During the process of reviewing my own Game & Watch collection, I recently game across a couple of games which never came to be. Let’s take a look and see what failed to made the light of day!
Tetris
When we were looking at the Zelda Game & Watch, I remarked on how close to the release of the Game Boy this edition came out. Of course, the killer game which came packaged with the Game Boy was Tetris, but what if this version of history had never happened and Nintendo still had the intellectual rights to the Tetris brand? Would we still have gotten a Tetris game?
It would appear Nintendo might have been developing a version for the Game & Watch, if this recently discovered prototype is legitimate:
When you think about it, the segmented LCD display of a Game & Watch is perfect for a game like Tetris, and it’s a shame such an edition never made it to market, even with the Game Boy around. But why would Nintendo have risked sales of their flagship product by providing a cheaper standalone alternative? It’s hard to see how it would have made sense to release a cheaper product to compete with the Game Boy.
You can read more about this potential historical find over at Time Extension.
Pacman
There’s no reason why Nintendo would have wanted to license intellectual property from a competitor to make a Game & Watch, but of course Pac Man was available on the NES, so it’s not beyond the realm of imagination.
Designer Steve Robbins put together this incredible concept for a Pac Man Game & Watch which is named “Pac-Man Turbo”. I only wish it were real, as it looks fantastic in its banana yellow colour.
For the concept drawings and an explanation of how the game would operate, I highly encourage you to visit the designer’s website. There are some other prototype ideas on there as well.
The Bassmate Computer
This one’s a slight misdemeanour in the context of the post. This Game & Watch did exist, but it’s not a game.
The Bassmate Computer is a rare device to help committed fishing enthusiasts calculate the right combination of factors to snare the specific type of fish they’re after.
It’s an interesting device, because it utilises the same form factor as a Game & Watch. You can read more about it over on the Before Mario blog.
What Else Don’t We Know About?
Personally, I’d always wanted to see a Metroid Game & Watch, but it was never meant to be. Perhaps Nintendo will still surprise us with another modern remake soon? We can but hope.
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