Game & Watch[a] is a series of handheld electronic games developed by Nintendo. Designed by Gunpei Yokoi, the first game, Ball was released in 1980 and the original production run of the devices continued until 1991. The name Game & Watch reflects their dual functionality: a single game paired with a digital clock on a segmented liquid-crystal display (LCD) screen. The Game & Watch series proved a monumental success, selling a total of 43.4 million units globally, marking Nintendo's first major worldwide success with a video game console.
The Game & Watch was the brainchild of designer Gunpei Yokoi, head of the Nintendo Research & Development 1 division, which had been focused on designing physical toys and games. As arcade and home video game consoles gained popularity in the United States, their influence began to reach Japan, prompting Nintendo to explore this emerging trend.[3]
The inspiration for Game & Watch came to Yokoi while traveling on a Shinkansen high-speed train, where he saw a bored businessman idly pressing buttons on a calculator. This observation sparked the idea of a watch that could double as a miniature gaming system for passing the time.[4] Yokoi pitched the concept to Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi, while driving him to a business meeting after the company chauffeur called out sick. Although Yamauchi did not comment at the time, his meeting happened to be with the CEO of Sharp Corporation, then the world’s leading manufacturer of calculators. Their discussion of Yokoi’s idea led to a formal collaboration, and within a week, Yokoi was invited to a meeting between Nintendo and Sharp, where he received approval to develop a calculator-sized gaming device.[3]
The resulting devices featured a 4-bit CPU from Sharp's SM5xx family, paired with 1,792bytes of ROM, 65bytes of RAM across four banks for data storage, and an LCD screen driver circuit.[5][6]
Within R&D1, Yokoi championed "lateral thinking with withered technology",[b] a design philosophy which eschewed cutting-edge technology in favor of innovative use of mature technologies, which tended to be more affordable and reliable.[7]
The Game & Watch was conceived with this philosophy in mind.[8] At the time, Sharp and Casio were engaged in fierce competition within the digital calculator market, leading to a glut of liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and semiconductors. The "lateral thinking" was to find an original and fun use for this cheap and abundant technology.[9]
Although companies such as Mattel and Tomy had previously introduced handheld electronic games, their devices were often bulky, relied on low-resolution LED displays, and offered limited gameplay sophistication.[9] The Game & Watch addressed these shortcomings through its compact, lightweight design and a segmented LCD screen, which provided improved visual clarity and gameplay experience. The device’s name reflected its dual functionality: a single-game paired with a digital clock (like a watch).[10][11]
The first game was called Ball, and while initial sales weren't reportedly "astonishing", but they were enough to persuade Nintendo to continue developing the device, which would lead to dozens of titles over the next decade.[12]
In North America, the games were initially launched through Mego Corporation as the Time-Out series which included Ball (renamed Toss-Up), Flagman, Vermin (renamed Exterminator), and Fire (retitled Fireman Fireman). This partnership ended within a year, and Nintendo of America began distributing the series under their original titles.[13]
Donkey Kong, showing its revolutionary D-pad and multi-screen clamshell design
Starting in 1981, devices incorporated an alarm function, further enhancing their practicality as a watch.[14] By mid-1982, the limitations of single-screen LCDs led to the development of the Multi Screen Series, beginning with Oil Panic. This innovation effectively doubled the gameplay area by incorporating a second screen. Shortly thereafter, Nintendo's highly successful Donkey Kongarcade game was adapted for the Multi Screen format, requiring an alternative to the traditional joystick, which was impractical for handheld gaming. This challenge led to the invention of the now-iconic D-pad, a flat, four-way directional control that allowed for precise movement with minimal space requirements.[12][15][16] The D-pad design was later honored with a Technology & Engineering Emmy Award in 2008.[17][18] The clamshell design of the Multi Screen Series was said to inspire the later Game Boy Advance SP, Nintendo DS, and Nintendo 3DS handhelds.[19]
Ultimately, the Game & Watch series proved a monumental success, selling a total of 43.4 million units worldwide, including 12.87 million units in Japan and 30.53 million units overseas.[20] This marked Nintendo's first major worldwide success with a Nintendo video game product.[21]
Over the initial eleven year life span of the Game & Watch line, 60 different games were produced for sale.[22] These games came in eleven different series, each with a different form-factor:
Silver (1980) – the first version of the Game & Watch
Gold (1981) – added alarm clock function, color backgrounds, and a built-in wire loop stand
Wide Screen (1981–1982) – introduced a 30% larger LCD panel in a slightly wider form factor
Vertical Multi Screen (1982–1989) – Two LCD panels in a vertical folding clamshell unit
Horizontal Multi Screen (1983) – Two LCD panels in a right-to-left opening clamshell unit
New Wide Screen (1982–1991) – an updated version of the Wide Screen series; used colorful metal faceplates for each game
Tabletop (1983) – made to compete with Coleco; ambient light transmitted through the translucent top illuminated a full-color LCD panel that reflected onto an integrated mirror for display
Panorama (1983–1984) - Similar design to the Tabletop units, but folded into a compact size via an articulated hinge
Super Color (1984) – Used a long portrait-oriented LCD panel with color overlays to color the display elements
Micro Vs. System (1984) – Used a very wide horizontal LCD panel; allowed 2-player games via two external wired control pads
Crystal Screen (1986) – Used a unique large see-through LCD panel with no reflective background; all three games later re-released as New Wide Screen titles
Titles included characters from other Nintendo franchises including The Legend of Zelda and Mario Bros. Nintendo also licensed third-party characters including Mickey Mouse.
