Nintendo is reviving Game & Watch, one of its oldest handhelds from the 1980s



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The Game & Watch handheld console, first introduced in 1980 and produced until 1991, was responsible for putting Nintendo on the map. It was a far cry from today’s Nintendo, which regularly publishes blockbuster games, connects people online, and uses augmented reality with toy cars.

Game & Watch was a series of handheld games sold by Nintendo before the world fell in love with the Game Boy. Back then, the black and white Game & Watch only played one game each.

The new Game & Watch takes the form of the original with its red and gold design, but charges via USB-C and is available in color. He plays three games: “Super Mario Bros.”, “Super Mario Bros .: The Lost Levels” and “Ball (the Mario version)”. Only “Ball”, a juggling game, remains in black and white.

Fans of everything “Super Mario Bros.” The game will immediately recognize the iconic music.

A multiplayer mode for Game & Watch just means you can play first as Mario in “Super Mario Bros.” then let a friend or family member pick up the console to play as Luigi. None of those modern internet business connections here.

Nintendo game and watch

As the name suggests, the Game & Watch console is literally a watch too. Pressing the Time button will show a clock, alongside Mario jumping.

While Game & Watch was not Nintendo’s first attempt at video games, it was the first success, leading to the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1985 and the Game Boy in 1989.

The Game & Watch isn’t as famous as some of Nintendo’s other game systems, but it was the first system to feature the +-shaped directional pad, first found on the Game & Watch “Donkey Kong” of 1982. Its success also gave some legitimacy to handheld gaming, a niche that video game makers were unsure of in the 1970s.

Nintendo has plunged into the bucket of Game & Watch nostalgia before by releasing a version of the last decade and putting Mr. Game & Watch, the anonymous character who appears in many early Game & Watch games, in its “Super Smash Bros. . ” Games.

The company has been on a reissue tear lately. In recent years, it has sold classic versions of the NES and Super Nintendo, along with a few dozen games and the original controllers. Now Nintendo is in celebration mode: it’s Mario’s 35th birthday. The company has announced a ton of Mario products, including a new battle royale game and the re-releases of “Super Mario 64”, “Super Mario Galaxy” and “Super Mario Sunshine”.

Now it’s Game & Watch’s turn to be in the spotlight. The 40th Anniversary Edition of Game & Watch goes on sale November 13 for a limited time and sells for $ 49.99.

David Goldman of CNN Business contributed to this story.

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