Game & Watch

Game & Watch The beginning of Nintendo's dominance in the handheld gaming market! (and much better than Tiger Electronics!) Developer: Nintendo Release Date: 1980 Successor: Game Boy Generation: Second Generation

Game & Watch (Japanese: ゲーム&ウオッチ Gēmu & Uotchi; called Tricotronic in West Germany and Austria) is a line of handheld electronic games produced by Nintendo from 1980 to 1991.

Created by game designer Gunpei Yokoi, each Game & Watch features a single game to be played on an LCD screen in addition to a clock, an alarm, or both. This console inspired Nintendo to make the Game Boy. It was the earliest Nintendo product to garner major success.

Why It Rocks

1. It is the first portable console ever made by Nintendo.
2. Many fun and simple games, among them, many platforms.
3. A few Mario games were made.
4. The NES controllers were based on the controls of the Game & Watch.
5. The iconic cross D-pad began life on the Donkey Kong Game & Watch from 1982.
6. The Game & Watch multi-screen version became the model on which the Nintendo DS was based.
7. It was very cheap at its time, but now it is ultra expensive and rare. Only a few collectors among the world possess one of this.
8. Many NES games, such as Zelda, Donkey Kong and Castlevania has ports to this console.
9. Mr. Game and Watch made it to the Super Smash Bros. series.
10. They fared way better than the Tiger Electronics handhelds.
11. It has a long battery life, mainly due to the built-in clock.