Game & Watch is a series of handheld electronic games created by Nintendo. Gunpei Yokoi designed the first game in the series, called Ball, which was released in 1980. Production of the devices continued until 1991. The name Game & Watch describes the two functions of the devices: they include a single game and a digital clock displayed on an LCD screen with numbers. The Game & Watch series became a major success, selling 43.4 million units worldwide. This was Nintendo's first major success with electronic games on a global scale.

History

The Game & Watch was created by Gunpei Yokoi, who led Nintendo Research & Development 1 (R&D1). During a trip on a Shinkansen train, Yokoi saw a businessman pressing buttons on a small calculator. This inspired him to design a compact toy for adults to use on public transport. At that time, Nintendo was facing financial difficulties, and R&D1 only had Yokoi and his assistant, Satoru Okada. They studied other handheld games, like Mattel Auto Race and Simon, but found them too large and using unclear displays. This led to the idea of using a segmented LCD screen, similar to calculators, to make a smaller device with clearer graphics for one game.

Yokoi’s approach, called "lateral thinking with withered technology," focused on using older, affordable technology creatively. This idea became important for Nintendo in later years. At the time, competition between Sharp and Casio in the calculator market had created extra LCDs and semiconductors, which could be used for gaming.

Yokoi shared his idea with Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi during a car ride after the company’s driver was sick. Yamauchi was meeting Sharp’s CEO, and they discussed the concept. A week later, Yokoi met with Nintendo and Sharp, and approval was given to create a calculator-sized gaming device.

However, Yamauchi assigned the project to Nintendo Research & Development 2 (R&D2), which focused on electronic projects like the Color TV-Game, while R&D1 continued making physical toys. R&D2 rejected the idea, saying it was too hard to build. Yokoi and Okada kept working on their own. Yokoi made a mock-up of the first game, Ball, by shining light through paper shapes. Okada then built a working prototype, using a TK-80 computer and learning to program for the Intel 8080 processor.

When they showed the prototype to Sharp employees, they were told the project was not feasible. Yokoi and Okada left the prototype with Sharp, asking them to test it. This helped Sharp employees see the game’s potential, leading them to develop a compatible display. The final device used a 4-bit CPU from Sharp’s SM5xx family, 1,792 bytes of ROM, 65 bytes of RAM, and an LCD screen driver.

The name "Game & Watch" showed its two functions: a single game and a digital clock. The first game, Ball, had modest sales, but enough success for Yamauchi to approve three more games: Flagman, Vermin, and Fire. This led to many more titles over the next decade.

In North America, the games were first sold by Mego Corporation as the Time-Out series, with names like Toss-Up and Exterminator. This partnership ended after a year, and Nintendo of America began selling the games under their original names.

Starting in 1981, Game & Watch devices added an alarm function, making them more useful as watches. By mid-1982, the single-screen LCDs were limited, so Nintendo created the Multi Screen Series, which doubled the gameplay area. Oil Panic started the series. Soon after, Nintendo’s popular Donkey Kong arcade game was adapted for the Multi Screen format, requiring a new control method. This led to the invention of the D-pad, a flat, four-way directional control. The D-pad design won a Technology & Engineering Emmy Award in 2008. The clamshell design of the Multi Screen Series later influenced the Game Boy Advance SP, Nintendo DS, and Nintendo 3DS.

The Game & Watch series was a major success. Yokoi aimed to sell 100,000 units, but Nintendo sold 43.4 million worldwide—12.87 million in Japan and 30.53 million overseas. The device helped Nintendo pay off debts. Before 1980, the company had debts of 7 to 8 billion yen. By 1981, Nintendo had paid off its debts and saved about 4 billion yen. This marked Nintendo’s first major worldwide success with a video game product.

Series

Over the first 11 years of the Game & Watch line, 60 different games were created for sale. These games were grouped into 11 different series, each with unique designs:

• Silver (1980) – the first version of the Game & Watch
• Gold (1981) – added an alarm clock, static color backgrounds, and a built-in wire loop stand
• Wide Screen (1981–1982) – used a 30% larger LCD panel in a slightly wider design
• Vertical Multi Screen (1982–1989) – featured two LCD panels in a vertical folding clamshell unit
• Horizontal Multi Screen (1983) – used two LCD panels in a right-to-left opening clamshell unit
• New Wide Screen (1982–1991) – an updated version of the Wide Screen series; used colorful metal faceplates for each game
• Tabletop (1983) – designed to compete with Coleco; used regular LCD screens like all other Game & Watch games. Light passed through a translucent top and reflected off an integrated mirror to illuminate the screen. A polarizer film was flipped to create a black screen when powered off. Colored overlays made the display elements appear in different colors.
• Panorama (1983–1984) – had a similar design to Tabletop units but folded into a compact size using an articulated hinge
• Super Color (1984) – used a long portrait-oriented LCD panel with color overlays
• Micro Vs. System (1984) – used a wide horizontal LCD panel and allowed two-player games with external control pads
• Crystal Screen (1986) – used a large see-through LCD panel with no reflective background; all three games were later re-released as New Wide Screen titles

Some games included characters from other Nintendo series, such as The Legend of Zelda and Mario Bros. Nintendo also used third-party characters, like Mickey Mouse.

