game boy [geym-bohy]
noun
1.
Video Games. The first handheld electronic device for playing cartridge style games. It was the second handheld, after the
Game & Watch series, combining features from the
NES/Famicom and their previous handheld effort into a simple and successful device. It was followed by the pocket model, a smaller model, and then the
Game Boy Color, with a broad color pallet
and, eventually, the true successor the
Game Boy Advance. The best selling titles in the console's history, which had a quite large catalogue, was
Tetris (1989)
and
Pokemon Red & Blue (1996). It succeeded over its more technologically advanced competitors by being cheaper, more battery efficient, and having the Nintendo line of software title
EX. Future generations may never understand the simple genius of the
Game Boy. Some of my earliest memories are of playing Super Mario World and Tetris 2 in the back of my Dad's "hot rod" (actually, a smoke-colored and cigarette-infused sedan). I wasn't very good at video games and, to be honest, I don't think most little kids are very good at them. It requires a bit of dedication for a five year old to sit in a car seat and figure out how to get Mario past the ridiculous obstacles you encounter in the title. Remember, we didn't really have game guides back then. Heck, the only game guide I ever had was for my Super Game Boy, which, by the way, is one of the most incredible cartridges you could buy for you SNES.
Pokemon, of course, was the title that changed everything. I remember when I got Pokemon Blue, I weaseled my way into getting it, if I remember, at the end of one summer. I became obsessed after getting a book about the original generation and learning all of their names, types, abilities, attacks, etc. in ad nauseum. I was pretty obsessed with Pokemon, but I wasn't ever really that good at it. For example, I don't think I've ever used a Master Ball, caught a Mewtwo, or exploited any of the glitches. Cuz I am a dork.
Today, portable gaming feels like it is being ruined by two factors; the industry, which makes poor decisions that focus more on hardware than software, and age; I find I have less and less time and compulsion to play portable games. My PSP is collecting dust and my DS consoles are lucky to get my attention for Mario titles and every new Pokemon installment.
Is the magic gone?
