A History of Handheld Gaming
May 11, 2016Back in 2015, I spent a month or so researching the history of watches that play video games. The research led to a fascinating piece I called “Time Killers,” which ran on Polygon. Unfortunately, my research also sparked a bit of an obsession for me in handheld gaming systems.
It turns out there’s a bit of shared history for both handheld games and game watches that can be traced back to, of all things, calculators.
Back in 1976, Mattel created one of the first handheld game and launched both its own line of Mattel Electronics games and handheld games with the release of Auto Race.
Auto Race, or so the story goes, was the concept of product development engineer George J. Klose who was messing around with other uses for standard calculator hardware. The Auto Race was manufactured by Microelectronics Division of Rockwell International and was so successful that it led to the creation of a slew of other titles, including the much more famous Mattel Football.
Mattel Football was released in 1977, and a year later, the much less successful gaming watch phenomenon bumped and wheezed to life, eventually giving birth to something much broader in nature: The smartwatch and hybrid watch.
Handheld game consoles soon exploded in popularity, expanding in shape and form and — most importantly — shaping the face of home consoles as well.
As I started to read up on the history of these systems, I realized that I had quite a few of my own, and that led me to start collecting those I was missing and building out a display case of my collection.
I’ve annotated the picture of my collection below to offer some details of each system I currently own. Below that, you’ll find a list of what I’m still saving to collect.
- 1975 Quiz Kid
- 1976 Unisonic Casino 7 calculator
- 1976 Texas Instruments Little Professor
- 1977 Texas Instruments Dataman
- 1977 Unisonic Jimmy the Greek 21 Pocket Blackjack Computer
- 1977 Invitica Electronic Mastermind
- 1979 Tiger Rocket Pinball
- 1979 Milton Bradley Microvision
- 1980 Mattel Computer Chess
- 1980 Gakken Backgammon
- 1980 Casio MG-880
- 1981 Sharp WN-100 Wondertopia
- 1981 Mattel Dungeons & Dragons Computer Fantasy Game
- 1983 Casio Game & Radio Shuttle Bomber
- 1990 Delplay Game Plus
- 1991 Konami Star Trek: 25th Anniversary
- 1991 Bit Corp. Gamate
- 1989 Sharp Wizard OZ-7000
- 1994 MGA Game Wizard Star Wars
- 1995 Sanyo Giocatraduci
- 1995 Sanyo Agenda Game
- 1996 MGA Pac-Man
- 1996 MGA Ms. Pac-Man
- 1998 Cybiko
- 1998 Tiger Slingo
- 199x Queentex QGH-78 (Game Kid)
- 1999 MGA Space Invaders
- 2001 Apple iPod
- 2001 Aquaplus P/ece
- 2001 GamePark GP32
- 2003 Timetop GameKing
- 2004 Timetop GameKing 2
- 2005 Timetop GameKing 3
- 20xx Unknown Game King
- 2005 Capcom Megaman Advanced PET
- 2005 Nikko digiBLAST
- 2005 Gamepark GP2X
- 2006 PDP VG Pocket Caplet
- 2009 Dingoo A320
- 2010 GamePark Caanoo
41. 2002 LEGO Kek Powerizer
42. 1983 Sanyo RP-77 Sound & Game
43. 2019 BasicFun! Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego
44. 2023 McDonald’s Tetris McNugget handheld (not even kidding)
45. 2024 MyArcade 7-Eleven Slurpee x Tetris Handheld
46. 1999 Mattel Uno
47. 2006 Lexibook Console 20
48. 2008 Bandai Tuttuki Bako
49. 2019 Panic Playdate
50. 1997 Tiger Electronics XPG R-Zone
51. 2001 Hasbro Spino P-O-X Infectors
52. 2012 MyArcade DataEast
53. 1996 Bandai Japan Tamagotchi
54. 2020 Tamagotchi Nano x PAC-Man
55. 2021 Bandai Demon Slayer Tamagotchi
56. 2003 Super Monkey Ball McDonald’s toy
57. 2002 Fossil Wrist PDA
58. 2013 Pebble Pebble
59. 2018 Samsung Galaxy Watch
60. 2015 Apple Watch
61. 2025 My Play Watch Space Invaders
62. 1982 GCE Arcade Time watch
63. 1989 Nelsonic Super Mario Bros. Game Watch
