The Video Game Handheld War Part 3 August 16, 2013

Welcome back to our history segment on the Video Game Handheld War.  When we last left off, Nintendo had completely dominated the handheld market throughout the late 80s to the late 90s with the Nintendo Game Boy and their later revisions of the Game Boy.  Sega, NEC, and Atari couldn’t even come close to penetrating their market share, and when Nintendo released Pokémon, their handheld saw a second renaissance that could not have been believed!

However, while Nintendo had been releasing amazing games for their system that people were buying left and right, the fact remained that the Game Boy had been on the market for nearly ten whole years without a successor, and to the developers, the Game Boy was quite long in the tooth.  In 1998, the Game Boy was still an 8-Bit monochrome system, just as it had been the day it was released in 1989.  While Pokémon was an amazing game that captured many people’s imagination, it was limited by the Game Boy’s technology.  The game could only be seen in color if used in a Super Game Boy adapter for the Super Nintendo.  People who would be playing it on its native system would have to look at it on a plain old black and white screen.  This was quite a shame since color handhelds had been in the market in the early 90s and gamers knew that a system with color was possible with current technology.  By the late 90s, with Pokémon keeping the Game Boy afloat, the time was right for Nintendo to release a successor to the Game Boy…and it would indeed be in color.

In 1998, Nintendo released the Game Boy Color, the first true successor to the Nintendo Game Boy.  From afar it looked almost exactly like a Game Boy or Game Boy Pocket, but when you looked closer there was a lot more going on under the plastic shell.  It was only slightly larger than a Game Boy Pocket, but the new handheld boasted all of the features of a Pocket and a lot more.  It could play any Nintendo Game Boy or Nintendo Game Boy Color game, immediately turning the system into a logical upgrade, just as the Game Boy Pocket had been years earlier.  It would also support multiplayer across multiple systems with a System Link Cable, but once again you would need to buy a new one, as the Game Boy Color’s System Link port was different than the Pocket’s.  It also featured an IR transmitter, something that has been around for quite a while but was made popular in other handheld devices like the Palm Pilot around the same time.  The best part was that it could run off of just two AA-batteries, and once again, those batteries would last a long time.

The small problem was that the system would not be perfect for displaying original model Game Boy games in color, but Nintendo devised a few workarounds for this.  They hard-coded color palates for some of the Game Boy’s most popular titles (including Super Mario Land) into the system RAM, so when a game it recognized was inserted, it would automatically load it with the color Nintendo manually programmed for it.  Nintendo would also release new color versions of popular Game Boy games, which would usually be denoted by a “DX” after their title.  For any other Game Boy games that were left over, the user could manually choose their own color palate for their game by pressing certain buttons during startup.

The number 1 game that I can remember people playing on it when it came out?  Pokémon Blue and Pokémon Red.  That’s right, my friends were actually buying Game Boy Color systems to play games made for the original Game Boy.  There were a new set of Pokémon games on the horizon which were designed specifically for the Game Boy Color, but they were taking a while to come to the US.  In the end, when they finally did get released, Pokémon Gold and Pokémon Silver became the two best-selling games for the Game Boy Color, and to this day many players consider them the finest games in the Pokémon series.

Now this is the point in my article where I usually discuss some other company that would enter the handheld market and try to take Nintendo’s crown from them, but in all honesty, I have to admit that as far as I’m concerned, Nintendo entered this Handheld War uncontested.  Try to remember, this system launched at the height of Pokémon fever worldwide, and while it would take a while for Pokémon Gold and Silver, the Color-native sequel, to launch on the Game Boy Color in the US, players were more than happy playing the first Pokémon games on them while they waited.  While systems like the Neo Geo Color would come out during this time, unlike the Sega Game Gear which made a small impact on the market, the Neo Geo Color would not even make the slightest blip on the radar against the power of the Game Boy Color.  I can’t think of a single person I knew who bought one of those things or discussed it.  In fact, most of Nintendo’s competition would never even come stateside, leaving the US exclusively to Nintendo.  Once again the only company to uncrown Nintendo in the Video Game Handheld War…would be Nintendo.

The lifespan of the Game Boy Color would not last nearly as long as the Game Boy did, as technology was quickly improving and Nintendo realized that they could release handhelds with improved technology on a more regular basis from then on.  For the next Video Game Handheld War, we’re going to talk about the Game Boy Color’s successor, the Game Boy Advance, and the mighty company who had made a fortune selling cell phones who thought they could beat Nintendo out of the handheld market.  Stay tuned, that story is coming next time.

