Nintendo’s groundbreaking portable console–that being the legendary Game Boy–is no longer a boy. It turns 25 years old today. That probably means that you’re too young to remember how the original 8-bit system couldn’t even deliver its classic games in color. Hungry video game fans still gobbled up the tiny console, and Game Boy soon completely revamped the video game industry.
Game Boy was the first portable system with interchangeable cartridges that ran entirely on batteries. It became the gold standard portable system, even as other companies rushed out their meager prototypes like Sega’s Game Gear or the Atari Lynx. Those are just a few examples of the puny systems who thought they only needed color to beat Nintendo’s golden child.
It’s hard to imagine where video games would be if Nintendo hadn’t given the world the Game Boy. Now let’s celebrate with a mix of nostalgic GIFs and a few amazing optics that pay tribute to the Game Boy’s most perfect of designs…