Handheld game system is a small device for playing electronic games. It combines a specialized computer, a video screen, and controls. A handheld game system differs from a video game console, which must be connected to a television. Home video game consoles tend to have more powerful computers than do handheld systems. But consoles are not easily transported. Handheld systems, on the other hand, are meant to be carried and played on the go. Games for handheld systems are often much simpler than games made for consoles or personal computers.
The roots of handheld game systems can be traced to electronic calculators. In the late 1970’s, the toy company Mattel created simple game-playing devices about the same size as calculators. Gunpei Yokoi, a Japanese game designer at Nintendo, developed the first truly successful handheld game system, called the Game Boy. Released in 1989, the Game Boy featured a small screen and controller buttons similar to those on the company’s popular Nintendo Entertainment System console. The Game Boy came packaged with the addictive puzzle game Tetris, helping to make the system a huge success.
Later handheld systems improved on the technology. They included rechargeable batteries, color screens, and innovative controls. The game.com (game com) was released by the Tiger Electronics company in 1997. Certain actions could be performed by touching its screen with a stylus (electronic pen). It was also the first handheld system to connect to the Internet. The Nintendo DS, released in 2004, featured two screens, one of which made use of a stylus. The Nintendo 3DS, released in 2011, featured a screen that projected three-dimensional images.
See also Electronic game (Handheld game systems) ; Electronic game (Handheld games) .
