First introduced in 1980 and manufactured until 1991, Game & Watch was a series of handheld games (59 in total) sold by Nintendo before the Game Boy swept the world. Unlike Game Boy, each black and white Game & Watch game could only play one game.
Like all Game & Watch devices released after 1981, new devices can become alarm clocks with the tap of a button. This watch features 35 Mario screensaver scenes that interact with the watch.
Game & Watch wasn’t Nintendo’s first video game attempt, but it was the first successful attempt to pave the way for the 1985 Nintendo Entertainment System and the 1989 Game Boy.
Game & Watch isn’t as famous as Nintendo’s other gaming systems, but it was the first system with a + -shaped directional pad first discovered in the 1982 Donkey Kong Game & Watch. Its success has also given some legitimacy to handheld games. This was a niche that video game makers weren’t sure about in the 1970s.
Nintendo is an anonymous character, Mr. Game, who has released versions over the last decade and appears in many of the early Game & Watch games.
Now it’s Game & Watch’s turn in the limelight. The 40th Anniversary Edition of Game & Watch will be available for a limited time on November 13th.
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