HANDHELDS

The grey brick that brought handheld gaming to the masses. Game Boy prioritised battery life, durability and a strong game library over colour graphics – a combination that proved remarkably enduring.

Released

1989 (Japan/USA), 1990 (Europe)

Units sold

118.69 million for Game Boy + Game Boy Color

CPU

Sharp LR35902, 4,19 MHz

Memory

8 KB RAM + 8 KB video-RAM

Screen

160 × 144, 4 grey/green shades

Media

Game Pak-cartridges

Power

4 × AA batteries

Known for

Tetris, Super Mario Land, Pokémon

A smaller and lighter version of the original Game Boy with a sharper black-and-white screen and only two AAA batteries. It did not change the game library, but made the classic Game Boy much more pocket-friendly.

Released

1996

CPU

Sharp LR35902, 4,19 MHz

Screen

160 × 144, monokrom

Media

Game Boy-cartridges

Power

2 × AAA

Known for

Samme enorme Game Boy-bibliotek

A Japan-exclusive evolution of the Game Boy Pocket with electroluminescent backlighting. Today it is a sought-after collector model.

Released

1998, kun Japan

CPU

Sharp LR35902, 4,19 MHz

Screen

160 × 144 with backlight

Media

Game Boy-cartridges

Power

2 × AA

Status

Rare collector model

Game Boy Color carried forward the original Game Boy’s huge library and added colour, a higher clock speed and new Color-only games. Backwards compatibility made the transition unusually painless.

Released

1998

Units sold

included in the Game Boy family’s 118.69 million

CPU

Sharp LR35902, up to 8.39 MHz

Memory

32 KB arbejds-RAM + 16 KB video-RAM

Screen

160 × 144 farve-LCD

Media

Game Boy / Game Boy Color-cartridges

Power

2 × AA batteries

Known for

Zelda: Oracle-spillene, Pokémon Crystal

With Game Boy Advance, Nintendo made a major technical leap. The wide handheld delivered 32-bit graphics, an enormous library and compatibility with most of the Game Boy back catalogue.

Released

2001

Units sold

81.51 million (GBA family)

CPU

ARM7TDMI, 16,78 MHz

Memory

32 KB intern + 256 KB ekstern RAM

Screen

240 × 160, up to 32,768 colours

Media

Game Boy Advance-cartridges

Power

2 × AA (original model)

Known for

Metroid Fusion, Advance Wars, Pokémon

The folding GBA SP addressed the original GBA’s biggest weaknesses with a built-in rechargeable battery and illuminated screen. The AGS-101 variant is especially popular among retro gamers.

Released

2003

Units sold

included in the GBA family’s 81.51 million

CPU

ARM7TDMI, 16,78 MHz

Screen

240 × 160, front-/backlit depending on model

Media

GBA, GBC and GB cartridges

Power

Genopladeligt lithium-ion-batteri

Two screens, touch input, a microphone and wireless multiplayer made DS very different from the classic Game Boy line. The result was one of the best-selling gaming systems ever.

Released

2004 (Japan/USA), 2005 (Europe)

Units sold

154.02 million

CPU

ARM946E-S 67 MHz + ARM7TDMI 33 MHz

Memory

4 MB RAM

Screens

2 × 256 × 192, lower screen with touch

Media

DS Game Card + GBA slot on early models

Networking

Wi-Fi and local wireless multiplayer

Known for

Mario Kart DS, Nintendogs, Brain Training

Nintendo built on the DS formula with glasses-free stereoscopic 3D, an analogue Circle Pad and significantly more powerful hardware. The family received a large library and several models.

Released

2011

Units sold

75.94 million (3DS family)

CPU

Dual-core ARM11 + ARM9

Screens

Upper 800 × 240 3D + lower 320 × 240 touch

Media

Nintendo 3DS Game Card + DS-kompatibilitet

Known for

Mario Kart 7, Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, Pokémon X/Y

SEGA went directly after Game Boy with a backlit colour screen and hardware closely related to the Master System. Game Gear looked impressive in 1990 – but also required six AA batteries.

Released

1990 (Japan), 1991 (Europe)

Units sold

Approx. 10.6 million

CPU

Zilog Z80, 3,58 MHz

Memory

8 KB RAM + 16 KB video-RAM

Screen

160 × 144, 32 simultaneous colours

Media

Game Gear-cartridges

Power

6 × AA batteries

Known for

Sonic, Columns, Shinobi

Atari Lynx was technically ambitious and among the first handhelds with a colour LCD. It could even be flipped for left-handed players, but its high price, size and battery consumption held it back.

Released

1989

Units sold

Approx. 3 million (estimate)

CPU

65SC02, approx. 4 MHz

Memory

64 KB RAM

Screen

160 × 102, 16 simultaneous colours

Graphics

Custom Suzy/Mikey chips

Power

6 × AA batteries

Known for

California Games, Blue Lightning, Chips Challenge

SNK’s small colour handheld was never a sales giant, but gained cult status thanks to a superb clicky mini-stick and strong 2D games with clear arcade heritage.

Released

1999

Units sold

Under 2 million for the Pocket series (estimate)

CPU

Toshiba TLCS-900/H, 6,144 MHz

Audio

Z80-based audio processor

Screen

160 × 152 farve-LCD

Media

Neo Geo Pocket-cartridges

Power

2 × AA + coin cell for clock

Known for

SNK vs. Capcom, Metal Slug, Sonic Pocket Adventure

Bandai’s WonderSwan Color was a compact Japanese competitor to Game Boy Color. It had long battery life, could be played horizontally or vertically and received several strong Japanese RPG releases.

Released

2000, Japan

Units sold

Approx. 3.5 million for the WonderSwan family

CPU

NEC V30MZ, 3,072 MHz

Screen

224 × 144 farve-LCD

Media

WonderSwan-cartridges

Known for

Final Fantasy-remakes, Gunpey, Digimon

PlayStation Portable was Sony’s first handheld and focused on a large widescreen display, 3D graphics, multimedia and optical UMD discs. It became the strongest non-Nintendo competitor of its generation.

Released

2004 (Japan), 2005 (Europe)

Units sold

over 80 million

CPU

MIPS R4000-based, up to 333 MHz

Memory

32 MB RAM (PSP-1000), 64 MB on later models

Screen

480 × 272, 4,3" widescreen

Media

UMD + Memory Stick Duo

Networking

Wi-Fi

Known for

God of War, Lumines, Crisis Core

PSP Go was Sony’s compact sliding PSP without a UMD drive. It relied entirely on digital downloads and was in many ways ahead of its time, but never became the most popular PSP model.

Released

2009

Lager

16 GB internt + Memory Stick Micro

CPU

MIPS R4000-based, up to 333 MHz

Screen

480 × 272, 3,8"

Media

Digitalt – ingen UMD

Forbindelse

Wi-Fi + Bluetooth

Vita was technically far ahead of many handhelds with two analogue sticks, front and rear touch and – on the first model – a striking OLED screen. It never matched PSP sales, but has since gained strong cult status.

Released

2011 (Japan), 2012 (Europe)

Units sold

Sony has not published a final sales figure

CPU

Quad-core ARM Cortex-A9

Graphics

PowerVR SGX543MP4+

Memory

512 MB RAM + 128 MB VRAM

Screen

960 × 544, 5" OLED/LCD depending on model

Media

PS Vita Game Cards + memory cards

Known for

Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Tearaway, Persona 4 Golden