The Video Game Handheld War Part 2 August 13, 2013

The first handheld devices had hit the market and consumers had chosen that the Nintendo Game Boy was the superior product.  However, Nintendo’s direct competition was not completely out for the count.  For the second part of the video game handheld war, we’re going to focus on an odd time in the handheld space, the second half of the 90s.  This era can be considered by many to simply be an extension of the first-generation Video Game Handheld War, but personally, I consider it a separate generation, and as such should merit its own part in my ongoing series.  The reason why I consider this a separate battle is because of just how long it lasted.  The rules for handheld platforms had not yet been established, and platforms like the Game Boy stayed in the market for a little less than a decade before Nintendo would release its successor.  That’s a lot of time to cover, but we’re going to do it.

It was the mid-90s and Nintendo’s Game Boy was by far the most successful handheld device on the market.  While it only featured a monochrome screen, it had a fantastic library of Nintendo games. However, as the years continued there was a lot that Nintendo could have done to improve on the Game Boy’s design.  The original model Game Boy was about the size of a brick and it took 4 AA-batteries to get running.  While it still could perform longer than any other competing handheld product, the first game handheld war made it clear that Nintendo’s competitors would attack the Game Boy by providing a superior screen.  The Sega Game Gear had proven that backlit color screens could be done in a handheld gaming device, and while it was a major detriment to battery life, gamers were starting to expect more than a fuzzy monochrome screen if they wanted portable game time.

Undeterred by coming in second place with the Sega Game Gear, Sega tried again to release a portable system that would compete against Nintendo’s Game Boy.  In 1995, Sega released the Sega Nomad.  Oddly enough, this was not a next generation handheld system to replace the Sega Game Gear, it was literally a portable Genesis.  I am not kidding.  The Sega Nomad boasted a decent screen, two player support with an extra controller, and a TV output.  This thing could play any Genesis game, with the exception of X-Men.  This was a brilliant move on Sega’s part.  Genesis players already had their games on their shelves, and the game library of the Genesis included some of the finest games ever made.  In fact, the Nomad was so ahead of its time, to this day I can’t think of any other company that has released a similar device!

However, there were problems with the Nomad.  Sega was marketing the device to people who already had a Genesis and a game library to make the best use of the device.  Well, a new Nomad was expensive.  I remember how loudly people clamored when Sony launched the Playstation Vita at a price of $249 US (even though the PSP launched on that price over five years earlier), well the Nomad was even more expensive than that!  At launch, the Nomad cost around $280 US, which was much more expensive than a Sega Genesis cost around the same time.  Genesis games could take hours to complete and the Nomad only lasted around two hours on a new set of batteries.  The other issue was compatibility with the newer Genesis peripherals, specifically the Sega CD and the Sega 32x.  I know that seems like a small trade off, but the Nomad was released towards the end of the Genesis’s lifespan, and by the time of its release, people actually wanted the option to upgrade their Genesis with a Sega CD or 32x.

The Sega Nomad floundered at retail.  Sega didn’t do a very good job advertising it, and most retailers didn’t care enough to advertise or promote it either.  Because of that, most people probably aren’t aware that it even existed.  In fact, I was around during its lifespan and I wasn’t aware of its existence until I saw it used in a few episodes of Captain S!

I know by today’s standards, the Nomad wouldn’t even be considered a competitor in the Video Game Handheld Wars, but truth be told, they were the only thing to even come close to being a blip on the radar under the near total dominance of the Game Boy.  In the end, the only company that would be able to uncrown Nintendo…would be Nintendo.  In 1996, Nintendo released a new version of the Game Boy, dubbed the Game Boy Pocket.  Launched in a series of different colors, as well as a see-through model, the Game Boy Pocket was a smaller, slimmer Game Boy for a new generation of players who hadn’t jumped on the Game Boy bandwagon, as well as current Game Boy owners who wanted to upgrade.  While it still had a monochrome screen without backlight capability, the Pocket’s screen was much sharper than the original Game Boy, making games easier to view.  To top it all off, it only required two AAA-batteries to get running!

Nintendo did a lot right here.  The Game Boy Pocket was smaller and more affordable than the original model Game Boy was at launch.  Nintendo did a great job of marketing the system as well.  They did a great commercial that played on TV constantly where an original model Game Boy was put side by side with the Pocket and clearly boasted all the new improvements the Pocket offered.  Marketers, take notice.  That’s all you need to do!  Also, by offering the Game Boy Pocket in multiple colors, it boosted the collector’s value of the system, and was a precursor to Nintendo offering multiple color options for their later handhelds.  The only issue with it was that it broke compatibility with the original Game Boy’s System Link cables.  If you wanted to play a Pocket in two-player mode, you would need to purchase a new System Link cable, which was now sold separately, or get an adapter.

