Game and Watch. The Electronic King of the 1980s Playground.

Most household names start off somewhere. Microsoft started with MS-DOS, Apple had Macintosh, and Sony had Walkman. Nintendo dabbled in several ideas, including cards and table top electric games, but they were losing the battle to Japanese toy big-hitters like Bandai and Tomy. However it was the Game and Watch series, driven by Gunpei Yokoi, that really launched the company into the gaming Hall of Fame.  Yes, this is the Game and Watch glory years of the early 1980s, and arguably the invention that made Nintendo the gaming giant it is today.

Born in the early 1970s, I was lucky enough to still be in Primary School when Game and Watch hit the playgrounds, and it was this groundbreaking toy that I remember most fondly today.  

   

So why the appeal? There were similar things out there. Some homes had a Grandstand system, using a paddle to knock around the white square in a simple game of tennis. Luckier households may have had an Atari 2600 (VCS), with games like PacMan and Space Invaders drawing children (and adults) into this new world of home gaming. Play as often as you like, without having to sink a coin into an arcade machine. Great. But it was Game and Watch that brought embryonic electronic gaming into the school playground. Children started bringing in the first games, impressed by their pocket size, to show their friends. First Chef and Ball, and then what felt like an explosion of different colours and game designs, with a new game being demonstrated often weekly for children to pass judgement. Unofficial swapping, competitions and gaming clubs were springing up and down the playgrounds of the UK. Suddenly it felt like everyone had to have one. The only barrier was the price. Lucky children received one for their birthday. Some children had two or three, but unfortunately they were too expensive for others.

 Yes there were hazards too. Many screens were damaged, with the Game and Watch coming off second best when dropped on the hard tarmac of the playground. Thieves, bullies and killjoy teachers also upset many children.

People of an older age may remember taking their Game and Watch to the office, and kill off time by trying to grab more treasure with Octopus for example. However because of my age, I can only reminisce meaningfully about the Game and Watch playground culture.

The games, on the whole, were simple yet highly addictive. Getting a character from one side of the screen to the other without being hit on the head, or collecting rewards and avoiding [pick your own danger] the low pitch buzz when you die had never been so much fun. Sometimes there was much excitement to be had when a graphic could be seen on the screen for the first time. It was possible to hear how well someone else was doing by listening to the simple rhythm of beeps - the faster the beeps the faster the score was rising. The slim rectangle shape was perfect for the hands, and the dual screen of Donkey Kong must have been the iPhone of its day - design genius. And the buttons - bliss. Small and squidgy, but perfect for their purpose of controlling an onscreen silhouette character, and this was a true novelty. At the end of the day, children pulled out the silver stand and set the alarm. The Game and Watch could be your bedside companion. Inseparable.

However, the Game and Watch was relatively short lived. Although there were games being released for over ten years, it was the ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64 that stole the hearts and minds of young gamers. The handheld playground gatherings evolved into gaming 'get-togethers' in lounges and bedrooms. Games were cheaper, deeper and more colourful.

But for a short time, the Game and Watch was king, and the birth of LCD handheld gaming heaven was born.