Nintendo’s new Game & Watch handheld proves the company is going its own way

It’s been a busy week for video game hardware. This week saw the launch of two next-gen platforms, with the launch of the PlayStation 5 and Microsoft’s Xbox Series X and Series S devices. Each platform is built around new advancements like ray tracing and fast-loading SSDs. Meanwhile, today Nintendo is releasing … a clock that plays super mario bros. It might sound strange, but it fits perfectly with Nintendo’s history: it’s a company that almost always goes its own way.

The new Game & Watch: super mario bros. is exceptionally cute material. It takes inspiration from the classic Game & Watch handheld – the precursor to the Game Boy – with a color scheme inspired by the original Japanese Famicom console. In terms of features, the device is incredibly simple. It has three built-in games, including the first SME Game. There is also Super Mario Bros. 2, better known in the West as The lost levels, a truly devilish sequel that remixes the first game with sneaky features like Killer Mushrooms. To complete the range is Ball, a simple yet surprisingly fun version of the 1980 LCD juggling game, this time starring Mario.

The games are all solid ports, and the screen is nice and bright while the handheld has an excellent D-pad. I found myself picking up the Game & Watch regularly to sneak up a level or two whenever I have a few minutes off. The lack of frills is almost cool: I can really just focus on the game. It even has save states, so you can pause the game and come back to the same place whenever you want. Apart from games, the main function of Game & Watch is also a watch. One of the face buttons simply says “time”, and pushing it will bring up a Super Mario– a themed clock with the plumber running and jumping through classic Mushroom Kingdom locations. The time of play changes even with the real world.

Photo: Nintendo

If I’m honest, the device is purely new. There are better and easier ways to play both Super Mario Bros. and check the time. But the Game & Watch has the right mix of nostalgia and functionality to make it worth checking out for me. Certainly not need it, but I want it. It’s similar to Nintendo’s line of miniature consoles, which started a surprisingly long trend following the release of the NES Classic in 2016.

Here’s the thing: Only Nintendo would release a kitsch, innovative handheld the same week its biggest rivals launch ambitious home consoles. The situation is indicative of Nintendo as a whole. While Sony and Microsoft focus on the reciprocal maneuver, Nintendo is in its own world, separate from concerns like frame rates or 3D audio or 4K graphics.

This is not always a good thing. Often times, Nintendo’s determined nature leads to glaring failures, as the Wii U is ahead of its time. But for now, the company’s separate focus is clearly positive. Just yesterday, Nintendo revealed that the Switch was the best-selling console in the United States for 23 consecutive months and that its lifetime global sales would soon eclipse the Nintendo 3DS. Meanwhile, animal Crossing: New horizons – which only released in March of this year – is already the Switch’s second best-selling game, with over 26 million copies.

It is not known how long this momentum will last. Maybe one day Nintendo will finally release a 4K Switch, as it has been said for a long time. For now, however, the company’s current philosophy – that an underpowered tablet with great games is the best experience for most people – is working. And it looks like no amount of intimidating next-gen consoles will change that.