14 DAY TRIAL // The Game Boy is celebrating 25 years since its launch back in 1989, hallmarking an era of portable gaming that is still going strong even today and confirming Arthur C. Clarke's third law of prediction, the fact that any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
And magic it was, as the handheld ran at a whopping 4 MHz when it came out, and with its 8 KB of RAM it managed to perform wonders and bring joy to hundreds of millions of people from all around the globe, as well as inspire various rip-offs that delivered lasting memories to an even broader audience.
Over the lifetime of the handheld console, a number of 716 games have been made especially for fumbling thumbs and nimble players alike, and a total of 118 million Game Boy and Game Boy Color were sold until the device was made obsolete.
Among the games featured on the Game Boy are industry legends that are still driving sales, such as Donkey Kong, The Legend of Zelda, Kibry's Dreamland, Pokemon, Mario, Metroid Metal Gear Solid, Castlevania and Mega Man.
But the number one spot is undisputedly held by Tetris, one of the most recognizable games in history, which caused an immense number of people to lose countless days, with its simplistic gameplay that is easy to pick up but hard to master.
The Game Boy secured Nintendo's lead in the gaming world by outselling all its competitors and establishing a strong momentum for the portable gaming trend, which Nintendo still lives off today, the Nintendo DS being the best-selling portable-dedicated gaming device in the world, as well as being the number two most-selling console in history, only being surpassed by the PlayStation 2 in number of total sales.
The Nintendo 3DS continued the trend, and, although its sales have not been as spectacular as its parent company hoped they would be, the console still managed to survive and thrive in a market that is becoming increasingly dominated by smartphones and tablet computers, an unprecedented competition factor for gaming consoles.
The Game Boy began the gaming-on-the-go experience 25 years ago, and the fact that there are so many quality portable games in the world is due to Nintendo's study of the phenomenon, its understanding of the design philosophy behind the experience, and its ability to deliver what the public desires from a short session game that fits snugly in your pocket.