Handhelds, Game Boy or Game Gear

[Star castler]

Which is better, Game Gear or Game Boy? Nintendo had the games and sega had the pure power. So which was better? I think the Game Gear have great sonic games and is the better system. Have fun voting!

[Cebus Capucinis]

Sega does what NintenDON'T!

[Wickeycolumbus]

Game Boy, because that's the one I owned back then. I've yet to come across a Game Gear with a clear screen

[+GoldenWheels]

Game Gear with the Master System Converter.

[roland p]

Turbo Express!

 

But if I really have to choose between those, game gear.

Edited July 3, 2014 by roland p

[fiddlepaddle]

The Game Boy units are much better built, and the game library is bigger. With an SP, you get a great lighted screen, play all GB, GBC, and GBA games. Those batteries last plenty long enough, as well.

 

On the other hand, the Game Gear fits better in my hand, ALL games are color, and it plays Master System games. The only real problem with the Game Gear is they weren't built as well. The caps peter out; sound and video deteriorates and fails.

 

Game Gears are not as collectible either, as there were only a few different models: standard black, some blue, and maybe a few other special editions. And the Majesco(?) version, which I understand was built with some longer-life parts, though I don't have one.

 

One more thing, you can play Game Boy games on the big screen with SNES, Game Cube, and even N64 using special adapters. Can't play Game Gear games on anything but Game Gear, as far as I am aware.

 

I like both; collect games for both.

[famicommander]

I have a special affinity for underdog handhelds. I love my PSP, Vita, Lynx, Game Gear, Neo Geo Pocket Color, Wonderswan Color, and even my N-Gage QD.

 

But the Game Boy wins this in a landslide. Nintendo's handhelds are always amazing. Nintendo treats their handhelds differently than other hardware manufacturers do. They put their A-Tier development teams on it, and the games in their big series like Zelda, Mario, Mario Kart, Kirby, etc are regarded as equals to their home console counterparts rather than as spin offs or companion versions. Mario Kart 7 and Mario Kart 8 are made by the same developer, and each game is regarded as its own mainline entry in the franchise despite one being handheld and one being home console.

 

And Nintendo also has a lot of franchises that, for various reasons, translate extremely well to handhelds.

 

As for the Game Boy in specific as compared to the Game Gear, the Game Boy wins for a lot of reasons. Like its Atari counterpart, SEGA's Game Gear devours batteries at an alarming rate and is too large to be pocketable for a lot of people. The Game Boy and its later revisions did much better on battery life and are much easier to take with you.

 

The Game Boy also has the advantage of having a vast library of great exclusives, whereas many Game Gear games are downports from the Genesis or a direct port from the Master System.

I always play my Game Gear with a wall power supply for reasons outlined above, which means I usually play it at home. And if I'm at home I'm damn sure going to play (for example) the SEGA Master System versions of the 8 bit Sonic games over the Game Gear versions. The SMS versions are higher resolution, which makes a world of difference specifically in Sonic 2. The Game Gear's lower res makes it damn near impossible to react in time to save yourself from boss attacks. And of course, if I'm at home I'd much rather play a game on my nice, big CRT television than a tiny, blurry 1980s LCD screen.

Edited July 4, 2014 by famicommander

[gamecat80]

I never understood the allure of the handhelds; especially the Game Boy. I remember when it came out (early 90s) and thought it unimpressive for it's release because of it's fugly monochrome graphics. The Game Gear has it's flaws for sure, but it's graphics are nearly on-par with the TG-16! That is a H-U-G-E difference. I know it's not all about graphics, but both systems had good games...

[roland p]

I never understood the allure of the handhelds; especially the Game Boy.

Me too. I guess it was just 'good enough', and the price low enough so it can be bought by parents. The NES was already populair so the gameboy was for many a natural way to get into portable gaming.

[Pixelboy]

I'd say the appeal of handhelds lies with the quality of the gaming experiences they provide. Passing a distant judgment on a handheld is like judging a book by its cover, and you know how the saying goes about book covers.

 

I have many fond memories of the Game Boy games I played as a teenager, such as the Super Mario/Wario Land games, the Mega Man series, Gargoyle's Quest, Bionic Commando, Zelda Link's Awakening, Final Fantasy Legend, Metroid II, Batman (the first one), Boxxle, the Castlevania series, Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Land, Duck Tales, Nemesis, Kirby, Ninja Gaiden Shadow, Operation C, even the Tetris pack-in was memorable. I never got into the Pokémon craze, but being a completist, I probably would have enjoyed those games too if I had invested my time into them. In any case, once you got into these games, you sort of forgot about the black & white screen and just enjoyed the games as they were.