64. 1993 Nelsonic Star Fox Game Watch
65. 2021 Bandai Tamagotchi Smart
66. 1977 Unitrex Monte Carlo game watch
67. 1981 Nelsonic Space Attacker
68. 1980 Casio Game Watch
69. 1981 ALBA Y761-5010
70. 2023 Lenovo Legion Go
71. 2025 Lenovo Legion Go S
72. 2022 Valve Steam Deck
73. 2023 Valve Steam Deck OLED Limited Edition
74. 2023 ASUS ROG Ally
75. 2024 ASUS ROG Ally X
76. 2020 One Netbook One Mix A1 Micro PC
77. 20xx Wenquxing Color Dictionary
78. 20xx Wenquxing NC2000A
79. 2010 OpenPandora GmbH Pandora
80. 2002 Saitek Cosmic Handheld Chess Computer
81. 2016 GPD Win
82. 2023 Hyper Mega Tech’s Super Pocket Limited Edition Taito bundle
83. 2021 Analogue Pocket
84. 2024 ModRetro Chromatic
85. 2023 Hyper Mega Tech’s Super Pocket Limited Edition Capcom bundle
86. 2024 Blaze Evercade Exp-R
87. 2020 Retroid Pocket 2
88. 2020 Blaze Entertainment Evercade
89. 2022 Blaze Entertainment Evercade EXP
90. 1977 Mattel Football
91. 1978 Mattel Baseball
92. 2003 Mattel Classic Basketball
93. 1978 Mattel Football 2
94. 1980 Coleco Head to Head Football
95. 1976 Mattel Auto Race
96. 1978 Parker Bros. Merlin
97. 1980 Bandai Missile Invader
98. 1980 Milton Bradley Pocket Simon
99. 2022 Logitech G Cloud
100. 2018 Asus ROG Phone
101. 2023 Razer Edge
102. 2005 Tiger Telematics Gizmondo
103. 2003 Tapwave Zodiac
104. 2003 P5-336 Game
105. 2004 Nokia N-Gage QD
106. 2003 Nokia N-Gage
107. 2007 Apple iPhone
108. 1980 Entex Space Invaders
109. 1989 Game Axe Color
110. 1992 Watara Supervision
111. 1981 Entex Pac Man 2
112. 1981 Entex Galaxian 2
113. 1993 Welback Holdings Mega Duck
114. ???? Hartung Catchen
115. 2011 PVP Pocket Light
116. 2010 Giochi Preziosi BeHero: Be Your Legend Handheld Console
117. 1990 Hartung Game Master
118. 1988 Tiger Electronic Shinobi
119. 2012 Retro-bit RetroDuo Portable
120. 2022 Anbernic RG353M
121. 2015 Revo K101 Plus
122. 1983 Tronica Game & Watch Treasure Island
123. 1982 Tiger Dragon
124. 1982 Casio CG-110 Cosmo Fighter
125. 1982 Masudaya Space Trip
126. 1983 Gakken Search Light
127. 1984 Electronika Igra na ekrane: Mickey Mouse
128. 1983 Nintendo Mario Bros. Game and Watch Horizontal
129. 1984 Nintendo Super Color Spitball Sparky
130. 1982 Nintendo Donkey Kong Game And Watch Vertical
131. 2020 Nintendo Game & Watch Super Mario Bros.
132. 1984 Nintendo Micro Versus Game and Watch Donkey Kong 3
133. 2021 Nintendo Game & Watch Legend of Zelda
134. 1983 Nintendo New Wide Screen Game and Watch Mario Cement Factory
135. 1981 Nintendo Popeye Game & Watch Widescreen
136. 2014 Stradlbauer Nintendo Mini Classic Donkey Kong Jr.
137. 1980 Nintendo Silver Game and Watch Vermin
138. 1981 Nintendo Gold Game and Watch Manhole
139. 1999 Tiger Electronics Pokémon Poké Ball
140. 1998 Nintendo Pocket Pikachu
141. 2001 Nintendo Pokémon Mini
142.2018 Pocketsprite
143. 2021 FunKey S
144. 2024 Thumby Color
145. 2021 Thumby
146. 1989 Nintendo Game Boy
147. 1996 Nintendo Game Boy Pocket
148. 1998 Nintendo Game Boy Light
149. 1998 Nintendo Game Boy Color
150. 2001 Nintendo Game Boy Advance
151. 2003 Nintendo Game Boy Advance SP
152. 2005 Nintendo Game Boy Micro
153. 2009 Nintendo DSi
154. 2009 Nintendo DSi XL
155. 2004 Nintendo DS
156. 2006 Nintendo DS Lite
157. 2013 Nintendo 2DS
158. 2017 Nintendo New 2DS XL
159. 2014 Nintendo New 3DS
160. 2011 Nintendo 3DS
161. 2014 Nintendo New 3DS XL
162. 2025 Nintendo Switch 2
163. 2021 Nintendo Switch OLED
164. 2019 Nintendo Switch Lite
165. 2017 Nintendo Switch
166. 2023 PlayStation Portal
167. 2023 Project X
168. 2009 Sony PSP Go
169. 2011 Sony Xperia Play
170. 2011 Sony PSP Street
171. 2013 PS Vita Slim
172. 2007 Sony PSP Slim and Lite 2001
173. 2011 Sony PlayStation Vita
174. 2005 Sony PlayStation Portable 1001 (U.S.)
