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Game and Watch
Gunpei Yokoi, a designer for Nintendo is inspired by a bored businessman playing with his calculator on the train to develop the Game and Watch, the first portable LCD game console. Compared to other electronic games of the time, the Game and Watch was very advanced and was Nintendo's first real success in the video game market. -
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History of Handhelds
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Tomytronic 3D
Tomy releases the Tomytronic 3D, the first 3D dedicated video device and video game system. -
Game Boy
Gunpei Yokoi strikes gold for Nintendo again with the Game Boy, With the Russian puzzle game Tetris packed in with every copy and great games for on the go like Super Mario Land and Kirby's Dream Land, the Game Boy goes onto sell 118 million units across all models. -
Atari Lynx
Just a month after the Game Boy comes to North America, Atari releases the Lynx, the first color LCD handheld. Despite this technological leap forward, the Lynx is completly overshadowed by the Game Boy and sells less than 3 million copies. -
TurboExpress
NEC releases the TurboExpress, a protable version of their own TurboGrafx-16. Much like the Lynx, the TurboExpress and its incrediblly advanced technology is overshadowed by the Game Boy and overlooked because of a hefty pricetag. -
Game Gear hits North America
The Game Boy gets the closest thing to a rival it ever gets in the form of the Game Gear courtesy of Nintendo's rival Sega. The Game Gear was backlit and in full color, but is unable to even come close to beating the juggernaut that was the Game Boy, selling a relatively meager 11 million units. -
Dawn of Pokemania
More than six years into its life span, the Game Boy gets its true killer app: a little game about collecing monsters called Pocket Monsters or Pokemon. Pocket Monsters Red and Green are runaway successes in Japan and find their way to the rest of the world as Pokemon a few years later. Pokemon firmly establishes the Game Boy as the top of the handheld foodchain. -
The Game Boy...in COLOR
Nintendo releases an updated and upgraded version of the Game Boy: The Game Boy Color. Backwards compatible with all Game Boy games and boasting its own library of amazing titles, the Color further tightens Nintendo's near unbreakable grip on the handheld market -
Game Boy goes Advance
After more than a decade of dominance, Nintendo retires the old Game Boy in favor of the Game Boy Advance to compete with ever advancing competition such as the Wonderswan and Neo Geo Pocket. Nintendo's handheld rule continues as teh GBA sells over 80 million units across all models. -
N-Gage Engages Nintendo
Cellphone maker Nokia throws their hand into the handheld market with the N-Gage, a game console-cell phone hybrid. Despite not even coming close to touching the GBA, the N-Gage manages to get more than a little attention to itself. The N-Gage's hybrid nature could also be seen as a precurssor to modern smartphones. -
A New Challenger?
After years with no real competition, Nintendo's handheld dominance finally gets a challener from their old rival Sony in the form of the PlayStation Portable. Selling 76 million copies, the PSP is just about the only handheld game console to put any sort of dent in Nintendo's armor. -
Dual Screen, Double Trouble
Nintendo releases the DS. retiring the Game Boy line entirely. The unusual double screen design, while first of putting, is soon embrace by consumers and developers. The touch screen functionality is also well recieved. The DS practically prints money, becoming the 2nd best selling video game console ever and best selling handheld with 153 Million units sold. -
3DS, Nintendo Stumbles?
Nintendo releases the 3DS, the next generation version of the DS, boasting 3D with no glasses. After a rocky start and a major price drop 6 months after release, the 3DS comes into its own and has sold 32 million units in just over 2 years. -
PlayStation Vita, Sony Stumbles, too?
Not one to be left behind, Sony releases their own next gen handheld: The PlayStation Vita. Much like its competitor, the Vita has a rocky start...one it has yet to overcome, selling around a tenth of the 3DS' current sales. -
2DS....wait, what?
Announced in August, the 2DS is set to releases. Marketed as a budget, starter version of the 3DS, the 2DS has a new design and no 3D capability. Time will tell how this turns out, but considering this isa handheld Nintendo Console, I expect it to sell like hotcakes.
