How Nintendo's Game & Watch was inspired by a calculator and boredom

Gunpei Yokoi, hired by a struggling Nintendo in 1965, repurposed calculator LCD technology to create the Game & Watch handheld, launching its first title, Ball, in 1980. The series released 59 games, sold over 43 million units, and introduced a clamshell dual-screen design that influenced later handhelds. Yokoi’s “lateral thinking with withered technology” philosophy guided the Game Boy’s affordable, portable design, shaping Nintendo’s long-term success.