Records, CDs, DVDs are all tactile, physical forms of media that can be held and cherished. For decades, centuries even, this was the only way to consume media, songs etched in enamel, movies captured in tapes, then polycarbonate plastic. While a tech-knowledgeable teen today may have the freedom to listen to as much music or consume as much media as their heart desires, there’s a certain satisfaction to be taken from mixing a tape or burning a CD, one that’s slowly being lost in this digital age. However, these are not the only relics of the past that are starting to wane from our memory.
There’s something to be said about owning a game, being able to hold a disc or cartridge in hand, as opposed to purchasing a game online or through a redemption code, feels special. The physicality of holding a game in hand also allows individuals to be more mindful of their consumption, more intentional with their purchases and more conscious of the time they spend playing said games.
While today someone might own hundreds of digital games, the sheer amount can be incredibly hard to visualize and costs can add up fast, especially for teens. Most people usually gravitate towards a few of their favorite games anyway, while the rest on their roster are a result of impulse buying, unlikely to see more than an hour or two of playtime. Purchasing a physical copy of your favorite video game, whether a disc, cartridge or another analogue format, not only cements an individual’s ownership of their game but also acts as a reminder that it’s something they have chosen, saved up for and will be more likely to play than an impulse buy they spent a few dollars on.
Before the multi-billion dollar gaming company Nintendo was charging upwards of $100 for nothing more than a redemption code for a video game, before Steam and its rolodex of game offerings, even before the brightly colored discs that spin inside their user’s chosen console, was the Nintendo Game Boy: a handheld gaming device with five buttons and a monochromatic, non-backlit screen that would quite literally be a gamechanger in the video game industry. The Game Boy was affordable and made to last. The ability to swap out game cartridges and use cables to connect players’ handhelds enabled multiplayer and encouraged social interaction.
As explained by Smithsonian Magazine, “[The Nintendo Game Boy] was a gamechanger…it unleashed the power of video games in a transportive way.” With this device players are able to take their games anywhere, providing a similar level of convenience as a cellphone, just with more nostalgia and fewer game options.
If you’re a video game enthusiast and are trying to be more intentional about your hobby, handheld devices like the Game Boy can be a great place to start. However, if you’re looking for a slightly more up-to-date experience that still allows for some nostalgic whimsy (mainly one wherein you don’t have to struggle to see the pixels on your screen), a Nintendo DS (Dual Screen) may be exactly what you’re looking for.
The Nintendo DS features a backlit LCD screen and a stylus, and its graphics are colorful and more modern than those of the original Game Boy. This being said, the Nintendo DS is also compatible with the same cartridges used by the Game Boy, making it a more convenient option overall. But nostalgic graphics aren’t the only benefit these handheld gaming devices offer.
There’s a large community dedicated solely to modding (or the custom modification of) nostalgic handheld devices, especially the Game Boy Advanced and the Nintendo DS. Ever since Nintendo has increased its regulations on games and started cracking down on modding, the gaming community has felt betrayed, turning away from new consoles and returning to older models that don’t have these limitations.
According to Games Radar, “Breaking certain restrictions could result in your [Nintendo] Switch being permanently unusable in whole or in part.’” This decision by Nintendo was made in an attempt to discourage pirated games and unauthorized hardware, but it felt like a betrayal to the gaming community nonetheless, and since then, a large portion of the modding community have taken to using older devices for their experimentation, and an entirely new community has formed around this specific practice.
No matter what handheld gaming device you may prefer, they all ultimately offer similar perks: a sense of nostalgia, community and intentionality when it comes to playing and purchasing video games.
