1980s Electronic Handheld Games

"Speak and Spell"

• Texas Instruments made the original child's spelling game "Speak and Spell" in 1978. The handheld version came out in 1980. Neon green letters appeared against a black screen as the player pressed the letters to spell words. A robotic speaking voice emanated from the speaker at the top left of the device. The voice spelled out each letter typed into its keypad. Once the player completed the correct spelling of the word, the player pressed a button and the robotic voice pronounced the whole word.

"Frogger"

• In 1982, Halion introduced the handheld "Frogger" LCD game. Like the hit arcade game, the object was to get a frog across a busy street without being hit by traffic. The handheld was constructed of durable white plastic, which had a small gray screen in the middle.

"Pocket Simon"

• The "Pocket Simon" premiered in 1980. It was the smaller version of a table game that first appeared in 1978. The "Simon" was divided into red, blue, yellow and green segments. The object was to copy each move the computer made. If the computer lit up red twice, blue once and green twice, the player had to memorize and press the segments in the same pattern. Each colored button had a distinctly-pitched beep.

Nintendo "Game Boy"

• The Game Boy, which had its debut in 1989, made it possible to play a wide variety of games on one machine. The games came on cartridges that players could switch out at will. While it had a power outlet for indoor use, it also operated on four AA batteries. The original Game Boy was 5.8 inches tall and 3.5 inches wide, and only came in a gray case. While a new "Mario" game was tapped as its first big title, the Game Boy came bundled with the hit game "Tetris."

Atari Lynx

• The Atari Lynx and the Game Boy were released within a few months of each other. While the "Lynx" had more advanced graphics than the Game Boy, it was pricier and turned out to be less popular than the Nintendo product. It was one of the first handheld video games with a color display. The Atari "Lynx" had a 3.5 inch screen, which supported more than 4,000 different colors. It also had controls on both sides to suit right-handed and left-handed players.