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Classic Games (Games) Portables (Games) Entertainment Games

History Of Portable Gaming Discussed 52

Posted by simoniker from the hurrah-for-snoopy-tennis dept.
Thanks to Boomtown for the first part of their ongoing series, discussing the early history of handheld videogames. They start off with the Milton Bradley Microvision, which "actually arrived ten years prior to the release of the Game Boy", in 1979, and then discuss "Nintendo's famous line of simple portable LCD video games", the Game & Watch series, before covering the classic original Nintendo Game Boy, and "the world's first color handheld", the attractive but ultimately doomed Atari Lynx.
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History Of Portable Gaming Discussed More

History Of Portable Gaming Discussed

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  • I loved those old white case LCD games...

    had Gauntlet and Simons Quest on those.
    for an LCD game they were both really fun.

  • History (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Bah, damned youngins! I had portable gaming long before this -- twas called a ball. Hell, it even handled multi-player pretty well.

  • This concludes the first part of our journey into the world of handhelds. But things are only just heating up. Join us tomorrow, for a look at what Sega, SNK, Bandai and others have had to offer over the years. You just might be surprised...

    I was wondering where the TurboExpress, GameGear, etc were

  • Microvision article looks fishy (Score:5, Informative)

    by LookSharp ( 3864 ) on Monday October 06, 2003 @11:00AM (#7143798)
    The link to the Microvision states:

    "Microvision was introduced by Milton Bradley in 1982. ... Milton Bradley rolled out just two new cartridges in 1980, and a final two in 1981."

    So, was it released in 1979, or 1982? And:

    "...an initial release of seven cartridges... two new cartridges in 1980, and a final two in 1981 ... With a small library of 10 titles..."

    So seven plus two plus two equals ten? (Must be midwestern college math, where the "Big Ten" actually has 11 teams :)

    Just seems like a strange set of mistakes for one article.

  • Are 3d games on portable console likely to exists? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by imperator_mundi ( 527413 ) on Monday October 06, 2003 @11:04AM (#7143841)
    At present day portable games are more or less equivalent to console game of early 90 (i.e. GBA SP is more or less a portable SNES) on a smaller screen, now the question is if it's possible to do the transition to 3d games with this kind displays.

    Otherwise it will be interesting to see the direction in wich the genres of "portable games" (or better games for portable devices) will evolve (Just one thing is sure, we will see more and even more Pokemons).
    • I don't think 3D will make the same splash on portables as it did on the previous generation of consoles. The Sony PSP will most likely have 3D capability, and the N-Gage (which comes out this week) can do 3D as well. The problem is field of view. For now, the LCDs are too small and too low resolution to have decent 3D movement. I think trying to play something like Super Mario 64 on a tiny screen would be an exercise in frustration.

      3D will be used, this I'm sure of, but it won't be for platform type games

    • At present day portable games are more or less equivalent to console game of early 90 (i.e. GBA SP is more or less a portable SNES) on a smaller screen, now the question is if it's possible to do the transition to 3d games with this kind displays.

      There are 3d games on the GBA, but for the most part they look butt-ugly... Nokia's N-Gage (launching today or tomorrow) has playstation-quality 3d, and has the original Tomb Raider as a launch title. But apparently it's a little choppy, and the controls suck :

    • Lego Drome Racers is a very pretty 3D racer available on the GBA. It's a solid racer with full 3D Gouraud Shaded Polygon environments and vehicles. I recommend GBA Owners at least play this game. It's not exactly PS1 level graphics, but it shows what the GBA is truly capable of.
  • Ten years before the original game boy... I was thinking it would be the size of OOTP!

  • GameBoy (Score:3, Informative)

    by vasqzr ( 619165 ) <vasqzr@noSpaM.netscape.net> on Monday October 06, 2003 @11:09AM (#7143882)

    I think the reasons why the Game Boy was the most/only successful portable gaming system were:

    1. Cheap. The color units were very expensive.
    2. Fun games. Nintendo was ruling the homes with the NES and it only made sense to make GameBoy versions of the games. Third parties had a ton of success here too.
    3. Battery life. 30 hours. The color units didn't last nearly as long and some required more than 4 AA batteries.

    The screen was tiny, the sound was bad, and the spinach green graphics left lots to be desired.

    Compare Tecmo Bowl on GameBoy [geocities.com] to Joe Montana on Game Gear [playerschoicegames.com]. You'd think the GameBoy would never have seen the light of day.

    The Game Gear was $179.99 when it first came out and the Game Boy was around $99.99 I think...

    • What does this say about the current GameCube pricing strategy vs. X-sux and PS2?

      Maybe they can win on price alone??? The PS2 already has a monster head start, but it will be interesting to see the GameCube units shipped this X-mas vs. the competition.

