Handheld video game

A handheld video game is a video game designed for a handheld device. In the past, this primarily meant handheld game consoles such as Nintendo's Game Boy line. In more recent history, mobile games have become popular in calculators, personal digital assistants (PDA), mobile phones, digital audio players (e.g., MP3), and other similar portable gadgets.

In the past decade, handheld video games currently have become a major sector of the video game market. In 2004 sales of portable software titles exceeded $1 billion in the United States for the first time, an 11% increase from the prior year.

For dedicated handheld games that do not have interchangeable cartridges, disks, etc., or are not reprogrammable, see handheld electronic games. For games on mobile phones, see mobile games.

History

Handheld video games grew out of handheld electronic games that were popular from the 1970s through the mid-1990s. The key factors in contributing to the advance of handheld video games were the increase in processing power, technological advances in liquid crystal displays (LCDs), and the reduction of power requirements. Handheld video games grew immensely in popularity, thanks to the Game Boy released in 1989. Tetris was considered the killer application for the console, and popularized the action puzzle genre.

Handheld Games

Handheld Games Corp. was a North American video game developer based in Mill Creek Washington. They were responsible for several licensed Disney titles. The former director, Thomas L. Fessler, a 25 year veteran of the games industry left after its closure and now works on app development for Costco Wholesale Corporation.

Games developed by Handheld Games

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