175. 2008 Sony PSP Brite 3000
176. 2004 Sony PlayStation Portable 1000 (Japan)
177. 1999 Sony Pocketstation
178. 1989 Atari Lynx
179. 1991 Atari Lynx II
180. 1978 Atari Touch Me
181. 2015 Atari Flashback Portable
182. 1995 Sega Nomad
183. 1991 Sega Game Gear
184. 2014 Sega Genesis Ultimate
185. 2010 Sega Camega
186. 1998 Sega Dreamcast VMU
187. 2020 Sega Game Gear Micro
188. 1982 Super Barcode Wars
189. 1995 Bandai Paluseata (Variant of Design 183. Master Denshi Mangajuku)
190. 2002 Bandai WonderSwan Crystal
191. 1984 Bandai Digi Casse
192. 2000 Bandai WonderSwan Color
193. 1982 Bandai Invaders of the Mummy’s Tomb
194. 1999 Bandai Wonderswan
195. 1984 Epoch Game Pocket Computer
196. 1990 NEC TurboExpress
197. 2012 SNK NEO GEO X Gold
198. 1997 Tiger Game.com
199. 2013 GCW Zero
200. 1999 Tiger Game.com Pocket Pro
201. 1984 Palmtex Portable Videogame System (Super Micro)
202. 1999 SNK NeoGeo Pocket Color
203. 2016 Arduboy Tetris
204. 2016 Arduboy
205. 2019 Arduboy Space Invaders
206. 2006 Conny Pocket Dream Console
Not Shown
207. 1991 Sharp IQ-7200
208. 2021 Go-Volmon handheld 900-in-1
209. 1979 MEGO Mini-Vid Breakfree
210. 2005 Excalibur Electronics Space Invaders Blue
211. 1980 Tomytronic Slimline Speedway
212. 1981 Bandai Crazy Crows
213. 1984 Nintendo Panorama Game and Watch
214. 198? Yorx Electronics Hotshot Collection 2-in-1 Stereo Cassette Player LCD Pack
215. 2008 Leapfrog Didj
216. 2025 ASUS ROG Xbox Ally X
217. 2025 MyArcade Atari Gamestation Go
218. 2007 Milton Bradley Battleship
219. 2025 Hyper Mega Tech! Super Micro Data East BurgerTime Keychain
220. 2025 My Play Watch Tetris
221. ???? Dr. Boy
222. 2017 Razer Phone
223. 2025 Ollee Watch Conversion
224. 2010 Nintendo Mini Classic Parachute
225. 2025 Miyoo Flip v2
226. 2025 Hyper Mega Tech’s Super Pocket Limited Edition NeoGeo bundle
227. 2025 Hyper Mega Tech’s Super Pocket Limited Edition Data East bundle
Still Looking
While I’m quite happy with my current collection, there are still many important systems missing, including:
1986 Nintendo Crystal Game and Watch
198? Altair DBGB-061
1996 Koei PasoGo
1996 Philips In2It
1996 Sega Kid’s Gear
2000 Majesco Game Gear
2003 Wenquxing NC1020
2005 MoMA Eve
2009 Planet Interactive MI2
2011 Jungle
2012 Blaze Entertainment GameGadget
2021 Smach Z
It’s worth noting that a lot of the systems that hit in the late 1970s and early 1980s were single-game handhelds. That means there’s a lot to collect if, for instance, I wanted to gather all of the Game & Watch, the Bandai games, or even the relatively small assortment of Mattel handhelds. I decided it’s best to collect a single iconic handheld from each, with an eye toward collecting the first from each eventually. Ball, I’ve got my eye on you! There are, of course, quite a few variations, which I’ve largely ignored for my collection.
I’ll work on updating this list as my collection grows.
