With the special editions of Super Mario Bros. y The Legend of Zelda Launched in the last two years, the Game & Watch is back in fashion.
as you know, these consoles are new versions of ones that were released in the 1980s and 1990s.
What is the history of the Game & Watch? What are the consoles that make up the series? This is what we are going to talk about here. Continue reading to find out more!
It all started on a train ride
Not counting the previously mentioned special editions of Mario and Zelda, the Game & Watch are a series of 59 consoles that were released between 1980 and 1991.
We owe these consoles to Gunpei Yokoia prolific video game developer who is also the father of the mythical Game Boy.
Yokoi had been head of Nintendo’s Research and Development division in the 1970s, designing physical toys, and in 1979 he had an idea that would go on to revolutionize the world of handheld consoles.
While traveling on the bullet train, he saw a bored businessman, playing with a calculator by pressing the different buttons; it was then that he came up with the idea of a digital clock, which would function as a miniature game machine, which could always be carried with him.
Shortly thereafter, he presented the idea to Hiroshi Yamauchi, president of Nintendo at the time. Yamauchi loved the idea and promptly called a meeting with Yokoi himself and the CEO of Sharp Corporation to greenlight the project.
Thus, on April 28, 1980, it goes on the market Ballthe first console of the successful series.
Features and operation
Before going fully into the different Game & Watch models, it is worth mentioning the various characteristics that defined them.
these consoles they use the technology of a portable calculator that, instead of displaying numbers, executes actions on images already drawn on its screen. Thus, using the controls, the character changes and the illusion that it is moving is generated.
As far as operation is concerned, the machines in this series, as their name suggests, had a clock function and incorporated a single game. You could easily switch between one function and another by pressing a button.
In the case of some models, like the Ball one shown above, there were two game buttons depending on the difficulty we wanted to play.
Different models throughout history
As already mentioned, in the 11 years that they were on the market, 59 different consoles were launched, and more than 43 million units were sold.
Of course, and as you well know, not a single model was marketed, but rather, over time, several were sold.
In this sense, the first of them was the one corresponding to the serie Silver, so named because its front plate was silver. They launched five games of this series in the year 1980: Ball, Flagman, Vermin, Fire and Judge.
The following model is the one corresponding to the serie Gold, so named because its plate was golden. It had three titles, which were released during the first months of 1981: Manhole, Helmet and Lion.
Beyond the color of the plate, this second series was not too different from the first.
More and bigger screens
Between 1981 and 1982, two new Game & Watch models were launched on the market: the serie Wide Screen and the serie Multi Screen.
The main characteristic of the first model was that it had a bigger screen than the Silver and Gold series, in addition to having a different button layout than these, while what characterized the second model was that had two screens.
The Wide Screen series had a total of 10 different consoleamong which those of Popeye, Mickey Mouse, Snoopy Tennis or the one in the previous image, Octopus, which went on sale during 1981 and 1982, stood out.
An improved version of this model was also released, known as the serie New Wide Screenwhich featured 8 different consoles, released between 1982 and 1991.
This new series, which included titles such as Donkey Kong Jr
The Multi Screen series, mentioned above, also featured more customized models. They were launched, between 1982 and 1989, 12 different consoles of this series, among which we can highlight those of Zelda, Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong II, Pinball o Gold Cliff.
As you can imagine, the design of this series was reused in future Nintendo handheld consolessuch as Game Boy Advance SP, Nintendo DS or Nintendo 3DS.
In addition, one peculiarity must be mentioned. And it is that, in 1983, they were put up for sale three models of the Multi Screen series that opened horizontally, of which we can highlight the Mario Bros.
full color screens
While continuing to release consoles for the Wide Screen and Multi Screen series, Nintendo began to release, between 1983 and 1984, some new and peculiar models. Although, as you will see below, they were all different, they did have one characteristic in common: They had a color screen..
The first of these models is serie Tabletopwhich were placed on a surface to play, instead of being held in the hands, and were reminiscent of arcade machines.
Four models of this peculiar console were launched: Donkey Kong Jr., Mario’s Cement Factory, which is the one you can see in the image, Popeye and Snoopy.
But if there is a really curious model, that is the one with the Panorama series. This new line, which featured six different consoles, was characterized by having a mirror where the screen was reflected
The serie SuperColor it featured an elongated vertical screen and a silver casing. Two models of this console were released, Spitball Sparky and Crab Grab, and the gameplay was mainly from the bottom up.
To play accompanied and with ultra-thin screens
At this point, it remains to highlight two more models, which I have decided to talk about in a separate section due to their peculiarities.
The first one is the one corresponding to the serie Micro VS., whose main characteristic was that had two “controls”which were stored inside the console, and which allowed to carry out multiplayer games.
3 different models were launched in the year 1984: Punch Out!!!, Donkey Kong 3 y Donkey Kong Hockey.
The other console is the one in the serie Crystal Screenwhich was released in 1986. The peculiarity of this model, which had 3 different consoles, is that it had a transparent and very thin screen, and it was possible to see through it.
As data, it should be noted that the games in the Crystal Screen series They are very hard to findso they have high prices on the second-hand market.
Serie Colour Screen
Almost 30 years after the release of the last Game & Watch model, we have received a new installment in the series of consoles.
On the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the Super Mario Bros. and 40th anniversary of the Game and Watch, in 2020 a new console of our favorite plumber was released.
This new console features the original Super Mario Bros., as well as Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, a Ball version of Mario, and of course, a digital clock.
In addition, last year saw the light of the last installment of the series of consoles, that of The Legend of Zeldareleased to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the release of the first Link game.
This console features The Legend of Zelda, the original NES title, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, and The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening. Of course, and how could it be otherwise, it also has a digital clock.
and up to here our review of the history of Game & Watch, Nintendo. Now it’s your turn: How do you think the future of the saga will be? Will they release more consoles? What game would you like to see? Do not hesitate to leave us your opinion in the comments.
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