    • $89, I might even till have my original receipt. If I wanted to look that hard...

    • Re:GameBoy (Score:2, Insightful)

      by cynicalman ( 642514 )

      I think the reasons why the Game Boy was the most/only successful portable gaming system were

      <david_letterman voice="top_ten">

      One word: Tetris.

      </david_letterman>

  • I think thats how its spelled. I would consider it to be one of the first portables. It had a carrying handle and was all in one self contained.

    It was pretty cool and I almost got one when I was little until my dad found out that the company that made them was going bankrupt or something.

    • I have a Vectrex - NOT portable (Score:4, Insightful)

      by hirschma ( 187820 ) on Monday October 06, 2003 @12:26PM (#7144466)
      There is no way that a Vectrex could be considered portable :)

      The unit is about the same size and weight as an old-time all-in-one-Mac (in fact, it is so similar that most folks that see it think it IS a Mac with a built-in portrait screen). Batteries are out of the question, and the built-in CRT is simply too fragile to take too many knocks.

      Yes, it has a handle on top, but I doubt that any of its owners were lugging it to school very often.

      I will say that it is very fun little system, and can't be beat for games like Star Castle and Asteroids - absolute clones of the originals due to the vector graphics employed.
    • The Turbo Express came out around 1991 or 1992 (not 1990. It used 6 AA batteries and lasted more like 8-10 hours on a fresh set of alkaline.

      This was the follow up to NECs first portable (though not battery powerd) PC Engine LT. It features a 400x275 resolution Active Matrix Black Lit screen that is still unmatched IMHO.

  • Turbo Express (Score:2, Interesting)

    by displague ( 4438 )
    When did the Turbo Express come out? This site [vgmuseum.com] gives the specs on the Turbo Express, which could play ALL of your normal Turbo Grafix 16 games (which beat the pants off most Genesis and some SNES games).

    It had nice color, good portability, and a wide selection of TG-16 Hu-Cards to choose from. The games were even smaller than Game Boy cartridges!!
    • The TurboExpress came out in 1990, a few months after the TG-16 itself (released in late 89 in the US), and priced about $100 more ($299).

      The reason it could play the TG-16 games was simple, it was basically the same hardware in a smaller box with an LCD screen. This was also why it ate batteries at a rate that even the GameGear and Lynx probably never acheived.
      • Yes, it was expensive. Yes, i ate batteries like no tomorrow (6 AA's, I think - 4 at least). But it was a great (not-so) little hand-held system. It had a display to rival the GBA, and enough power to rival the SNES. It was even comfortable to hold, unlike the just-too-small GBA's.

        All the things the parent poster says are true; it was huge, a TG16 in a portable casing, and ate batteries like no tomorrow. And I wish I hadn't sold mine - it's a beautiful machine.
        • A friend of a friend I knew had one back then. I distinctly remember playing "Splatterhouse" on the machine: I was amazed. It was a way ahead of the other portables, technically speaking. I knew I wanted one.

          Then, one day, I saw it at Radio Shack... $399 (Canadian). At the time, you could get a full TG-16 AND a Genesis for that price. And seeing as I was ten at the time, I knew I would never have one. And, even then, I knew it would not be popular because of that price (irregardless of battery life).

          Howev
        • Battery power isn't too bad if you power the unit on today's NiMH AA cells. I use these with mine (1600 mAH), and I get several hours of play between charges. It's an inexpensive solution to the short play times of alkaline cells.

          BTW: 6 is the correct number of cells. In temrs of its size, it is smaller than the Lynx, but only a bit larger than the original Game Boy. It's mostly just thick. It has extra weight because the LCD screen is protected by a thick glass instead of plastic. The batteries reall
      • oops i put this under the wrong post.

        The Turbo Express came out around 1991 or 1992 (not 1990. It used 6 AA batteries and lasted more like 8-10 hours on a fresh set of alkaline.

        This was the follow up to NECs first portable (though not battery powerd) PC Engine LT. It features a 400x275 resolution Active Matrix Black Lit screen that is still unmatched IMHO.
      • 1990 is correct for the Japanese release of the PC Engine GT (Turbo Express). It's a fabulous machine, and was very well designed. The PC Engine had some of the greatest games of that era, matching many of Nintendo's offerings but with better graphics and sound. It's a shame that it never really picked up outside of Japan. This unit was released before the Atari Lynx, but was came out at roughly the same time as the Sega Game Gear.

        I've got a Turbo Express that I play quite frequently, actually. I had
        • Games like Devil's Crush and Dungeon Explorer will forever go down as all-time greats of their genre.

