atari2600land's Blog

I personally like the game gear but back in the day was heavier, bulkier and if running on batteries, it would eat them up and took more than the Gameboy/GBC. Most people used Alkaline batteries back in the day and if I remember right only lasted about 4 hours on new batteries, maybe 5 if you had Energizer or Duracell and this was 6 batteries. A gameboy would last 20-25 hours or so depending on the batteries. Also the Game Gear was more expensive so from price perspective was a big factor. This alone from word of mouth, other kids mom's, etc was why I had a gameboy and gameboy color because my parents wouldn't spend a fortune on batteries and didn't want to spend money on the portable chargers/battery packs, etc though it would have saved them money in the long run and system was more expensive. I didn't get a game gear until later on in life and still play the one I have.

I've been reading "Console Wars" and it details the problem you're talking about exactly. The real guns behind Sega of America at the time was Tom Kalinske. He was yanked out of his darling Hawaii vacation to be lulled by Japanese Game Gear images firstly and then ruling the proud hardware march of the Genesis. The Japanese had an excellent system in the GG and that extra bit of color over the Master System and bulky kid-toyish egg pod feel made it very appealing. Mine originally got little attention just because I was so into console games. I didn't like the blurriness of the Game Boy from the get go. The larger sprite games, like Castlevania, were tolerable. Games that were supposed to be big attracts, like Batman or Mario Land, were big let downs for me. I yearned for a clear picture. I see the best use of a Game Boy game today in the Super Game Boy or the GBA player for the GC. The Super Game Boy has so many extras built into games (like the excellent Donkey Kong, which has top notch color) and, of course, no blur! Game Gear has Sonic Triple Trouble. Arguable the best Sonic game when you get down to game play, graphics, story. It's fun. I got the MS converted rom for my EverDrive and have the handheld AT Games Master System version. GO GAME GEAR!!

Back in the day people wanted a Gameboy because it was small, battery life was far better, it was cheaper, and it had better games. Those advantages were enough that people didn't care about the color.

 

Chris

And even though it was soo much cheaper with the battery life and all you could be happy with the extra money your putting into Asprin and beer to cure your blackened eye-bags from squinting all over that blurry mess. The Gameboy is a piece of SHIT! It was a load of crap that sold for the catchy music and shuttle endings of Tetris and should have been the Wonderswan.

 

I watch modern movies with the color turned all the way down so I can see new films in black and white, so you're still full of shite.

 

The Gameboy was one of the first biggest rip-offs until the Tiger Game.Com (which was somehow technically superior) came out later. The Gameboy Advance made up for this but took a long time and had to be 32-Bit.

 

I don't answer for everyone though. Like if I said "People all love NASCAR because they have cars.".

 

I would be very careful when answering for EVERYONE! Like when saying 'people' do this or that. Your WRONG no matter what.

 

I'm people. I don't do that. You have to be wrong.

 

I agree that the Gameboy had good battery life. I don't agree that they had better games, because most of them were a big blurry mess. The Gameboy screen looks like every color that a turd pickle can create while smearing it across a windshield as a deadly distraction.

 

I love SEGA.

 

Please don't think me to be threatening, I'm just tired of people saying things that appear to answer for everyone.