The above video comes courtesy of Gametrailers.com and provides an in-depth look back at one Mr. Gunpei Yokoi, the man behind the most successful handheld of all time, the Nintendo Game Boy.
While the narrator seems to be a hired plant from the National Association for the Promotion of Narcolepsy, the information contained in the twelve minute video is extremely englightening. It chronicles Mr. Gunpei’s inventions from the Kegel-esque Love Tester to the rudimentary Game & Watch titles, and while it stops short of covering his Game Boy or Virtual Boy excursions, the titles covered provide the basis for everything to come after them, and as such make this video an interesting look back at things that only the most hardcore Nintendophile would know.
Of course, above and beyond all the enlightenment contained in learning about a man whose invented more useful gaming ideas than anyone currently living, the video also makes you glad to live in the present. Aside from curiosity over how that Love Tester thing actually functions, the video served only to make me happy that everything I play now is in 24-bit color with more polygons than there are unwed mothers in Southern California. Nostalgia is fun, but innovation is the true mother of entertainment.
Earnest Cavalli
I'm Nex.
I used to work here but my love of cash led me to take a gig with Wired.
I still keep an eye on the 'toid, but to see what I'm really up to, you should either hit up my Vox or go have a look at the Wired media empire.
More Stories by Earnest Cavalli
