The Portable Video game system. Page 2
Here comes the big boy.
In
1985 a developer at Nintendo worked to release a portable system that was
affordable, small, and had a library of common games. This would lead to the
Gameboy portable video system in 1989.
The first Gameboy was prices at a reasonable $100.00 and ran on 4AA batteries. Although it was not backlit, new advanced in LCD technology made the screen easier to see in limited light scenarios. The Gameboys popularity would continue to today in a series of revisions and redesigns all the way to the most current Gameboy SP, which can still play original Gameboy cartridges from over 15 years ago.
The Gameboy would live on in various version including the gameboy Color (4 colors total), The Gameboy Advanced which could play 16 bit games and the original 8 bit games, and the Gameboy SP, a flip version of the Advance with rechargeable batteries and larger screen.
The
original gameboy had a green color to the screen but boasted stereo sound
and 8 bit style games. For a time the Gameboy would rule the portable market,
but soon, Nintendo's biggest competitors at the time would strike back with
portables of their own.
Atari Lynx
Before fading away Atari made a power play for the portable market with the Atari Lynx.
The
Lynx was the very first color portable system available and was released not
to long after the Gameboy. The Lynx also boasted 3D graphics, back lit display,
and a larger screen (160x102 vs Gameboys which should have launched to unit
to instant success, however the Lynx never took off in the US. This may be
due to the $189.00 price of the Lynx making it nearly twice the price as the
Gameboy. Lynx was a larger, better system which also meant 6AA batteries adding
to the overall cost. The back lit screen and processor also meant you only
got about 4 hours of play time.
The
Lynx also suffered from limited game manufacturer support. Nintendo had huge
game support making a vast library of titles the Lynx was hard to compete
with. Even in 1991 when the Lynx dropped to just $99.00 Gameboy still held
the market and Sega would announce their portable sealing the coffin on then
Lynx forever.
The Gear is In
In 1991 Sega released the Game Gear portable system.
The
Game Gear was basically a Sega Master system with slightly reduced power but
amazingly crisp graphics. The landscape design made the system more comfortable
and even had the option of adding a TV tuner to the device.
The Game gear lasted all the way to 1996 but could not compete with the Nintendo market share. Similar issues that killed the Lynx plagued the Game Gear including only 5 hours of life from the 6AA batteries. Even though the Gameboy had no back light and less powerful graphics, the Gear failed to catch on and never produced a successor.
In
1995 Sega also released the Nomad, a portable Sega Genesis system with 3.5
inch color LCD. Amazingly even through the system had the best performance
of a portable at the time and played Sega Genesis games, it never took off
and lasted only about a year. Support for the Genesis was ending and the move
into 32 and 65 bit games had begun killing the unit even when the reduced
the price from $179.00 to a measly $80.00.