 

On the other hand, I never found the Game Gear really appealing. I was never a big Sonic fan, and Mega Man on GG was weird and disappointing. The screen got blurry whenever the game scrolled a little too fast (hello Sonic) and my hands were used to holding a Game Boy so the Game Gear felt bulky and somewhat uncomfortable by comparison, mostly because of the way I like holding a video game controller (index and major fingers over both fire buttons, to have complete input control when it's needed).

 

So the Game Boy wins in my heart and mind.

[Rhomaios]

Handhelds before 1999 by rank:

 

Game Boy/Game Boy Color

Neo Geo Pocket Color

Game Gear

Lynx

[famicommander]

I never understood the allure of the handhelds; especially the Game Boy.

They offer gaming experiences that are not possible on home consoles or personal computers (especially ones contemporary to the handhelds in question here).

 

Consider Tetris. You can find it pretty much anywhere -- consoles, arcades, phones, tablets, handhelds, computers, etc. But it resonates much better on a handheld or phone because it is portable. You can take it with you to work or school, get in a few minutes of game time on your lunch break or during your commute. Try taking your NES to work, or try playing it on a train or in the passenger seat of a car. No matter how fancy the graphics, at the end of the day Tetris is a falling block puzzle game. My quad core gaming rig could certainly make it look much prettier than my DS, but that doesn't really factor into my thinking in a puzzle game. Puzzle games should have pick up and play appeal and they should challenge the mind. And a weak handheld can offer those things as well as or better than any other platform.

 

Or consider Pokemon. The game's brilliant use of the link cable system in a time before wireless networking or network play in general were common place underscores the value of a handheld. The game is about going on a journey and meeting other people with which to battle or trade the series' titular monsters. And that is exactly what you do with a Game Boy. You take it to a friend's house or to school and you link your Game Boy to his, then battle and trade to your heart's content. Imagine trying to do this on an NES; it would be a whole production to get two televisions together and hook two NES systems up, even supposing a datalink between two systems was feasible at the time. But with a handheld, both players have their own game and their own system and they can fit it in their pocket and take it anywhere.

 

And there is another advantage -- one that the Wii U now shares -- the ability to play your games on a self contained system. If your wife or sibling or parent or whatever wants to watch something on TV, you can sit right down on the couch next to them and play your game. Or you can put some hours on Final Fantasy while glancing over at the baseball game or the news every now and again. It allows you to play games without being totally disconnected to the goings-on of the rest of your house and the world at large. I know when I was a kid growing up with an NES or Genesis, it wasn't always easy to get TV time. We had two TVs in the house, and I was the youngest of three brothers. And if I did get TV time, it was by myself in the room I shared with my brothers.

 

The point here is that you don't have to choose between home consoles or handhelds. Just like PCs or arcade machines or phones or tablets, each has advantages and disadvantages. Just because I love my Wonderswan doesn't mean I'm going to stop playing my Neo Geo.

Edited July 5, 2014 by famicommander

[high voltage]

I love my Game Boy, comes second to my Lynx. The Lynx is quality but the GB had mass market games. Boxxle 1 and 2, Boulder Dash, Mr Do!, Marios Picross, Donkey Kong, great games.

Third comes my game.com

Edited July 5, 2014 by high voltage

[roland p]

I'd say the appeal of handhelds lies with the quality of the gaming experiences they provide. Passing a distant judgment on a handheld is like judging a book by its cover, and you know how the saying goes about book covers.

True, I just find it difficult to enjoy the non-backlit systems. (My original statement isn't clear enough, I love handheld systems, just not the original gameboy) But, back in 1989, when that is all you have, including some nice games, I guess it can be enjoyable.

 

I do have a gameboy-light and that is something I can enjoy. When I play Zelda Links awakening, and can get past the slightly blurry graphics, it is all nice. For gameboy color / gba games I have a modded original GBA with an AGS-101 screen.

 

My Ranking (handhelds from the early 90's):

1. Turbo Express

2. Atari Lynx

3. Game gear

4. Gameboy

Edited July 5, 2014 by roland p

[darthkur]

That all depends on if you mean as they were first released; original brick GB vs. Game Gear or if I can pick any that now exist. At the starting point I'd have to take the GG on the simple reasoning that I can see what's going on a lot more comfortably. Otherwise I'll gladly choose a AGS-101 GB SP.

