The History Of Hand Held Video Games

The history of hand held video games has taken quite the turn in the last few decades. They have gone from large to small, black & white to color. So many transitions to it.

1. The Atari Lynx(1989) was a plain looking gray hand held. However as plain looking as this hand held may look it's considered to be one of the first handheld game console with color LCD. Also, it contained features that were advanced for it's time such as support 17 other players, backlit screen, supported zooming sprites, switchable configuration for right hand and left handed people,

2. The Game Boy(1989)- The first of many to be produced. Manufactured by Nintendo and created by Gunpei YoKoi. It was a new version of a handheld that had directional pad, rechargeable battery, and link cable.

3. Watara Supervision(1992)- This handheld was created to compete with its compettitor The Game Boy. Two versions of this game was created. The first was similar to a Game Boy with a slightly larger screen. The second one came in three colors(yellow, gray and green) and could be bent a little for a players comfort. However although it was a success it was still no match to it's competitor eventually dying out.

4.The Turbo Express(1990)- This handheld came out following the Atari Lynx created in Japan. It was created as a mini version of the original console, TurboGrafx. This handheld was in color, could display 64 sprites, and could play all the TurboGrafx games which came on HuCards. Now although this game was pretty advanced for it's time, it still had problems and issues. One problem being sound failure. Another being the price of $300.

5. The Neo Geo Pocket Color(1999)- came out in Japan and would later follow in the United States. Created by SNK, it was a 16 bit colored hand held and other features including 2 scrolling planes, 64 sprites, and 160X152 Resolution. This handheld was in major competition with The Game Boy, infact it became more of a success. However in 2000, it was pulled from United States Market due to commercial failure. 

6. The Game Boy Color(1998)- The game boy was originally released in Japan and later that year in the United States. Bigger than the game boy pocket it contained color and was thicker and longer. It was also created as an upgraded version of the original Game Boy which makers felt wasn't as sufficient. It was more advanced and the color pushed it over the edge. 

7. The Nintendo DS(2004)- A part of the Nintendo family it becomes one of the first handhelds with two screens and it was also touch screen. It started a whole new way to enjoy handhelds. It also had a built in microphone and allowed players to interact with each other in certain ranges. It continues to be a success as in 2006 they released Nintendo DS Lite. It is currently one of the best handheld consoles to date.

8. Playstation PSP(2005)- This handheld was released in Japan of 2004 and later released in North America in 2005. It's the first handheld to use optical disc format. Other exciting features include a larger screen, internet access, and connectivity with the original consoles. This handheld has been such a success since it came on the scene with new releases each year for it.