Gunpei Yokoi, the same engineer who would eventually go on to father the Game Boy and Metroid, was riding home one evening on a bullet train when he spotted a bored businessman randomly pressing buttons on an LCD calculator to entertain himself. Believing that commuters would enjoy passing the time with handheld video games, Yokoi soon developed a set of portable gaming systems which also doubled as watches/alarms -- the Game & Watch.
This week, we'll take a look at several ads for the fourth Game & Watch series, the Multi Screen, whose clamshell case and vertically stacked screens would later serve as inspiration for the Nintendo DS's design.
Oil Panic and Donkey Kong
No. Game & Watch. Multi Screen.
It's interesting that while the Game Boy, even with its name, was marketed towards teenagers and younger audiences, specifically the male demographic, this Japanese Game & Watch commercial targets adults, both male and female. The off-screen voice asks, "Is that a compact?," and, "Is that a cigarette case?," complimenting the system's portability with his misjudgments. The well-to-do woman and salaryman smile politely and reply, "No, sir, you are mistaken. It is a Game & Watch Multi Screen."
Oil Panic and Donkey Kong, the games featured in the ad, were the first two Multi Screen games, released in the spring of 1982. Donkey Kong is especially significant not only for being the most common and one of the most popular Game & Watch titles, but for its application of the directional pad (updating Cosmic Hunter's four-arrow design), now the standard for pretty much any modern game controller that's worth a damn.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-16-2007 @ 7:33PM
Rubang B (NDF - Heart) said...
To add to Yokoi's amazing credentials:
Ultra Hand
Love Tester
THE D-PAD
Kid Icarus
Super Mario Land
Virtual Boy
Wonderswan
being Rubang B's hero
Reply
9-16-2007 @ 8:21PM
hvnlysoldr (NDF ) said...
Truly an inspiration for Miyamoto and Nintendo.
Reply
9-16-2007 @ 9:53PM
ELIJAH said...
@HVNLYSOLDR I have been posting lately and i see that your name has been enhanced with a "NDF", by any chance can you tell me what this indicates and how can i acquire this position. In all respect thank you.
Reply
9-16-2007 @ 10:58PM
hvnlysoldr (NDF ) said...
@Elijah
Check Joystiq. Nintendo Defense Force. All rings for Captain Planet are accounted for. Anyway to change your name click your name on your comment. Log in with your password. Change profile to add in (NDF) and also change your avatar. Be sure to keep a Mario hat on whatever picture.
Reply
9-17-2007 @ 12:00AM
jesus_bon_jovi said...
i would like to see more DS Lite mods. a DS Lite Game & Watch mod would look really nice.
Reply
9-17-2007 @ 12:44PM
Foodie_Monster said...
Oh God I didn't know there was a Game & Watch collection for DS!!! I'm getting that NOW!
Reply
9-17-2007 @ 5:03PM
tom.b said...
I have the orange Donkey Kong Game & Watch. And it only cost 50p ($1)!
Reply
9-17-2007 @ 9:38PM
BPM said...
Good luck, Foodie_Monster. It was a Club Nintendo exclusive. So finding it in the wild is pretty difficult.
Reply