[high voltage]

I totally forgot my N Gage with complete collection, that is number 3 of course

[Austin]

Had both growing up. Overall the Game Boy had a better game library, the batteries lasted longer, the portability factor made more sense, and as others mentioned, you could play the games on a Super Nintendo as well. No more dealing with the crappy screen at home at that point!

 

I have a lot of nostalgia for the Game Gear, it was actually the first handheld I ever owned. It has a solid library as well (and it got some better versions of some games, like the Lion King, the Mortal Kombat series, etc). However, the portability was awful due to the size and the short battery life (I used it pretty much at a wall outlet 100% of the time), and it didn't get as many AAA games in the end. I really wish it lasted longer in the market. It would have been great if it received a slimmer model that address some of these issues. There's no denying that the backlit screen and games being in color was a big advantage when compared to the Game Boy.

 

 

I love my Game Boy, comes second to my Lynx. The Lynx is quality but the GB had mass market games. Boxxle 1 and 2, Boulder Dash, Mr Do!, Marios Picross, Donkey Kong, great games.
Third comes my game.com

 

Wait--what?! You actually like a Nintendo platform? I am shocked!!

[7800Lover]

For me, it's the Game Boy all the way!

[TwinChargers]

I owned a Gameboy back in the day. Even as a kid I thought the screen was crap. I really wish that we would have gotten the Game Boy Light here in the US though, it would probably make my decision easier. I got a Game Gear about 8 years ago, and thought it was pretty cool, but I rarely see games for it out in the wild. That and the battery life is unpleasant.

 

Honestly, I've never really been much for handhelds. Perhaps it was the sour taste in my mouth left from this first generation. There was no game that really pulled me in. I think if money wasn't an issue as a kid it would have probably been Game Gear all the way, but I think reluctantly I will go Game Boy. I can't say enough though that I wish we would have gotten the Game Boy Light.

[high voltage]

 

Wait--what?! You actually like a Nintendo platform? I am shocked!!

 

Yeah they did make some good stuff, the SNES is actually my favourite Nintendo console.

And way back the GB was the best for gaming whilst travelling. It beat the old G&W I used to take on my travels.

I did have a SNES and ~150 games, but in 1995, traded it for a PlayStation (with 1 game), was that a good deal? Of course, PSX was the coolest thing to have.

Still got a SNES, N64, GB, GBASP, GBp, GC, Pokémon mini. Used to own NES and VB, but got good sales for those two on ebay. Both managed to get me loads of VCS games, that what's important to me.

Game Cube is good too, probably my second fave Nintendo console.

[Rhomaios]

I did have a SNES and ~150 games, but in 1995, traded it for a PlayStation (with 1 game), was that a good deal? Of course, PSX was the coolest thing to have.

[Bixler]

Game Gear with the Master System Converter.

Rocking this and absolutely loving every minute.

[jmetal88]

True, I just find it difficult to enjoy the non-backlit systems. (My original statement isn't clear enough, I love handheld systems, just not the original gameboy) But, back in 1989, when that is all you have, including some nice games, I guess it can be enjoyable.

 

I do have a gameboy-light and that is something I can enjoy. When I play Zelda Links awakening, and can get past the slightly blurry graphics, it is all nice. For gameboy color / gba games I have a modded original GBA with an AGS-101 screen.

 

I never got into Game Boy Advance (I was into my 'alternative handheld' phase at the time and bought a GP32 instead), but to make playing Game Boy Color games more enjoyable, I took the front light out of an AGS-001 and put it in front of the Game Boy Color's screen.

 

The result is here:

 

http://imgur.com/a/lRKke

[famicommander]

The AGS-101 screen has oversaturated colors and a slower response time, resulting in significant ghosting in a lot of games (see the Sonic Advance and Super Mario Advance games for reference). The older frontlit SP suffers from more washed out colors but no response time issues.

The best GBA screen is easily the micro's. It's fully backlit, it has no ghosting issues, and the pixel density is much higher due to the smaller screen, making games look noticeably sharper. Of course, that model doesn't play GB or GBC games. But that's why I have a frontlit GBC.

[Video]

Gamegear sonic was awesome, but for the most part, the games on there sucked. If you want to collect, the GG is relatively inexpensive, but if you want to play, the gameboy wins out.