Game & Watch
The Game & Watch brand (Japanese: ゲーム&ウオッチ Gēmu & Uotchi; called Tricotronic in West Germany and Austria, abbreviated as G&W) is a series of handheld electronic games developed, manufactured, released, and marketed by Nintendo from 1980 to 1991. Created by game designer Gunpei Yokoi, the product derived its name from its featuring a single game as well as a clock on an LCD screen. The models from 1981 onwards featured an alarm in addition.
| Also known as | G&W, Tricotronic (West Germany, Austria), Time-Out (North America) |
|---|---|
| Developer | Nintendo R&D1 |
| Product family | Unknown |
| Type | Series of handheld electronic games |
| Generation | Second |
| Release date | April 28, 1980 (Ball) |
| Lifespan |
|
| Units sold | c. 43.6 million |
| CPU | Sharp SM5xx family |
| Display | Liquid-crystal display |
| Connectivity | Color Screen: USB Type-C |
| Power | Original series:
Color Screen: 1000 mAh Li-Ion |
| Best-selling game | Donkey Kong (8 million) |
| Successor | Game Boy |
The series sold a combined 43.4 million units worldwide, including 12.87 million units in Japan and 30.53 million overseas. It was the earliest Nintendo video game product to gain major worldwide success.
The units are based on a 4-bit CPU from the Sharp SM5xx family that include a small ROM and RAM area and an LCD screen driver circuit.