Though it’s a Saturday (and I really shouldn’t be working), I couldn’t let the 28th of September pass without celebrating the 34th Aussie birthday of my fave console and pack-in combo, Game Boy and Tetris.
Nintendo certainly didn’t invent the handheld, but they did lay the foundations of a bona fide handheld gaming market with this bad boy. More than that, they unleashed the Don Bradman of on-the-go consoles—a consistently dominating competitor who retired peerless.
That being said, the Game Boy is just a piece of plastic and silicon without a cartridge—a grey brick, which caught my eye in this “Wicked” TV ad, then this Gamesmen catalogue, and eventually cost my parents $149 ($349 in 2024). Now, a successful debut of any cool product can make its creators some money, but to become a force of nature in a market for more than a decade, your invention needs an irresistible lineup, preferably led by a killer app…
Even the mighty Mario was forced to stand down when Henk Rogers arrived at Nintendo’s door with such a thing. He was peddling a game called Tetris, a unique puzzle game from the Soviet Union that had some PC users buzzing already.
What happened next is something you may have seen play out in a movie (kinda, sorta). Rogers and Nintendo intuited that a portable platform could transform a quirky hand-eye challenge into an easy-to-grasp but hard-to-master obsession.
Tetris didn’t have a big name behind it or swoon-worthy graphics—on screen, it’s actually about as underwhelming a showcase as you can get—but it was the kind of game that was tough to put down, and with Nintendo’s new handheld, we didn’t have to.
After turning this on 34 years later for an “old time’s sake” 2-minute go, which then blew out to a half an hour when my two sons took over and became hooked, that’s clearly still the case. You’ve still got the moves, old friend. The very happiest of birthdays to you.
This Day in Gaming 🎂
More Aussie birthdays for notable games
– Game Boy launch, 1990. eBay
– Tetris (GB) 1990. Redux
– Kingdom Hearts II (PS2) 2006. Redux
– Mercury Meltdown (PSP) 2006. eBay
– Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: RT (DS) 2006. Get
– TESO: Oblivion (PC,X360) 2007. Get
Game Boy-ing in the Modern Age
Incidentally, if you’re feeling nostalgic and wish to have a Game Boy-esque experience today, there are certainly ways. Nintendo’s Switch Online service currently houses 28+ original Game Boy titles, including our l’homme du jour, Tetris.
Better yet, these emulated greats come with modern creature comforts, like Screen Filters, the ability to Rewind out of bad block drop situations, and multiplayer support where applicable.
Also, unlike the real Game Boy, you don’t have to sit directly under a light source and chew through four AA batteries for the privilege to play. A rare win for modern gaming!
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Adam Mathew is our Aussie deals wrangler. He plays practically everything, often on YouTube.