In the end, Nintendo would take the crown of the second video game handheld war.  This time it wouldn’t even be close, and I would be completely remiss to ignore the huge elephant in the room that not only handed the win to the Game Boy but started a phenomenon on par with Super Mario Bros or Legend of Zelda, Pokémon.  Created by Satoshi Tajiri, Pokémon followed the story of a young boy, as he traveled the game’s world, battling, trading, capturing, and training Pokémon.  Pokémon Red and Blue were quite literally the games that defined the Game Boy as they took full advantage of all the great things the Game Boy offered.  By being on a handheld, it ensured that players would bring their Game Boy everywhere, making it easier for players to find each other, and players would need to find each other to battle or trade Pokémon with other players.  In the days before everyone would have their own cell phone, Pokémon made the Game Boy the first personal electronic device that I can think of that everyone would take with them when they left the house.

Pokémon games sold a lot of Game Boys, and cemented Nintendo’s dominance in the handheld market.  In the years after the Game Boy Pocket’s release, Nintendo would release other revisions to the Game Boy to further bank on Pokémon’s success, including a Game Boy with a backlit screen, but many of those revisions never even came to my neck of the woods and would only get released in Japan.  It would not be until the release of the Game Boy Color that a true successor to the Game Boy would hit the market, but that is a story for next time!

The Video Game Handheld War Part 1 August 5, 2013

That’s right, we’re bringing back the GameXcess.net History section, and what better way to bring it back than to talk about the other component of the gaming console wars, handheld game systems.  Previously, anachronos and I had talked about the various console wars from all the generations that we were around for, but that was all we had discussed, home consoles.  Well, home consoles are not the only front for the gaming wars, and today we’re going to talk about the battle behind handheld game systems.

Mobile or handheld gaming devices go back a very long time, but they have only been electronic for the past forty or so years.  They’re basically just an extension for the human desire for recreation during boring activities like travel.  For as long as human beings have been mobile, we have desired to take games with us on our journey.  A person cannot go for days either working hard or doing nothing, we crave mental stimulation and relaxation in order to maintain mental focus.  Games have provided us with both stimulation and relaxation, and there’s probably a reason why there are so many stories about cowboys or western settlers playing card games.

Of course as our technology started to improve, circuits got smaller and cheaper to make, and a deck of cards became replaced by a small board of microprocessors and LCD screen.  By the late 70s, bored businessmen in Japan took to playing with their pocket calculators for entertainment.  Gunpai Yokoi, who worked for Nintendo, thought there was a better way to entertain people on the go.  Nintendo’s motto has always been “Creating Something Unique”, and he set out to do exactly that.  Nintendo themselves started off as a toy and playing card company before they started developing video games.   As technology progressed, Nintendo started with their first portable devices, the Game & Watch from creator Gunpai Yokoi.

All of a sudden, video games could go mobile, but there were limitations.  You would have to buy a new handheld device for each individual game.  Other companies across the world tried their hand at mobile gaming devices of their own to capitalize on the market of technically savvy young people, but it wasn’t until the late 80s when multiple companies decided to enter uncharted territory and release portable game consoles.  Unlike the mobile games of the past, these new handheld systems would be game consoles of their own, and could play a wide array of game cartridges the player purchased separately.

Very quickly, these companies knew they would be competing with each other to get their handheld into the hands of gamers, and several tried to do this by boasting improved system specifications or other gimmicks, because they thought that in reality, a handheld console war would be decided as much by the system as it would by the games.  For this first part of the Video Game Handheld War, we’re going to talk about the first handheld war that I was a part of, and that was the battle between the Nintendo Game Boy and Sega Game Gear.

It was the late 80s and Nintendo’s NES was enjoying a near total market share in people’s homes and Nintendo wanted to bring a portable gaming device to the market.  Calling it the Game Boy, it was designed to be a complementary device to Nintendo’s NES which could bring many of Nintendo’s classic franchises mobile.  The Game Boy had a monochrome screen, stereo sound, and a very similar button configuration to the NES controller,  It was equipped with a D-pad, A and B buttons, and Start and Select Buttons.  Nintendo was banking on brand recognition and awesome first party launch titles to sell the system.  Launching at the height of the summer, the Game Boy was expected to be a hot item.  Now gamers would finally have the chance to play games like Super Mario Land and Tetris on the go, and games could even support two-players through a unique link cable.

