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Game & Watch is a line of hybrid LCD handheld watch and video games released by Nintendo, they would manufacture 60 games between 1980 and 1991. The line was conceived by Gunpei Yokoi, and was Nintendo's second venture into the video game market. The line features simple score based gameplay as well as a clock with alarm. Nintendo would port some of their arcade and home console games, and would make games based on there Donkey Kong, Super Mario, and Legend of Zelda franchises. They would also make games based on Disney's Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, as well as other cartoon characters like Snoopy and Popeye. The line would be discontinued a little after the launch of the Gameboy.
In 2020, Nintendo would release Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros. and later Game & Watch: The Legend of Zelda in 2021.
History[]
Ball, the first game of the series.
The games were created by Nintendo designer Gunpei Yokoi who was hand picked by the Nintendo president after finding unique toys that the man had made before. Gunpei Yokoi would later go on to create the Game Boy, Metroid, Super Mario Land, and the Virtual Boy, among other products.
After 58 of the 60 games had been released, Nintendo made a surprising choice to release the Game Boy which featured interchangeable cartridges similar to the NES. Some consider the Game & Watch to be the handheld variant of the Color TV Game series - Which, like the Game & Watch, were units that featured one game and one game only, and would later feature a successor with interchangeable cartridges.
After the Game Boy was released, Nintendo quit production of the Game & Watch series about a year later in the 90's. A revival of the games were released in the late 90's under the name of Miniclassics which were rereleases of the classics that were placed in small units that featured a key chain, as well as the Game & Watch Gallery series which included modern and classic versions.
The Game & Watch system received a brief revival in 2020 where it released Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros., which featured both Super Mario Bros. and The Lost Levels, as well as a timer function, and later Game & Watch: The Legend of Zelda, which included The Legend of Zelda, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, the original Game Boy version of Link's Awakening, and a modified version of Vermin featuring Link and Octoroks, as well as a clock and timer function. Both games were released as part of their respective franchises' 35th anniversaries.
Mr. Game & Watch[]
Mr. Game & Watch is the name given to the character found within most Game & Watch games. He can arguably be considered the mascot of the franchise. The name was given to him when he was introduced as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Melee for the GameCube. He also appeared as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Wii, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate for the Nintendo Switch. His attacks are all references to old Game & Watch games.
Trivia[]
- The creators of the Homestar Runner series of cartoons have created an online game known as Pigs on Head, based entirely on G&W games.
- Mr. Game & Watch's Final Smash in Brawl and 3DS/Wii U turns him into the Octopus found in the Game & Watch game titled "Octopus" listed above.
- In Super Paper Mario, the Flipside/Flopside Pits of 100 Trials and minigame, Hammer Bash, looks like the Game & Watch's Black and White LED screen.
- The Game & Watch Multi-Screen -line was the main inspiration for the Nintendo DS system, more so with the Nintendo DS Lite system.
- Multiple companies would help Nintendo create their Game & Watch units, including Mego, CGL, Ji2l, Futuretronics, Bienegraeber&co, and Videopoche. While the games themselves were virtually unchanged, the box that the game came in were different as each one was custom made by the respective company.
External links[]
- Game & Watch at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Commercial for the Game & Watch at the Museum of Classic Chicago Television