Nintendo Mini Classics are a series of small LCD games licensed by Nintendo since 1998. Most games in the series are reissues of Game & Watch titles, but the series does include titles that were not from the original Game & Watch line, like Spider-Man , Carrera and Yu-Gi-Oh! .
Each Mini Classics unit is designed to look like a small Game Boy. Units typically have a D-pad and three buttons. A large action button is also used for setting the alarm, and two smaller buttons typically marked "Game A" and "Game B" but could also serve different functions depending on the game. A keychain is attached to the top left-hand corner but could be removed. Most units also had a stand on the back. Some games, however, do not have a stand, especially the Dual-screen releases such as Oil Panic and Donkey Kong. Similar to the Game and Watch, the Nintendo Mini Classics units have alarm clock features. Each unit is powered by two 11.6x4.2 mm batteries (AG13/Button Cell/LR44/L1154/386/301/186), which are packaged with the Nintendo Mini Classic.
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Some of the Mini Classics models, particularly the often-reissued Mario and Donkey Kong titles, have undergone several different color changes since the original 1998 releases, mostly due to multiple companies working with Nintendo to make and distribute the titles. Some titles have also been given new color-tinted LCD displays since then. The companies that help distribute them are also responsible for the programming for their versions of the titles, which is why some might sound and behave differently.
More than 10 million Nintendo Mini Classics were sold by Stadlbauer. [5]
Donkey Kong, also shortened to DK, is a fictional gorilla in the Donkey Kong and Mario video game series, created by Shigeru Miyamoto. The original Donkey Kong first appeared as the title character and antagonist of the eponymous 1981 game, a platformer by Nintendo, which would lead to the Donkey Kong series. The Donkey Kong Country series was launched in 1994 with a new Donkey Kong as the protagonist. This version of the character persists as the main one up to today. While the 1980s games' Donkey Kong and the modern Donkey Kong share the same name, the manual for Donkey Kong Country and subsequent games portray the former as Cranky Kong, the latter's grandfather, with the exception of Donkey Kong 64 and The Super Mario Bros. Movie, in which Cranky is depicted as his father, alternatively portraying the modern Donkey Kong as the original Donkey Kong from the arcade games. Donkey Kong is considered one of the most popular and iconic characters in video game history.
Nintendo Selects was a marketing label used by Nintendo to promote video games on current Nintendo game consoles that have sold well. Nintendo Selects titles were sold at a lower price point than new releases. The program paralleled other budget range software by Sega, Sony, and Microsoft to promote best-selling games on their consoles as well. In Japan, the discount label was introduced in 2015 for various Nintendo 3DS titles as the Happy Price Selection, although South Korea adopted the Nintendo Selects name at an earlier period. The Nintendo Selects program ended with the Wii U and 3DS, and as of January 2023, no Switch games have been rebranded as Nintendo Selects. Instead, Nintendo discounts them for $5 or $10 off during the holiday season and other occasions in the year.
Donkey Kong is a 1981 arcade video game developed and published by Nintendo. As Mario, the player runs and jumps on platforms and climbs ladders to ascend a construction site and rescue Pauline from the titular giant gorilla. It is the first game in the Donkey Kong series as well as Mario's first appearance in a video game.
Mario's Cement Factory is a 1983 LCD game developed and published by Nintendo under their Game & Watch series. It follows earlier Mario games, like the arcade and Game & Watch versions of Donkey Kong. Players control Mario as he navigates elevators and funnels cement through a factory, while trying to prevent the cement from crushing his fellow workers. Two versions of the game were released — a Table Top unit and a handheld game akin to most other Game & Watch titles. Development was headed by Nintendo R&D1, led by engineer Gunpei Yokoi.
Donkey Kong is a 1994 platform video game developed by Nintendo and Pax Softnica and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy. Donkey Kong is loosely based on the 1981 arcade game of the same name and its sequel Donkey Kong Jr.
