Nintendo's Game Boy Turns 25 - Also, Missed Opportunity?

[MCPO Mayh3m]

Nintendo's classic and original Handheld has turned 25 years old today. This may be strange for those who remember it's first release... (You are not that old) but for many fans of this classic hand held device, it brings a great dose of nostalgia.

 

 

"Happy birthday, Game Boy!

 

Nintendo’s famous portable is 25 years old today. The handheld would see numerous successors, peripherals, and notable games during its 15 years of dominance before the Nintendo DS would take over as the new brand for the Japanese gaming giant’s portable endeavors." Said Mike Minotti of VentureBeat.com. 

 

You can clearly see how much Nintendo's handheld line has grown, ranging from the Game Boy, to Nintendo DS, and eventually the Nintendo 3DS and beyond. However, could Nintendo be missing out on a great opportunity?  With the recent shortcomings from Nintendo's Wii U sales figures, Nintendo could use a bit of a boost in the Gaming industry.

 

So, would a re-launch of a slightly updated version of the Game Boy give Nintendo that jump? It could draw in fans of the now 25 year old system into buying it, as well as bringing in a new generation of Game Boy fans. With the Game Boy, there could also be re-releases of the classic and popular games that everyone came to know and love.

 

 

So, could a re-release benefit Nintendo at all?

What would you think if they chose to take this path?

Would you be interested in a re-release of Game Boy (updated, of course)?

 

 

Sources:

http://www.engadget.com/2014/04/21/nintendo-game-boy-25th-anniversary/

Edited April 22, 2014 by Total Mayh3m

[I_Make_Big_Boom]

I think Nintendo should've taken the chance to do something for the 25th. Would've helped with thier little crisis going on.

 

I also think for the anniversary they could've released some sort of Arcade game full of revamped old Gameboy games (which I think has been done already, but I'm not sure).

 

I'm not sure how a re-released Gameboy would hold up... maybe just an emulator fir the 3DS or Wii U or something. I might buy that.

[Drizzy_Dan]

Excellent article Mayh3m. It's pretty clear Nintendo needs something to boost sales although they are still a multi-million dollar gaming company. I wouldn't personally want a re-release of the GameBoy or any version of it, but I think it might help Nintendo if they sold classics as digital downloads. There were some incredible games on the GameBoy from the Pokemon series to original Super Mario Bros and beyond. One of my favorites was a game called Zool. I just don't see Nintendo heading in the right direction right now unfortunately. They will always be the king of handheld gaming, but I don't think that's what most gamers, child or adult, are looking for right now. All that being said however, I think they could have made something out of this 25 year anniversary maybe by doing what I said above.

[Twinreaper]

I remember it well.  Got the first one on Christmas 1989.  Good times man.  Only game I got with it was Tetris.  Played the **** out of that.  Had to wait till my birthday the following 6 months until I got Basball and some Bugs Bunny game.  Yeah it was lame, my parents did let me get Mortal Kombat when it hit later in the 90's, but man, nothing compares to that oversized hunk of plastic.  I think my brother may still have one in a drawer somewhere next to his original NES.

[Maestro]

Maybe Nintendo has something up their sleeves? It would be pretty cool to see old Gameboy and Gameboy Color games appear on the 3DS Virtual Console and let kids nowadays experience the games of the past without downloading roms on their computers.

Keep in mind that nothing was done to commemorate the 25th birthday of the NES in 2010 or its Japanese predecessor in 2008, so maybe it's not a worthwhile venture to celebrate the birthdays of their consoles and instead celebrate the birthdays of their franchises. After all, my Skyward Sword case has "Zelda 25th Anniversary" plastered all over it. XD

[Caboose The Ace]

Nintendo are stuck in a 80s / 90s time warp so I very much doubt they will do anything for the 25 though you never know and I hope they do.

Edited April 22, 2014 by Caboose the Ace

[Pbrabbit]

25 years since they're hit success of the original Gameboy. They did miss something on the 25th anniversary of the Gameboy. Nintendo should have done something. 

[BeckoningZebra1]

I personally never really played many games on the gameboy other than Namco Museum and Super Mario Bros. but that's not to say I wouldn't want to see an anniversary re-release. I think Nintendo could definitely make some sells off of an anniversary edition, maybe do like Atari did for their anniversary and take a handful of the best games in the gameboy's run and bundle it with the handheld. Nice article, Mr. Stiltskin