Nintendo Game Boy turns 25: It’s time to remember our childhood days

The humble Game Boy, which revolutionized the world of gaming, has officially marked its 25th anniversary.

Remember the good old days when all you had to do to have some video game fun, was take a cartridge insert and enjoy?

The humble Game Boy, which revolutionized the world of gaming, has officially marked its 25^th anniversary. It is still hard to believe for some, that Nintendo’s wonder baby has created a place for itself in the ‘Portable Device’ Hall of Fame.

For some, they miss the games way too much to not have them. Some of the games for the Game Boy are now available on the mobile platform. Mobile users can now play Super Mario or Pokemon – among the most popular games on the Game Boy.

It seems like only yesterday that Nintendo, a Japanese firm based in Kyoto, released the 8-bit Game Boy. Since that day, the 21^st of April 1989, the device was all set to unsettle the console-based gaming industry.

Though almost none of the gaming companies and firms at the time saw the Game Boy as a threat, the little machine turned that assumption on its head and created a new era in portable gaming. In addition to this, some Game Boy – based games became global franchises.

The most significant advantage that the Game Boy had was the downsizing of the console, and the cartridge. Reducing the size greatly enhanced portability – a crucial point for sales. Though they are not credited with the invention of portable gaming, their price and software popularity completely bulldozed the competition.

The Game Boy craze even came to a point where it was directly associated with portable gaming! The mobility of the device was important to users to connect with other users through a link cable. This set the foundation for most online gaming multiplayer networks that exist between millions of users today.

So what has happened to the Game Boy since then? Well, Nintendo’s financial state has deteriorated since then, and this is why the milestone has not been celebrated with any event. But even though the making of the device was discontinued years ago, it is to be noted that Nintendo sold almost 120 million of these at the peak of their popularity.

But everyone still has fond memories of the Game Boy, with its red buttons and cross shaped directional pads. Though big and clunky, they still worked like a dream. Fans still loved the fact that they could spend hours playing on this device, despite its small screen and ‘outdated’ game software.

In the current times, technology has enabled the creation of games that transcend borders of traditional gaming and create almost real worlds. While this has been all good, many of us still struggle to cope with the increasing complexity of gaming, and sometimes just crave simpler devices.

The Nintendo Game Boy is still played by many, across the world.