So many happy memories of that yellow screen
Nintendo's classic hand-held rubs shoulders with other vintage playthings
The Game Boy has entered the National Toy Hall of Fame in recognition of its incredible influence on the video game industry and its uncanny ability to keep kids quiet on long car journeys.
The Strong Museum of Play's National Toy Hall of Fame is intended to celebrate toys and playthings of all descriptions, and the Game Boy is the second video game system to have been honoured, following on from the Atari 2600.
Here's the official press release:
Admitted into the hall because of its role as a major industry innovator, Nintendo Game Boy® transformed the electronic-games market by popularizing hand-held gaming. No video-game platform did more to put gamers on the go than this invention. 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 hand-held gaming fun. Its portability and efficient design, ability to allow simultaneous multiplayer gaming, and scores of intriguing games (like Tetris and Super Mario Land, featuring Nintendos’ already-iconic character Mario) make it a true innovator.
1. Sneaker13
06 Nov 2009, 10:33 GMT
That's fun. I still have this one and it still works. Will be fun to see it in the museum.
Just like a couple of years back. My dad went to a museum and was making pictures with an Olympus Trip 35. And what did he find showcased in the museum. The Olympus Trip 35.
2. Damo
06 Nov 2009, 10:35 GMT
Sadly my original GB's screen is starting to go.
3. Prosody
06 Nov 2009, 10:38 GMT
Just as well you've got 40,000 other GBs, then.
I have never owned an original GameBoy but I do remember sneaking onto my friend's machine to play CastleVania and Super Mario Land. Good times.
4. StarDust
06 Nov 2009, 10:49 GMT
"...and the Game Boy is the second video game system to have been honoured, following on from the Atari 2700."
I believe you meant the Atari 2600. Man, that system was uber garbage compaired to the NES!
5. Corbie
06 Nov 2009, 10:56 GMT
I still have my original too and I love it. While I don't play it much anymore, I'll never forget it and what it did for portable gaming.
6. V8 Ninja
06 Nov 2009, 10:56 GMT
Just Another fact that video games are becoming more popular. But seriously, this is awesome! I can't wait for the Video Game Hall of Fame (it rhymes)!
7. Damo
06 Nov 2009, 11:07 GMT
@Stardust - well spotted - corrected.
8. Stuffgamer1
06 Nov 2009, 11:26 GMT
Isn't it a step BACKWARD for a video game device to be in the "toy" hall of fame? I thought gamers wanted video games to be differentiated from toys?
Well, I guess recognition in any form is cool. My birthday, 1995: Green Gameboy. Good times.
9. Omega
06 Nov 2009, 12:40 GMT
I have also my original Gameboy (bought 1989 from import dealer). And it's just as good as a new one. Though, I'm playing most Gameboy Classic games nowadays on the GBA SP, Gameboy Player or PC.
10. mjc0961
06 Nov 2009, 13:20 GMT
It actually seems a bit insulting to me that they would put one of the most industry shaping game platforms (probably the 2nd most influential with the NES being #1) in a toy museum. I mean, if they were trying to put the Wii in there, the flames would be flying all over the place. Wii fans flaming them for calling the device a toy, Wii haters flaming the Wii fans because "you have toys and we have real game consoles" and such...
So yeah. Not sure why I should be happy that they're insulting the GameBoy like this.
11. bboy2970
06 Nov 2009, 14:35 GMT
This is great news! I'll have to go check it out since I live a few minutes away from Strong Museum!
12. Andy100003
06 Nov 2009, 14:36 GMT
@mjc
arent all video game consoles just considered toys
or maybe big boy toys
13. Egg miester
06 Nov 2009, 15:02 GMT
the gameboy is pure awesomeness wrapped up in a little handheld box
14. Mike
06 Nov 2009, 16:48 GMT
Congrats Game Boy!!!
15. the shpydar
06 Nov 2009, 17:54 GMT
Video games ARE toys. Even the PS3 and 360 are toys. While the most common definition/use of the word is in association with children, "toy" itself means an amusement, a leisure-pastime. Just because they call themselves "multimedia devices" or "entertainment systems" doesn't change the fact that they're toys. Just because something is positioned at or maketed towards adults doesn't make it any less of a toy.
16. Stevie
06 Nov 2009, 18:17 GMT
I would love to see Nintendo use the Gameboy name again in the future for one of their portable consoles, looking back it was quite a brave move to drop the name after the success it has garnered over the years.
17. StarBoy91
06 Nov 2009, 19:55 GMT
Ah, the Game Boy Pocket. My first ever handheld, and the site for my first ever game; the Game Boy port of Pinocchio (from SNES/MegaDrive). One of my Italian cousins now has it (it was green and bold).
18. cheetahman91
06 Nov 2009, 20:55 GMT
I never had an orginal GB. I had a GG.
19. JamieO
06 Nov 2009, 21:15 GMT
Congratulations to Nintendo, the Game Boy is a "real deal" iconic part of video gaming history and has justifiably earned its place in the National Toy Hall of Fame. Nintendo were as savvy to the average Joe's and gamer's wants and needs back in 1989 as they were with the release of Wii in 2006. The Game Boy was relatively under-spec'd considering what the Atari Lynx (1989) and Game Gear (1990) brought to the table.
Nintendo knew what I wanted from a handheld, before I did! I was a foolish geek craving swanky graphics at the time, who pooh-poohed the Game Boy screenshots. Nintendo knew best and with a long battery life, decent portability and super playable games I was slotting Tetrominoes into place in my sleep, alongside everyone else. I learnt about the ancient "Playability Vs Graphics" quandary from the Game Boy.
On a side note in the 'Dewey Decimal Classification' Computer Games are listed under Indoor Games of Skill (794.8) alongside Chess and Checkers/ Draughts. I would imagine that the National Toy Hall of Fame have Checkers featured too, because it is present in the image slider on their website. I do not see any problem with the Game Boy being acknowledged as being a superb and legendary toy.
20. ryanknight717
06 Nov 2009, 22:13 GMT
and it deserves it
21. geek-master
06 Nov 2009, 23:42 GMT
and to celebrate we need virtual handheld on the dsi shop
22. Badknux
10 Nov 2009, 05:42 GMT
Awards don't mean a thing to me. I didn't like the Gameboy, but I can't deny its cultural significance.
Leave A Comment
Please login to post a comment.