POWERHOUSE COLLECTION

Octopus Game & Watch by Nintendo

Object No. 2003/160/1

The Game & Watch series was a highly successful line of products from Nintendo. It generated enough profit for the company to invest heavily in the research and development of the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and the Gameboy. This ensured the company's survival and dominance through a very competitive period of electronic game industry development, consumption and growth. The Octopus Game & Watch has a monochrome LCD (liquid crystal display) screen upon which the player controls the movement of a diver through a challenging, but not too challenging, course of octopus tentacles to collect treasure and return to the boat. This balance between making the outcome of the game achievable, yet incorporating a degree of difficulty, invites the user to play the game again and again. It achieves one of the principle goals of electronic game design.

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Summary

Object Statement

Electronic toy, Nintendo 'Game & Watch' Octopus, plastic /metal /electronics components, designed by Gunpei Yokoi, manufactured by Nintendo, Japan, 1981

Physical Description

The Octopus Game & Watch console is designed to be held comfortably in both hands and operated with the game controls under the thumbs. It is rectangular and has a maroon plastic casing with gold metallic front. It has an LCD screen in the middle of the front face which has permanent graphics incorporated. The LCD characters move through this display. The control buttons are red and there is a small metal stand at the back. Battery casing at the back.

DIMENSIONS

Height

67 mm

Width

111 mm

Depth

12 mm

PRODUCTION

Notes

Designed by Gunpei Yokoi. Manufactured in Japan by Nintendo

HISTORY

Notes

This Octopus G&W was used by the donor in the early eighties. The donor recalls playing the console in the playground of her high school in year 7 or 8. It was also related by the donor that she was not the only child with such a console - that there were quite a few others. The donor's father was involved / employed in the technology field and had a home computer on which the donor also played electronic games. The donor's interest in the Octopus G&W challenge did wane and the console for a short time became a watch (with its inbuilt digital clock) and some time after that it went into storage with the thought that it would be useful at some time in the future as entertainment for visiting children etc. The Octopus G&W was given the donor as a Christmas gift.

SOURCE

Credit Line

Gift of Barbara Palmer, 2003

Acquisition Date

23 October 2003

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