SHOWDOWN <<
HANDHELD
SHOWDOWN
WE EXAMINE 3 OF THE 90s MOST POPULAR
TALE OF THE TAPE
Manufacturer:
Nintendo
Release Date:
April, 1989 (Japan)
Units Sold:
118.69 Million
Top Sales Game:
Tetris (1989)
GAME BOY
Game Boy was
by far the biggest
selling handheld of
the 3 and one of
the most popular
consoles of all time.
4 AA batteries could
provide well over 30
hours of gaming!
By Josh LaFrance
So everyone knows the Game Boy, the
king of sales of the 1990s. However, is it
the best handheld console of that era?
That is for you the reader to decide, and
each person's answer is based on their
own personal tastes. For me, it is the
Game Gear, but I know others can make
a fantastic argument for the Atari Lynx.
Above: Original Game Boy (1989)
Each handheld console has their
own sets of pros and cons and
should stand on their own merits.
Like every monthly SHOWDOWN, we
here at Classic Console magazine provide
just the stats of each challenger. It is up
to the community to debate which of
these is the true victor! (Write us your
thoughts: [email protected])
Above: Game Boy Color (1998)
SEGA GAME GEAR
ATARI LYNX
TALE OF THE TAPE
TALE OF THE TAPE
Manufacturer:
SEGA
Release Date:
Oct., 1990 (Japan)
Units Sold:
11 Million
Top Sales Game:
Sonic the Hedgehog
(1991)
Sega's Game Gear was the biggest
rival to Nintendo's Game Boy. With a
full color screen and a backlight, the
Game Gear could be played in low light
situations where as the Game Boy
needed an external light source.
That backlight also meant that the
Game Gear suffered from a serious flaw.
It ate through batteries at the rate of 4
hours of gameplay to six AA batteries!
One unique accessory for the Game
Gear was a TV tuner and antenna,
which allowed you to watch your
favorite shows on the device.
Manufacturer:
Atari
Release Date:
Oct., 1989 (USA)
Units Sold:
Less than 1 Million
Best Game:
Chip's Challenge
(1989)
Atari's Lynx held the distinction of
being the first color handheld, having been
released a year prior to the Game Gear.
The Lynx boasted several innovations
such as a switchable right handed/left
handed configuration (Could flip system
upside down) and multiplayer network
gaming through their Comlynx system.
As a 16-Bit system, the Lynx by far
had the most impressive display of the 3.
However, it suffered the same issue with
batteries that the Game Gear did, due to
the color display's large power needs.
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