          Dungeon Explorer was one of the few games I had for my TG-16, unfortunately I left the system and the games in California (maybe I'll find them when I go back for XMas). When I got it, they had a bundle deal where you got Keith Courage (of course) and a choice for one other game that you would receive by mail. That was the one I chose, but they were backed up really bad, so they sent another game (the name

  • I always though.... (Score:1, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward
    That the reason that nintendo rarely changed their gameboy system was because none of the other systems posed a threat. Nintendo hardly had to do any work, the original game boy was introduced in 1989 and went seven years before they got arround to making a minor upgrade. Then two years after they get arround to producing one with color. Then after about three years they finally get around to making a major upgrade with the gameboy advance.

    I hope that the newer systems in the works do a lot better then
    • " It would be nice to see some competition, breaking up Nintendo's handheld monopoly, and maybe make Nintendo more serious about its handheld systems."

      Nintendo's not serious about its handheld systems? I get the feeling (and please correct me if I am wrong) that you are itching for Nintendo to make a new system every couple of years. Frankly, I don't see what good that would do. Sega showed us what happens when you release too many systems. Meanwhile, the Game Boy has a HUGE library of games.

      Nintendo
  • I remember playing with the Atari Lynx one summer when I was at geek camp. The Lynx blew me away. Sega also had a color portable, the Gamegear (I thought the Gamegear was the first color screen portable, but I guess I was wrong.), but there was simply no comparison. The Gamegear's screen would quickly blur out, making playing impossible. Compounding the problem, the included cartridge (Yes little boys, there was once a time when you bought a console/portable and not only got two controllers, memory (gra

  • Geez, it's like the 70's never existed. (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Rimbo ( 139781 ) <rimbosity@@@sbcglobal...net> on Monday October 06, 2003 @01:48PM (#7145297) Homepage Journal
    Remember that old football game? The same line of games also had basketball, baseball, and at one point they came out with Super Football that allowed you to pass!

    And then of course was Parker Bros' MERLIN from 1978. That was one of my favorite road-trip toys ever.

    Remember all of the little portable Pac-Man and Space Invaders type games?

    I think there's an entire generation grown up now who think that every video game and cartoon ever made was done in Japan.

  • My love affair with portable gaming. (Score:3, Insightful)

    by VermifugeRT ( 461717 ) on Monday October 06, 2003 @02:49PM (#7145887)
    Yes, I posted this on the site too, but it's rare for me to write as much on any subject so I thought I would share.

    As a kid I ha a number of these game and watch systems, including the double screen donkey Kong. Portable gaming ever since has been a big part of my daily life.

    I had a GameBoy at launch. I think the price was about $89, and it came with Tetris. I was instantly fascinated ability to swap games just like my NES! I must have been 11 years old or so, and $89 was no small amount of money.

    With a little convincing (and a lot of annoyance) My mother got me a game boy right at launch. I still have it, with all the games. It's in immaculate condition. The GameBoy traveled with me every where. To school, Vacations or even just as far as my back yard. No I wasn't a very active child.

    As the 16 Bit era ushered out the 8 bit cpu the market changed, as did the portable gaming scene. With it came my favorite gaming system, and portable of all time. The NEC Turbo Grafx 16! The Turbo Grafx 16 never had enough respect state side. Its Japanese counterpart the PC Engine was a phenomenal success in Japan. Because of this it spawned of several variations of the hardware including the PC Engine Core systems, The PC Engine Shuttle, PC Engine LT, Super Grafx and the PC Engine GT!

    Ah the PC Engine GT. Other wise known as the Turbo Express. Was, and a way still is the best portable game system ever made. It wasn't a complete dog on battery life like the Lynx (which I did enjoy but never owned.) It featured dimensions similar to the GameBoy with an active matrix screen. The best since passed or present ever featured on a portable game system. Sure it had a few poor pixels but it was better looking and more visible then even the GameBoy Advance SP.

    I loved this system! It played the same games as my Turbo Grafx 16 and was light years ahead of my game boy. Sadly its high price of $299 (back in 1992) was and still is restrictive. I just could not justify traveling with such a pricy pricey of tech. Because of this it mostly stayed at home.

    Now I am a happy owner of the GameBoy Advance (Both the classic and SP.) Its low price point makes it "disposable" and I do so much commuting. It's also the best showcase for some of the best 16 bit 2D gaming the 90's had to offer. With new classic like Advance Wars and Final Fantasy : Tactics, the GBA continues to be one of my all time favorite gaming systems only matched by the failed yet amazing NEC Super Grafx.
  • The GP32 [gp32x.com] and the forthcoming Zodiac [tapwave.com] are both excellent homebrew handhelds.

    The Tapwave is really just a Palm designed for gaming.

    Read up on them, many emu's came out for the GP32 and the Zodiac promises much of the same. It will most likely have full speed SNES and Genesis before long. Givens are NES, TG16, ATARI, GB/GBC, and possibly MAME and Neo-Geo.

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