Game Boy Classic Game System - NOS - Japan

The Nintendo Game Boy original is a handheld gaming device that those who grew up in the 1990s would be very familiar with.  It was released in Japan in 1989 and quickly became a worldwide phenomenon.  The stats say it all, with over 118 million units sold globally it was a gaming device that the world had never seen and was waiting for.

For many, the Game Boy was their first proper immersive experience of portable gaming. Its black and white screen and simplistic “dot matrix” graphics may seem primitive by today’s standards, but at the time, it was a technological marvel. The sound was great also, with an almost “surround sound” effect at times.  It was brilliant with headphones too, immersing you even further into the game.

The device was powered by four AA batteries and could run for hours, making it the perfect travel companion for long car journeys or boring family events.  You could also get your hands on an AC adapter and save a ton of money on batteries, also preventing you from having to steal the batteries out of the TV remote and living room wall clock.

One of the most memorable features of the Game Boy was its huge library of interchangeable cartridge games. Cartridge games had become the norm for gaming systems that you would normally plug into your TV, but the Game Boy original changed all of that, allowing you the same choice but on a handheld device.  Classics such as Super Mario Land, Tetris and The Legend of Zelda were all available on the device. These games were simple yet addictive, providing hours of entertainment for gamers of all ages. Home product catalogues were getting special feature pages advertising Game Boy games and accessories. The device was surrounded by excitement and intrigue, the TV ads fuelled the demand even further.

The Game Boy also had a unique multiplayer feature. By connecting two Game Boys together with a link cable, players could compete against each other in games like Tetris. This feature allowed players to interact with each other in a way that had been not possible on handheld consoles at the time. With the link cable coming inside the box, this was yet another feature that changed the world of gaming courtesy of Nintendo.

Despite its success, the Game Boy was not without its flaws. Its lack of colour and backlit screen made it difficult to play in low-light conditions, you’d sometimes have to awkwardly sit under a light to see the screen properly at night, as the batteries start to run out, the dot matrix screen would slowly but surely pale, as you’d set the contrast to max, speeding the last remaining battery drain up even further.  The device’s large size made it less than pocket-portable also, so it would need to be carried around in a bag of some sorts.

There were many third-party accessories appearing on the market to combat these niggles, like screen magnifiers with lights and device carry cases. Nevertheless, these imperfections were almost irrelevant as when you had the Game Boy up and running, it truly was a masterpiece that Nintendo constructed, it was awesome.

In conclusion, the Nintendo Game Boy original was a ground breaking device that revolutionised portable gaming. Even playing games like Tetris on the device today draws you in, letting time fly by.

Its black and white “green” dot matrix screen, simplistic graphics and huge library of classic games was literally a game changer and is still great fun today. Well done Nintendo.