Nintendo May Retire Game Boy Name

GameDaily is reporting on commentary from Nintendo of America's George Harrison, who essentially says the company will no longer be using the Game Boy brand. While at one point the DS was the 'third pillar' along with the Game Boy and the GameCube/Wii, the handheld has in recent years more than proven its worth. "This year in our marketing you really won't see much push against Game Boy itself, so it will kind of seek its own level. It's hard to say in the future if we will ever bring back the Game Boy trademark. It was a big risk for us to actually pass on it and call the new product the Nintendo DS, but it was part of Mr. Iwata's philosophy that if we're going to make a radical difference and try to reach a new audience, then we have to change the name ... We had to make a break even though we had one of the greatest trademarks in the history of the industry."

with this

[jimbug]

a part of my childhood just died.

A change is nice once in a while

[riceboy50]

Every once in a while, it's nice to develop a totally new idea that doesn't leverage the same brand for eternity. It shows a willingness to innovate IMO.

GB finally laid to rest

[TruePoindexter]

Gonna be sad to see the GB name go but it's not like the idea behind Gameboy games is gone. Cheap, fun, portable, reliable - all principles the Gameboy pionered and the DS continues.

Re:A change is nice once in a while

[Anonymous Coward]

Tell that the company that makes the PSone, PS2, and PS3.

Re:A change is nice once in a while

[Dogtanian]

Every once in a while, it's nice to develop a totally new idea that doesn't leverage the same brand for eternity. It shows a willingness to innovate IMO.

Well, I've heard it stated or implied in more than one place that the DS wasn't a guaranteed success, and that not calling it "Game Boy" also reduced the risk to the brand. Of course, since the DS did succeed and overshadowed the Game Boy-branded devices, it has ultimately left the Game Boy brand stranded.

Personally, I wouldn't want to see the name associated with the DS anyway (as some have suggested and/or hinted that Nintendo would do). The DS really did take things in a new direction, and I've always associated the Game Boy with children and early-teens. The original DS's childish appearance (and possibly the child-associated legacy of Nintendo's name) slightly turned me off the thing. It wasn't until the Lite came out that I saw the ligh... um, sense ;-) It looks great, and coupled with the range of more adult/universal (*) games that had been released, it overcame my prejudices. DS is now more than a kids console, and using the Game Boy name again would be a step backwards.

Nintendo have stated that they don't intend using it again anyway. [modojo.com]

(*) That's "adult" as in games adults of all ages would play- Kawashima, Big Brain, 42 All Time Classics (AKA Clubhouse games). Not as in "lots of soft porn to get 14 year olds' attention".

Re:GB finally laid to rest

[Malekin]

With games costing almost half the price of the console, I must say you have a strange definition of "cheap".

Re:A change is nice once in a while

[MeanderingMind]

I hate to break it to you, but it's too late. In some places, the term "Gameboy" is irreperably tied to the DS.

When I bought my DS while overseas in Japan, my japanese friends were impressed with my "Gameboy DS". I've seen my fair share of mothers referring to their child's DS as their "Gameboy", and also a number of store clerks called it the "New Gameboy" when it first appeared on shelves.

Maybe the next iteration will leave behind the name, but much like how many parents called the Sega Genesis the "Nintendo" we will continue to see most handhelds referred to as "Gameboy" for years yet.