Evolution of Handheld Game ConsolesBy Ashley Trimble

FromTo

Microvision

0 The world of handheld video game consoles all started with Microvision by Milton Bradley.

0 It was released in 19790 It was designed by Jay Smith0 It grossed $8 million in the first year of release0 It appeared in the movie “Friday the 13th Part 2”0 Few cartridges, small screen, and lack of support from

home video game companies, led to its demise in 1981

Game Boy

0 The second handheld console was the original Game Boy.

0 Five years after the Microvision hit its demise, the Game Boy was released.

0 It was released by Nintendo0 Its “killer app” was the famous ‘Tetris’0 As of 2005 the Game Boy and Game Boy Color

combined to sell 118.69 million units worldwide.

Atari Lynx

0 Created in 1987 Epyx created Handy Game, which became Atari Lynx in 1989.

0 First handheld console with colour and a backlit screen.

0 Featured network support-up to 17 other players.0 Could be turned upside down to accommodate left

hand players.0 Came at very high price, leaving people looking for

cheaper choices.

TurboExpress

0 Portable version of TurboGrafx0 Released in 1990 for $249.990 Price briefly raised to $299.99 but soon dropped back

down.0 Most advanced handheld of its time.0 Could play all TurboGrafx-16’s games.0 Had an optional “TurboVision” TV tuner.0 “TurboLink” allowed for two player multiplayer.

Bitcorp Gamate

0 One of first handheld systems made in response to the GameBoy

0 Games designed with stereo sound but console only came with mono speaker, to get full music you must plug in headphones to reveal sophisticated music.

0 Internal components professionally assembled.0 Bitcorp closed in 1992.0 New games continued to be published, possibly until

1994.

Sega Game Gear

0 Third coloured handheld console.0 It was released in Japan in 19900 Released in North America in 19910 Based on Sega Master System, which gave Sega the

chance to make games quickly from its Master System library.

0 Most frequently seen in black or navy-blue, but also came in red, light blue, yellow, clear, and violet.

Watara Supervision

0 Released in 1992 in attempt to compete with the GameBoy

0 Never impacted the sales of Sega or Nintendo0 Watara designed many games themselves but had

third party support, mainly from Sachen.0 TV adapter could transfer the black and white colour

pallet to four colours.

Hartung Game Master

0 Obscure handheld released at an unknown point in the early 1990’s

0 Graphics lower than most of its contemporaries. 0 Was available in black, white, and purple.0 Likely around 20 games were released for the console.0 Frequently turns up in Europe and Australia.

Game.com

0 In TV commercials pronounced it Game com not Game dot com.

0 Released in 1997 by Tiger Electronics.0 Featured many new ideas for handhelds0 Aimed towards older targeted audience.0 Tiger also hoped it would gain the attention of a

younger audience as well.0 Two slots for game cartridges.

Game Boy Colour

0 Nintendo’s successor to the GameBoy.0 Released in 19980 Response to pressure from game developers for a new

system.0 First handheld with backward compatibility0 Capable of displaying up to 56 colours simultaneously

on screen.0 Could add four colour shading for games made for the

original GameBoy.

Neo Geo Pocket Color

0 Released in 1999 by SNK0 16 bit handheld game console0 Dropped in US and Europe markets in 20000 More successful than any Game Boy competitor0

WonderSwan Color

0 Released in 2000 by Bandai0 Had moderate success0 Original had only black and white screen0 Slightly larger than the original WonderSwan0 512kB of RAM and colour LCD screen0 Bandai got a deal with Square0 Only released in Japan

GameBoy Advance

0 Released in 2001 by Nintendo0 Nintendo added two shoulder buttons, a larger screen,

and more computing power than the GameBoy Color0 Design revised two years later into the Game Boy

Advance SP0 In 2005 the Game Boy Micro was released0 As of December 31, 2007 all of the above consoles

including the GameCube combined sold 80.72 million units world wide

Game Park 32

0 Released in 2001 by Game Park0 Released a few months after the GameBoy Advance0 32bit CPU, 133MHz processor, Mp3 and DivX player,

and E-book reader0 SmartMedia cards used for storage0 Redesigned in 20030 Popular with developers and technically-adept users

N-Gage

0 Released in 2003 by Nokia0 Designed as a combination of MP3 player, cellphone, PDA,

radio and gaming device0 Received much criticism0 Defects in physical design include its vertically oriented

screen and you must remove the battery to change the game0 Most well known defect was “sidetalking” which was the act

of placing the speaker and receiver on the edge, not a flat side, which made the user look like they were speaking into a taco.

Nintendo DS

0 Released in 20040 Had two screens, a touchscreen, and a normal screen0 Also had wireless connection and a microphone port0 In 2006 Nintendo revealed an updated version- the

Nintendo DS Lite0 The DS Lite has a cleaner design, longer battery life,

and a brighter, higher quality screen0 The DS Lite was also able to connect with the Wii

Game King

0 Released by TimeTop0 Released in 20040 The first design owes a large debt to the GameBoy

Advance0 The second design was a more direct rip-off of the

PSP

PlayStation Portable

0 Abbreviated to PSP0 Manufactured and Marketed by Sony Computer

Entertainment0 Released in March 20050 First handheld to use an optical disc format, the UMD

(Universal Media Disc)0 Can connect to the PlayStation 3, other PSPs, and the

Internet

Gizmondo

0 Released by Tiger Telematics0 Released in 20050 Designed to play music, movies, and games, have a

camera, and GPS functions0 It also connected to the internet0 Had a phone for sending texts, and multimedia

messages0 Email was promised but never happened before

Gizmondo and Tiger Telematics downfall

Game Park Holdings GP2X

0 Open source, hand held console and media player0 Released by GamePark Holdings0 Commonly used to run emulators for other game

consoles such as Neo Geo, Sega Genesis, Sega Master System, Sega Game Gear, Amstrad CPC, and Commodore 64

0 Designed for homebrew developers and commercial developers

Dingoo

0 Micro-sized handheld that looks similar to the GameBoy Micro

0 It supports music, radio, emulators, and a recording program

0 Currently two colours-white and black

PSP Go

0 Version of the PSP0 Manufactured by Sony0 Released in 20090 In 2011 the PSP Go was discontinued so Sony could

focus on the PSP0 Later Sony said it would only be discontinued in

Europe and Japan0 Shape and Sliding Mechanism are similar to the Mylo

COM-2 internet device

iPod Touch

0 Portable media player, personal digital assistant, hand held game console, and a Wi-Fi device

0 It is the first iPod with wireless access0 It has wireless access to the iTunes Store, and App

Store0 You can download and purchase apps straight onto

your iPod0 The fourth generation of the iPod Touch includes a

camera

Nintendo 3DS

0 The successor to the Nintendo DS handheld0 Released March 27, 2011 in North America0 Able to project stereoscopic 3D effects without

requirement of an active shutter or a passive polarized glass

0 ^^ Above requirements are necessary for most 3D televisions to show the 3D effect

0 Has online service called the Nintendo eShop

PlayStation Vita

0 The successor to the PSP0 Released in Japan and parts of Asia on December 27,

20110 Was expected to be released in North America on

February 22, 20120 Has a four core processor and a four core graphics

processing unit0 Supports Bluetooth, and optionally, 3G

Bibliography

0 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handheld_console