There was also one "prize" game that was built but never sold. It was a yellow-cased version of Super Mario Bros. that came in a plastic box modeled after the Disk-kun character Nintendo used to advertise their Famicom Disk System.[23] The prize game was given to winners of Nintendo's F-1 Grand Prix tournament. As only 10,000 units were produced and it was never available for retail sale, the yellow version is considered rare.[22]
The Game & Watch series sold 14 million units worldwide during its first year of release by 1981.[24] The Game & Watch version of Donkey Kong released in 1982 sold 8 million units.[2]Mario the Juggler, released in 1991, was the last game created in the Game & Watch series.[25]
Game A and Game B
Most of the titles have a "GAME A" and a "GAME B" button. Game B is generally a faster, more difficult version of Game A, although exceptions do exist:
In Squish, Game B is radically different from Game A—the player must touch aliens to eliminate them as opposed to avoiding moving walls.[26]
In Flagman, Game B is a mode where the player has to press the right button within a certain amount of time, not memorize patterns.
In Judge, Boxing, Donkey Kong 3, and Donkey Kong Hockey, Game B is a two-player version of Game A.[27]
In Climber,[28]Balloon Fight,[29] and Super Mario Bros.,[30][31] there is no Game B button.
In most cases, both Game A and Game B would increase in speed and/or difficulty as the player progressed, with Game B starting at the level that Game A would reach at 200 points.
The Game & Watch games were renewed between 1995 and 2002 with the Game & Watch Gallery series, five Game & Watch collections released for the Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance. They feature the original ports, as well as new, modernized versions starring the Mario series cast.
From 1998 onward, a number of third-party distributors have been licensed to re-release smaller LCD versions of ten separate Game & Watch games which together compose the Nintendo Mini Classics series.
In 2001, Nintendo released Manhole-e bundled with its Nintendo e-Reader systems.[32] Although an entire line of Game & Watch e-Reader cards were planned, they were never released.
Between July 2006 and March 2010, Nintendo produced two Game & Watch Collection cartridges for the Nintendo DS to be released exclusively for Club Nintendo members. The first cartridge featured three games from the Game & Watch Multi Screen series: Oil Panic, Donkey Kong, and Green House. The second compilation, Game & Watch Collection 2, contained Parachute, Octopus, and a new dual-screen game with Parachute on the top screen and Octopus on the bottom. Both cartridges are now available to the general public.
Between July 2009 and April 2010 Nintendo released nine separate Game & Watch ports for DSiWare including remakes of Ball (called Game & Watch: Ball),[33]Flagman (called Game & Watch: Flagman), Manhole (called Game & Watch: Manhole),[34] and Mario's Cement Factory (called Game & Watch: Mario's Cement Factory) among others.[35][36]
In March 2010, Takara Tomy released officially licensed Game & Watch-styled keychains, based on the Wide Screen series editions of Octopus, Parachute, and Chef. They do not actually run the games, instead just display a demo screen. While the game cannot be played, the speed at which the demo runs can be adjusted. The batteries are recharged with solar panels on the unit.[37]
Ball was rereleased exclusively via Club Nintendo, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Game & Watch, with the Club Nintendo logo on the back. Unlike the original release, this version includes a mute switch.[38] For members of the Japanese Club Nintendo, it was shipped in April 2010 to Platinum members.[39][40] For members of the North American Club Nintendo, it was available for 1200 coins from February 2011.[41][42] For members of the European Club Nintendo, it was available for 7500 stars from November 2011.[43][44]
In 2020, Nintendo published a limited run Game & Watch system named Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros. as part of their Super Mario Bros. 35th Anniversary celebrations. This system contained the full NES versions of Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, along with a variant of Ball with Mario's head (or Luigi's head, with a cheat code) replacing the original character's head. The included release of The Lost Levels went by its original Japanese title, Super Mario Bros. 2, in all regions. It was released on 13 November.[45] Unlike the classic Game & Watch consoles that used disposable batteries, the console instead has a built-in rechargeable battery that charges by a USB-C cable.[46]
The Game & Watch made handheld video game consoles vastly popular. Many toy companies followed in the footsteps of Game & Watch, such as Tiger Electronics and their Star Wars themed games. Elektronika released a line of Game & Watch clones in the Soviet Union, the IM-02.[48]
Nintendo's Game & Watch units were eventually superseded by the original Game Boy. Each Game & Watch was only able to play one game, due to the use of a segmented LCD display being pre-printed with an overlay. The speed and responsiveness of the games was also limited by the time it took the LCD to change state. The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) controllers were based on the controls in Game & Watch, and Game & Watch Multi Screen version became the model on which the Nintendo DS was based.
The Game & Watch Gallery series recreates the Game & Watch games in video game form, with modes that imitate the LCD displays and modes that modernise the graphics and include Mario characters. Game & Watch games have also been released through DSiWare.
Nintendo Land for the Wii U has a mini-game named Octopus Dance that is based on the Game & Watch game Octopus.[50]
Game & Wario for the Wii U, a play-on-words of the Game & Watch, heavily references the Game & Watch line, including the ability to play a virtual Game & Watch version of Pyoro, called Bird.
The Game & Watch brand is represented in Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. series with the character Mr. Game & Watch. First appearing in Super Smash Bros. Melee, the character was redefined and designed to match his presentation as a generic stick figure-styled silhouette in the Game & Watch devices: he moves with limited animation, he is purely two dimensional, his noises only consist of beeps, and his abilities correlate to the presentation in the Game & Watch games. Beyond Super Smash Bros., Mr. Game & Watch has also appeared in Game & Watch Gallery 4, wherein he is the manager of the "classic games" area alongside Mario. He also makes a cameo appearances in Donkey Kong Country Returns and Rhythm Heaven Fever.
↑ "昔(1970年代）のテレビゲームは何台売れた？"[How many old (1970s) video games sold?]. Classic Videogame Station Odyssey (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 9 January 2014. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
