The Strong Museum of Play’s National Toy Hall of Fame has been celebrating the playthings that have had a profound effect on how we have fun for 11 years now, but only recently have video games become a focus. In 2007 the Atari 2600 was inducted, becoming the first video game system to join such distinguished toys as the Slinky, the Frisbee and the cardboard box. With the Strong Museum launching the National Centre for the History of Electronic Games earlier this year, it only makes sense that 2009 also sees another video game inductee, and the Game Boy is a fine choice. Here’s why it was chosen:

No video-game platform did more to put gamers “on the go” than Nintendo Game Boy. And go they did-bringing their gaming experience to school, to summer camp, and to the back seat of the family automobile. Over the past two decades, Game Boy has become synonymous with portable gaming fun.

Ah yes. I still remember long car trips with my family, pulling over to buy batteries constantly, driving my parents insane with the Tetris music stumbling out of that tinny speaker. Good times indeed.

National Toy Hall of Fame: Game Boy [Strong Museum of Play - Thanks Brian!]

He even went so far as to match up the drive’s LED indicator with the Game Boy’s battery indicator. It’s fooled a lot of people into thinking it still plays games with the drive shoved up it, but it doesn’t. Either way, cool mod, nice conversation starter.

80 Gig Drive Inside a Game Boy [Hack a Day via Go Nintendo]

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak isn’t just a rich, cuddly nerd. He’s also an avid gamer. Mostly card games, sure, but also Defender. Which he plays really well. Oh, and Tetris. Dude’s a Tetris purist.

Geek Cruising with The Woz [Boing Boing Gadgets]

1987 Nintendo financial earnings report…

Nintendo of America Inc. is the U.S. marketing and sales arm of Kyoto, Japan-based Nintendo Co. Ltd., the world’s leading manufacturer of electronic games.

1990 Press release announcing EA becoming a Nintendo-licensed developer…
(Note: “electronic games” has become “video games”… hooray!)

Nintendo of America Inc. is based in Redmond, Wash., and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Nintendo Co. Ltd. of Kyoto, Japan, the world’s largest manufacturer and marketer of video games.

1995 Killer Instinct press release…

Nintendo Co. Ltd. of Kyoto, Japan, is the leader in the worldwide $US15 billion retail video game industry. As a wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo’s operations in the Western Hemisphere, where more than 40 percent of American homes own a Nintendo system.

2000 Press Release Announcing Pokemon Gold and Silver Strategy Guides
(Note: PlayStation has passed Nintendo in the market at this point, just as Nintendo becomes much more descriptive of what it has accomplished.):

Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, is the acknowledged worldwide leader in the creation of interactive entertainment. To date, Nintendo has sold more than one billion video games worldwide, has created such industry icons as Mario and Donkey Kong and launched franchises like The Legend of Zelda and Pokemon. Nintendo manufactures and markets hardware and software for its popular home video game systems, including the Nintendo 64, Game Boy and Game Boy colour – the world’s best selling handheld video game systems. As a wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Reddmond, Washington, serves as headquarters for Nintendo’s operations in North America.

2005 Press Release Hyping Animal Crossing Wild World
(Note: Nintendo puts its home console as third-fiddle to its two handheld platforms and adds Metroid to the list of characters it name-checks. Nintendo also dubs itself an “innovator.”)…

The worldwide leader and innovator in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its popular home and portable video game systems. Each year, hundreds of all-new titles for the best-selling Game Boy Advance SP, DS and Nintendo GameCube systems extend Nintendo’s vast game library and continue the tradition of delivering a rich, diverse mix of quality video games for players of all ages. Since the release of its first home video game system in 1983, Nintendo has sold more than 2 billion video games and more than 360 million hardware units globally, creating enduring industry icons such as Mario and Donkey Kong and launching popular culture franchise phenomena such as Metroid, Zelda and Pokemon. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo’s operations in the Western Hemisphere.