One of the 60 games was a "prize" version of Super Mario Bros. It came in a yellow plastic case shaped like the Disk-kun character, which Nintendo used to advertise the Famicom Disk System. These games were not sold but given to 10,000 winners of Nintendo’s F-1 Grand Prix tournament.

The Game & Watch series sold 14 million units worldwide in its first year, which was 1981. The Game & Watch version of Donkey Kong, released in 1982, sold 8 million units. Mario the Juggler was the final LCD game in the series, released in 1991. It honored the first game, Ball.

Game A and Game B

Most games have a "GAME A" button and a "GAME B" button. Game B is usually a faster and harder version of Game A, but there are some exceptions:

• In Squish, Game B is very different from Game A—the player must touch aliens to remove them, instead of avoiding moving walls.
• In Flagman, Game B is a mode where the player must press the correct button within a certain time, not by memorizing patterns.
• In Judge, Boxing, Donkey Kong 3, and Donkey Kong Hockey, Game B is a two-player version of Game A.
• In Climber, Balloon Fight, and Super Mario Bros., there is no Game B button.

In most cases, both Game A and Game B become faster and harder as the player progresses. Game B usually starts at the same level that Game A reaches when the player has earned 200 points.

Legacy, ports and remakes

The Game & Watch series helped make handheld video games popular, leading other companies like Tiger Electronics, Micro Games of America, Konami, and Elektronika to create similar devices. Elektronika released the IM-02 series in the Soviet Union.

Nintendo used the technology from the Game & Watch line to develop the Bassmate Computer, a handheld device designed to help with bass fishing. The Bassmate was released in 1984 by Telko under different brand names, with Nintendo as the original designer.

After the first Bassmate model, Telko and its partners created other fishing computers, such as the Bassmate II, WalleyeMate, and Troutmate. These devices used the same basic hardware and software as the original Bassmate but were made by third-party companies without Nintendo’s help. Each model targeted a different type of fishing—bass, walleye, or trout—and was sold under brand names like Telko, KMV, and Probe 2000.

Between 1995 and 2002, Nintendo revived the Game & Watch series with the Game & Watch Gallery series for Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance. These versions included original ports and updated Mario-themed games. In 1998, smaller LCD versions of ten Game & Watch titles were released as the Nintendo Mini Classics. In 2001, Nintendo included the game Manhole with the Nintendo e-Reader, though plans for e-Reader Game & Watch cards were never completed.

From 2006 to 2010, Nintendo made the Game & Watch Collection series for the Nintendo DS, which was first available only to Club Nintendo members. Between 2009 and 2010, nine Game & Watch titles were released on DSiWare. In the DS game Cooking Guide: Can't Decide What to Eat?, players could unlock the game Chef.

To mark the 30th anniversary of Game & Watch in 2010, Nintendo re-released Ball as a Club Nintendo reward, adding a mute switch. It was available to members in Japan, North America, and Europe. The legacy of Game & Watch was also honored in the 2012 game Nintendo Land for Wii U, which included a mini-game called Octopus Dance based on the classic Octopus title.

In 2020, Nintendo released Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros. to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Super Mario series and the 40th anniversary of Game & Watch. This limited-edition handheld included full NES versions of Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, with Ball featuring Mario. In 2021, Nintendo launched Game & Watch: The Legend of Zelda to honor the franchise’s 35th anniversary. It included The Legend of Zelda, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, and Vermin featuring Link. Unlike older Game & Watch devices, these modern versions use advanced technology, including a backlit full-color LCD screen, a rechargeable battery that charges via USB-C, and a Cortex-M7 processor with over a megabyte of RAM and flash memory.

Mr. Game & Watch represents the brand in Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. series, first appearing in Melee (2001) as a two-dimensional, stick-figure-style fighter with moves inspired by classic Game & Watch games. He also appears in Game & Watch Gallery 4 and makes cameos in Donkey Kong Country Returns and Rhythm Heaven Fever. In 2015, Nintendo released a Mr. Game & Watch Amiibo, which unlocks a personal CPU fighter in Super Smash Bros. and a cosmetic option in Super Mario Maker. His moves in the Super Smash Bros. series are based on techniques from various Game & Watch games. Retro Gamer staff named Mr. Game & Watch one of the greatest video game icons, noting his role as an early mascot in gaming and his ability to adapt to different roles due to his simple design. He also appears in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (2026), where Luigi paints him into existence after taking Bowser Jr.’s paintbrush.