Chapter 1
The spark in your pocket
Chapter 2
The grey brick that conquered the world
Chapter 3
The double screen and the power trip
Chapter 4
The modern hybrid revolution
Ch 1 · The spark in your pocket
nintendo Programmer Mark Lesser packed red LED blip cars, a three-lane track, and a 99-second timer into a tiny 512-byte microchip.
Quiz
What type of display technology did the 1976 Mattel Auto Race handheld game use to show cars?
Quiz
How much memory did programmer Mark Lesser have to build the entire Mattel Auto Race game?
BETA
nintendo Assemble the Pocket Spark Player to learn how portable gaming first fit in pockets.
nintendo Each game cartridge carried its own microprocessor to power the portable console's tiny screen.
Quiz
Which engineer designed the 1979 Milton Bradley Microvision and later created the Vectrex home console?
Quiz
Where was the central processing unit (CPU) located on the 1979 Milton Bradley Microvision system?
Quiz
What did engineer Gunpei Yokoi observe that inspired the creation of the Nintendo Game & Watch?
Quiz
What design philosophy did Gunpei Yokoi coin while developing the Game & Watch series?
Fun Fact
LED game history: The first Mattel Auto Race handheld game was cloned in the Soviet Union under the name Elektronika IER-01.
nintendo Donkey Kong D-Pad
To fit the giant ape inside your pocket, They built a plastic cross so you could rock it.
Quiz
Which 1982 Nintendo Game & Watch title first introduced the cross-shaped directional pad (D-pad)?
Quiz
Why was the cross-shaped D-pad designed to be flat instead of using a traditional joystick?
Glossary
calculator (noun)
A small electronic device used for performing mathematical calculations. Gunpei Yokoi's observation of a train commuter playing with a calculator inspired Nintendo's Game and Watch.
A small electronic device used for performing mathematical calculations. Gunpei Yokoi's observation of a train commuter playing with a calculator inspired Nintendo's Game and Watch.