TCW Podcast Episode 200 - The History of Handheld Games Part 3

In our concluding episode exploring the evolution of handheld games, we kick off with the Amiga and the allure of bouncing balls before delving into the Atari Lynx, an early and captivating handheld console. Despite its appeal, the Lynx struggled against challenges like its high price, the limited library of engaging games, and subpar battery life, ultimately being overshadowed by the Nintendo Game Boy—a device well-suited for puzzle games. Sega's Game Gear, whose origin may have stolen its design from Nintendo or Epyx- It's complicated. The Game Gear was notable but never had a lasting impact. Gunpei Yokoi took a daring leap with the Virtual Boy, which unfortunately flopped, returning to familiar ground with the Game Boy Pocket. Yokoi's departure coincided with the rise of Pokémon, injecting new vitality into handheld gaming. Yokoi later founded his own company, contributing to the development of Bandai's Wonderswan. This prompted Nintendo's response with the Game Boy Color. Despite various attempts, no other company has managed to dethrone Nintendo as the undisputed king of handheld consoles.

Brownest of the brown Liquors: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n39897a9hNk

Amiga Bouncing Ball CES 4K: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlAhRJjOhDg

Lynx - Chip's Challenge: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qw4EFHGemfQ

Lynx - Blue Lightning: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKUJsqDux6A

Lynx - Gauntlet The Third Encounter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZplHuUekqF8

Lynx - Kalax: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBPNolD7Fmc

Lynx - California Games: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAc8Su1huLE

Game Boy - Super Mario Land: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGLmpjWTTnI

Game Boy - Tetris: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQwohHgrk2s

Game Boy - Doctor Mario: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FU9rkqHSiTg

Game Boy - Allyway: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/nyoNner2NH0

Game Boy JP Launch Commercial 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkOk_E_3J0E

Game Boy JP Launch Commercial 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hXxgNT3ib0

Virtual Boy Overview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pn8TFhK87ZM

Types of Batteries Explained: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dId6loUiV_0&t=423s

Duracell Commercial (1982): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOe_Xohknjc

First Energizer Bunny Commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiFQsxGUQOI

Game Boy Pocket Commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwvZSWQAMak

Game Boy Pocket - Generation Gap: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPje2eIf2v8

Pokémon Green: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1-rXw07VNA

Game Boy Pocket and Light: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yz24JQpSHY

Game Boy Color Commercials: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcRUaEftYJ4&list=PLy22iKf8SNXgNl8NpIqZX5du72dnDdE9F

Bandai Wonderswan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5zLek3wPG8

Pokémon Silver: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWVOYuRHaQ8

Space Odyssey: https://archive.org/details/2015MonnensGoldberg

New episodes are on the 1st and 15th of every month!

TCW Email: [email protected] 

Twitter: @tcwpodcast

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theycreateworlds

Alex's Video Game History Blog: http://videogamehistorian.wordpress.com

Alex's book, published Dec 2019, is available at CRC Press and at major on-line retailers: http://bit.ly/TCWBOOK1

Intro Music: Josh Woodward - Airplane Mode -  Music - "Airplane Mode" by Josh Woodward. Free download: http://joshwoodward.com/song/AirplaneMode 

Outro Music: RolemMusic - Bacterial Love: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Rolemusic/Pop_Singles_Compilation_2014/01_rolemusic_-_bacterial_love 

Copyright: Attribution: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/