they looked at it. Its greyscale screen allowed the battery to last for days of play. Most importantly, it was robust enough to withstand the rough handling of 90s kids.
Despite its chunky and retro-looking design, the Game Boy became a best-seller, spawning a line of successors from the Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance to the Nintendo DS and even its Switch. The reason for its success was the extraordinary games whose vibrancy transcended the confines of its tiny greyish-green screen. The best-remembered of these is undoubtedly Tetris.
The Game Boy was played by everyone, girls and boys, men and women, shared among families; it was a portal to other, smaller worlds, and it introduced millions to the magic of games. Despite the rise of more advanced consoles, the Game Boy’s legacy continues to endure.
Read more at: www.theguardian.com