If you only played the simple parts of “Ball” or “Vermin” for the 35th anniversary, you may be scratching your head what all the fuss is about. But trust me, later Game & Watch titles have a lot more depth. And Gallery’s modern displays dramatically elevate the experience to fully realize the addictive score-chasing gameplay mechanics of their 1980s LCD predecessors.
One of the striking things you’ll notice about classic-style Game and Watch titles is how charming they are despite their technical limitations, embodying Gunpei Yokoi – the pioneering engineer who created the Game & Watch and Game Boy (and the unloved Virtual Boy ) – the development principle of “lateral thinking with withering technology”, which the Big N still adheres to.
At its simplest, it means harnessing cheap, readily available technology in new and wonderful ways. The Game & Watch totally nailed it, and I believe that’s why its titles are still addictive today, even for aspiring gamers like my sassy niece. I also personally see the Game & Watch as one of the best ‘commuting games’.
You may be familiar with the old anecdote about Yokoi observing a bored Japanese worker pecking at a calculator while riding the subway sometime in the 1970s. Office dwellers clearly need something more fun to do while commuting. At that moment, Yokoi saw a gap in the gaming market that he would fill with the Game & Watch.
These days there is no shortage of electronic things that distract you from your work. While the Switch does a brilliant job of carrying home console gaming on the go, I’ll admit that I don’t like playing large-scale, mechanically dense games out in the wild, especially in crowded environments. Doing so is dizzying and makes me feel like I’m wasting gameplay that should rightfully be on my shiny 55 inch.
When I’m out there, I watch arcade-style games that chase the score; charming and simple short entertainment while getting from point A to point B. You can go for Switch Lite (I want it) or punish yourself with ad-laden mobile games. But what I really want on my commute is the ‘best of’ Game & Watch collection, with the feel of the buttons and the beautiful design of the 35th Anniversary model.
It’s an itch the Switch can’t solve.
This product line is an integral part of Nintendo’s history, leading to innovations such as the four-way trackpad and dual-screen clamshell design. With the 45th anniversary coming up in two years, Nintendo might release some (more) Game & Watch titles on the Switch. We used to have relatively rare compilations. But now it’s high time for a dedicated device to commemorate these iconic games.
While I’m excited about the 35th Anniversary models, what I wanted from them was, ironically, more Game & Watch content – not necessarily NES games that can be optimally played on the Switch with the old Switch Online NES controller. It’s true that these commemorative devices were created more for display than for play, which is fine.
But if there was a proper collection of games and watches with at least a dozen or more games in their classic and modern iterations according to Gallery of games and viewing, I would double dip. One for shelf display and the other for continuous play on the subway. Wherever the late Yokoi is now, his legacy would be best honored if one less bored payer came home.