LCD games are electronic games played on an LCD screen. Since the release of the Zelda Game & Watch game in August 1989, several LCD games based upon the theme of The Legend of Zelda have been licensed by Nintendo to be released for both Japanese and foreign markets. While Zelda was both developed and manufactured by Nintendo, later LCD games would only be licensed by Nintendo. The Legend of Zelda game watch is an LCD wristwatch game produced by Nelsonic as part of their Nelsonic Game Watch series, and Zelda no Densetsu: Kamigami no Triforce is an LCD fighting video game licensed by Nintendo and produced by Epoch Co. for the Barcode Battler II platform, and released only in Japan.
Nintendo Research & Development No. 1 Department, commonly abbreviated as Nintendo R&D1, was Nintendo's oldest video game development team. It was known as Nintendo Research & Development Department before splitting in 1978. Its creation coincided with Nintendo's entry into the video game industry, and the original R&D1 was headed by Gunpei Yokoi. The developer has created several notable Nintendo series such as Metroid, Mario Bros. and Donkey Kong.
Game & Watch games have had many different re-releases.
Donkey Kong is a video game franchise created by Shigeru Miyamoto and owned by Nintendo. It follows the adventures of a gorilla, named Donkey Kong, and his family and friends consisting of various primates. The franchise primarily consists of platform games—originally single-screen action puzzle games and later side-scrolling platformers. The first is the 1981 arcade game Donkey Kong, debuting the main antagonist Donkey Kong and the hero Mario, in an industrial construction setting. The game was a massive success and was followed by two sequels released in 1982 and 1983. In 1994, the franchise was relaunched with the platformer Donkey Kong Country, in which Donkey Kong is antagonized by a variety of anthropomorphic enemies, mainly the Kremlings, a clan of crocodiles led by King K. Rool, who has stolen the Kongs' banana hoard.
The Japanese multinational consumer electronics company Nintendo has developed seven home video game consoles and multiple portable consoles for use with external media, as well as dedicated consoles and other hardware for their consoles. As of September 30, 2021, in addition to Nintendo Switch, Nintendo has sold over 863.07 million hardware units.
GameCube accessories include first-party releases from Nintendo, and third-party devices, since the GameCube's launch in 2001.
Mario is a Japanese multimedia franchise created by Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto for video game company Nintendo which produces and publishes its installments. Starring the titular Italian plumber Mario, it is primarily a video game franchise, but has extended to other forms of media, including television series, comic books, a 1993 feature film, a 2023 animated film and theme park attractions. The series' first installment was 1983's Mario Bros., although Mario had made his first appearance in 1981's Donkey Kong, and had already been featured in several games of the Donkey Kong and Game & Watch series. The Mario games have been developed by a wide variety of developers including Nintendo, Hudson Soft, and AlphaDream. Mario games have been released almost exclusively for Nintendo's various video game consoles and handhelds, from the third generation onward.
Nelsonic Industries is an American electronics manufacturing and development company that operated from Long Island City, Queens, New York City in the early 1980s and throughout the 1990s when it was acquired by the watch-manufacturer, M.Z. Berger. Nelsonic produced numerous toy-themed wristwatches, often targeting younger audiences with likenesses of characters from popular franchises such as Barbie, the Ghostbusters, and Mario. Nelsonic became notable during the early mid-1980s for being the first electronics company in the United States to produce game-watches. For a period subsequent to its purchase by M.Z. Berger, Nelsonic operated as a subsidiary division of its parent company and game-watches were produced that bore the Nelsonic mark. This practice ended as M.Z. Berger shifted focus to more traditional and higher-end timepieces. Today the original Nelsonic Game Watch line has entered the secondary market and individual Game Watches have become highly sought-after collectibles that often fetch high prices on eBay and other online auction websites.
The Game & Watch brand is a series of handheld electronic games developed, manufactured, released, and marketed by Nintendo from 1980 to 1991. Created by game designer Gunpei Yokoi, the product derived its name from it featuring a single game as well as a clock on an LCD screen. The models from 1981 onwards featured an alarm in addition.
Mario vs. Donkey Kong is a crossover spin-off video game series of both the Mario and Donkey Kong franchises, based on puzzle platforming, marking the return of Pauline and the rivalry between Mario and Donkey Kong.