Game Boy launched with a monochrome screen and one of the best pack-in titles a handheld ever had, the Game Boy version of Tetris, which featured a great multiplayer mode which took full advantage of the Game Boy’s included Link Cable, and cameo appearances by Nintendo heroes Mario and Luigi.  By including a Link Cable and and bundling a 2-player game, it was clear that Nintendo wanted to showcase the 2-player functionality of the Game Boy to the early adopters.  The Game Boy took 4-AA batteries, but they lasted longer than you would think.  You could get several hours of gaming on just a single set of batteries, and there was an optional AC adapter for when you wanted to play games at home.  I cannot tell you how happy I was the Christmas I received my Game Boy and copy of Super Mario Land.  I spent many summer road trips helping Mario battle the minions of Tatanga.  In fact, it was the first Mario game I had ever been able to complete.

Now, I would be neglectful to mention that there were two other portable gaming systems which launched around the same time as the Nintendo Game Boy, and they were the Atari Lynx and NEC TurboExpress.  I’m not really going to talk about them very much, as they really had no baring on the handheld gaming market in general.  Neither the Atari Lynx nor the NEC TurboExpress seemed to gain enough traction to be competitive against Nintendo’s Game Boy.  In fact, I can’t remember a single person who actually had either of these devices, or even talked about them.  All my discussions with friends growing up, if our conversation would turn to gaming, would be about our desire for a Game Boy, or raving about it if we were fortunate enough to have one.

The TurboExpress, while it had decent hardware, was far too expensive to be competitive.  On top of that, it was prone to hardware issues, even on new units.  The Atari Lynx, while it lasted in the market much longer, had a full color screen which to this day is still considered difficult to view, and was a problem that wasn’t fixed in the revised Lynx II.  The Lynx survived into the era of the Atari Jaguar, but I never thought of it as a competitive product, especially given when the next gaming handheld entered the ring to try to take Nintendo’s crown.

As the 16-bit war fired up, Sega planned to complement their extremely successful Genesis console with a handheld of their own, the Sega Game Gear.  By all intents and purposes, the Game Gear was an improvement on everything that the Game Boy was.  It boasted a larger screen with full color display.  Heck, the screen was so good, Sega planned to sell a TV tuner so people could watch broadcast TV channels with it while on the go.

As far as I can remember, the Sega Game Gear was the first handheld console that was seriously perched to take Nintendo’s crown.  Not only did it have the better system specs over the Game Boy, it had the full first party backing of Sega, which had found a valuable mascot in Sonic the Hedgehog.  In fact, Sega included a copy of the Game Gear version of Sonic the Hedgehog with each Game Gear to show front and center just what the Game Gear could do graphically.  I have to admit, having seen the system in action myself back in the day, it was surely capable of producing the amazing graphics that I had seen Genesis games produce.  However, the Sonic the Hedgehog game Sega included with the Game Gear was not a port of the original, and the biggest thing I remember from that game was how frustrating it was that I was unable beat the game’s first boss!

While the Game Gear had impressive features, looking back on it there was a lot that was wrong with the system.  I can’t remember the Game Gear ever getting a library of games that was able to compete with Nintendo’s Game Boy.  In fact, the only other game my sister purchased for the system back in its heyday was a port of NHL Hockey, which to this day remains the only sports game I was able to score a goal in.  While by all intents and purposes, Sega had made a superior system over the Game Boy, better technology is not always what wins a console war, and while Sega had succeeded in making a more advanced portable system, they had neglected one of the major concerns about portable electronic devices, battery life.

I think many people can remember how bad it was in the early 90s when it came to power consumption.  This was just as high drain devices like CD-players had started to hit the market, so many people were aware that a pack of AA-batteries wouldn’t last more than a couple of hours of regular use.  However, for a portable game system like the Game Gear, being a high-drain device that was competing against a much more power efficient system like the Game Boy was a huge black mark.  The whole idea for a portable device is that people intend to use them on the go, and if your device is unable to withstand the duration of a long road trip, gamers are going to grab something else to play that will.

In the end, Sega could not compete with Nintendo’s Game Boy, and the Game Boy took the first handheld gaming crown, with the Game Gear taking a far second.  In fact, the Game Boy was so competitive in its market, Nintendo continued to support the device for years as other handhelds tried to take its crown, but that’s a story for another time.