It's time to celebrate chunky black and green portable gaming, as the Nintendo Game Boy becomes the second video game platform to be inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame.
The Strong Museum of Play's National Toy Hall of Fame has been celebrating the playthings that have had a profound effect on how we have fun for 11 years now, but only recently have video games become a focus. In 2007 the Atari 2600 was inducted, becoming the first video game system to join such distinguished toys as the Slinky, the Frisbee, and the cardboard box. With the Strong Museum launching the National Center for the History of Electronic Games earlier this year, it only makes sense that 2009 also see another video game inductee, and the Game Boy is a fine choice. Here's why it was chosen:
No video-game platform did more to put gamers "on the go" than Nintendo Game Boy. And go they did-bringing their gaming experience to school, to summer camp, and to the back seat of the family automobile. Over the past two decades, Game Boy has become synonymous with portable gaming fun.
Ah yes. I still remember long car trips with my family, pulling over to buy batteries constantly, driving my parents insane with the Tetris music stumbling out of that tinny speaker. Good times indeed.
National Toy Hall of Fame: Game Boy [Strong Museum of Play - Thanks Brian!]