Way back in 1987, the year that most of us at NGEB were born, Gunpei Yokoi and the Nintendo R&D 1 Team had an idea to mate the successful cartridge-style gameplay of the NES with the portability of the classic Game & Watches, the child of which was the Game Boy. Of course, Nintendo went crazy for it, and so, development went quickly underway for what would become the most popular gaming system ever.

Ideas for games were all set on the get-go; portable sequels to already-famous Mario, Zelda, and Metroid games. But an innovation from Russia called Tetris, which would someday become the best-known and most-played video game ever, set the portable gaming industry on fire. And so, in the spring of 1989, Japan was introduced to the portable fun of the Game Boy. Gaming would never be the same, gamers themselves would never be the same, and Nintendo, most obviously, would never be the same.

Japan went mad with Game Boy fever, and millions of copies sold within its first few years. But by then, the rest of the world wanted a taste, and in 1991, they got it. A massive slew of portable hits were being released, and the original Game Boy became the most world-recognized handheld system, appearing on television, in movies, and often replacing the word "video games" in the adult dictionary, so to speak. In '95, a color series was released, giving gamers the option to buy a total of 6 cosmetically different Game Boy systems. This trend was very successful, and continues in Game Boys today.

Game Boy was big; really big. Actually, almost too big. In the mid-90's, with super-powerful systems like the PlayStation and Nintendo's own 64 coming out, a big ugly Game Boy was not a neat thing to carry around anymore. So Yokoi responded with his latest Game Boy model that was smaller, lighter, and more than kept up with the times. In '97, a breed of Game Boy able to fit in a pants-pocket was devised; the Game Boy Pocket. As with 95's 6 Game Boy flavors, the Pocket got its share of the fun, even with a "special edition" Ice Blue release in March of '98. Gamers today still have no idea what's so special about these editions.

With such portability, players could do anything with the Game Boy, provided Nintendo gave them the chance. So they showed to us the wonders of photography... on our Game Boys. The Game Boy Camera, the smallest complete photographic system to date, was released in the form of a fun-filled, multimedia pak. Players could snap themselves or their friends, and decorate the photos, make animations with them, or even incorporate them into the classic Game & Watch title, Ball. Sold seperately was the highly-successful Game Boy Printer, a tiny battery-powered printer that printed out all your pictures on a roll of sticker sheet. This device, unlike the Camera, continued to be a factor in games clear through the rest of the decade, such as Pokemon Gold and Silver, Fall 2000. Needless to say, both devices were a huge success, and truly revolutionized portable play.

Nintendo has never been very good at providing well-lit screens for their Game Boys, and gamers today still complain that in some games, you just can't tell what the heck is going on without a giant overhead lamp heating up your shoulder. But in late 1997, Nintendo released a glowing backlit Game Boy called the Game Boy Light, in Japan. All the same dimensions as the Game Boy Pocket, but with the nice extra feature of a much brighter screen. For whatever reasons, the Game Boy Light never made its way to America.

A major phenomenon washed up on American shores in September '98 in the form of 151 cute, collectible animals known then as Pocket Monsters. The anticipation was hyped up all year long, and millions of Americans were left dazed and confused by this strange new form of RPG, but none wanted more than to get their hands on the game. Needless to say, the original release of Pokemon Red and Blue was one of the biggest releases in gaming history. Tens of different Pokemon-related games and products have since popped up every few months, each one as popular as the last. Pokemon games fly off shelves into our hands and have delighted players of all ages for years, especially those in the 8 to 12 range. Pokemon Yellow, in-fact, became the fastest-selling video game ever upon its 1999 release. Thus Pokemon was largely, but not solely, responsible for Nintendo's bad rap of being a "childish" gaming company. Nevertheless, Pokemon games are recognized for their high-quality above all else, and should not be missed by anyone.

The Game Boy systems quickly matured into a force of gaming nature throughout the '90s, but products like the Sega Game Gear, Bandai Wonderswan, and NeoGeo Pocket were always contesting them with their full-color portable systems, and at least in America, a few thousand players actually doubted the power of the Game Boy. Nintendo soon lashed back in '98 with the Game Boy Color, a newer Game Boy model with a processing power comparable to that of the NES, all in the palm of your hand. A dream had been realized, and countless developing teams signed on with new and better-looking games, classic Game Boy remakes in beautiful color and detail, and not without the TV franchise paks galore. The marketting aspect of the Game Boy Color almost never died down, even when it was bumped aside by the Game Boy Advance's release in 2001.

Game Boy, Game Boy Pocket, Game Boy Light, and Game Boy Color were together the most powerful marketting force in gaming history, and have left an incredible legacy that will be hard to match by Nintendo's newer systems. Nothing is quite like the fun one can have with Game Boy on the road, on vacation, or when the power's out around town. The battery-charged enterprise has been an amazing success, and all of Nintendo's dreams have been realized with flying colors. The long line of Game Boy games and systems aren't merely a marketting ploy, but are the true definition of what "gaming" means in our generation. We'll miss you, Yokoisan. Thank you for your brilliance.