It has been a quarter of a century since the humble Game Boy brought video games to a whole new audience. In case that makes you feel old, you can perhaps find some solace in the fact that it took over a year to reach Europe, finally showing up in September 1990.
The device itself needs little introduction, as it is perhaps the most iconic and recognisable games console ever released. Despite stiff competition from several technically superior competitors - including the Sega Game Gear - Nintendo's console managed to achieve incredible success. Including the Pocket and Colour models released later, Nintendo sold an estimated 118.7 million Game Boy consoles.
The console was designed by the late Gunpei Yokoi and the team at Nintendo Research & Development 1. The console hosted handheld versions of many pre-existing Nintendo properties, including Mario, Zelda and Metroid. It was also well supported by third party developers and publishers, with series such as Bomberman, Castlevania and Mega Man appearing on the console.
However, the two best selling titles on the console perhaps most effectively indicate the Game Boy's enduring appeal. The first was the Tetris, which sold an estimated 30 million copies. With its accessible yet compulsive gameplay, deep level of challenge and iconic music (we bet it is running through many readers' heads right now), it remains one of the best known video games ever made.
Years later it was the Pokemon games that gave the Game Boy in a new lease of life. Released in Japan in 1996 but not reaching Europe for over three years (unless you imported a copy from the US), the first two games and their strong emphasis on social gameplay bewitched children (and many adults) around the world. Pokemon remains one of Nintendo's most successful series today.
Despite hardware revisions - including the Colour model, which played games the original monochrome model could not - it wasn't until 2001 that Nintendo finally released a true successor in the form of the Game Boy Advance. Only three years later they released the Nintendo DS - the incredibly popular handheld that would eventually surprass the commercial success of the original Game Boy.
The Game Boy itself might have been long since retired by Nintendo, but only a precious few consoles have surprassed it in terms of commercial success and cultural impact. Intriguingly, it continutes to be the driving force behind 'chiptune' or 8-bit music releases:
Main image: Wikimedia Commons