2009 Press Release Announcing New Starfy Game
(Note: Now Nintendo is a “pioneer,” one proud to name-check all of its major systems except the NES and Virtual Boy.)…

The worldwide pioneer in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Wii, Nintendo DS and Nintendo DSi systems. Since 1983, when it launched the Nintendo Entertainment System, Nintendo has sold more than 2.9 billion video games and more than 496 million hardware units globally, including the current-generation Wii, Nintendo DS and Nintendo DSi, as well as the Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, Super NES, Nintendo 64 and Nintendo GameCube. It has also created industry icons that have become well-known, household names such as Mario, Donkey Kong, Metroid, Zelda and Pokémon. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo’s operations in the Western Hemisphere.

I could now ask you readers how you would describe Nintendo, but that might be asking for trouble.

You’re a busy person, so this how-to on beating The Final Fantasy Legend for the original Game Boy in just under two minutes is perfect for your on-the-go role-playing finishing lifestyle. Get ready to glitch!

That’s because The Final Fantasy Legend—really the first entry in Square Enix’s SaGa series—is as glitchy as they come, allowing serious speed run fans the option of beating the game from start to finish in a matter of minutes, not dozens of hours. This tool assisted speed run takes advantage of character and item leveling bugs, as well as the ability to unintentionally warp and ride a motorcycle at super-motorcycle speeds.

The whole thing wraps up nicely when the player dispatches the game’s final boss, The Creator (aka God!), with a single hit. Must feel good.

The video really won’t be as helpful as the amusingly translated walkthrough from Kevin “Magweasal” Gifford. In it, he explains what the hell is going on amidst the seizure-inducing strobe of Japanese menus. Read it!

The Final Fantasy Legend (Square, 1989) [Magweasel via Tiny Cartridge]

Ask yourself: when was the last time you saw a Game Boy Advance on a shelf? Or heard about a new Game Boy Advance game? Or even heard Nintendo mention the console, even in passing?

Exactly. Never. So, fearing for the health of the poor little guy, we contacted Nintendo to see whether the console had been quietly killed off in the middle of the night, its years of loyal service rewarded with naught but an unmarked grave somewhere outside Nintendo HQ.

Nintendo’s response was a surprising one. Turns out the Game Boy Advance is not dead. Shipments of the console are still being made to distributors and retailers across the world, and last fiscal year, the GBA sold 420,000 units worldwide, with the vast majority of those sales being made in the Asian and developing markets.

So, there you have it. Reports of the Game Boy’s death have been greatly exaggerated!

You know, looking at this has reminded me; if there’s one console I’m going to buy this year, it’ll probably be one of those Famicom-themed Game Boy Micros. Get that, a copy of Link to the Past + Four Swords, and just lock myself away for a month.

Click below for the embiggened version!

The Definitive Game Boy Timeline [Gizmodo]

Twenty years ago today, the original Game Boy first went on sale in Japan. What better way to pay tribute than with a series of cheesy retro ads.

The Game Boy was created by Nintendo’s Gunpei Yokoi, who also created the company Game & Watch handhelds. Worldwide, the Game Boy and its later iteration Game Boy Colour have sold 118.69 units. Nintendo produced a variety of accessories for the portable, including Game Boy Camera.

ゲームボーイ生誕20周年記念 CM編 [Inside]

The PediSedate system, designed to distract and calm children for a dramatically improved hospital or dental experience, is just one of many Game Boy oddities dug up by Vintage Computing’s Benj Edwards. And it will probably be the inspiration for a future homemade bong that rapidly feeds THC to permanent adolescents with a spare Game Boy Colour and moderate soldering skills. We can’t wait to see it forwarded to tips!

Thanks for the heads up, Benj!

Game Boy Oddities [Technologizer]

In April 1989, Nintendo released the Game Boy. How time flies when you’re having fun, because it’s now April 2009, so a rousing chorus of “Happy Birthday” is in order for the venerable little machine.

Having sold around 120 million units in its 14-year production run (that’s including sales of the Game Boy Color), the Game Boy gave way to the Game Boy Advance, which begot the Nintendo DS. Which isn’t anywhere near as great because it’s not called the Game Boy DS.

Being near-indestructible, easy to carry around and with plenty of battery life, the Game Boy saw off a number of competitors in its lifetime, from Atari’s Lynx to Sega’s Game Gear, before finally being retired in 2003.

It brought us portable gaming. It brought us Tetris. It brought us Pokemon. So drink up, old man, and enjoy your special month.

[via 1UP]
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