Legend has it that the first portable console, the Game & Watch, was inspired by the calculator.
Gunpei Yokoi is the father of the first Game & Watch. It is also to him that we owe the GameBoy.
However, the inventor of the GameBoy admits having found his inspiration elsewhere… Legend has it that he imagined the Game & Watch while traveling by train.
Gunpei is said to have sat next to a businessman who spent many minutes during the trip playing with his calculator. He would then have realized what a machine that would be dedicated to gaming could look like.
A few days later, Gunpei reportedly pitched the idea of a portable console. Nintendo President Hiroshi Yamauchi will give it the green light within a week, understanding the incredible potential of its creation. Gunpei will then be inspired by an arcade machine to design the first Game & Watch, which is equipped with a single button. “Ball” was born.
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