I was 11 years old in 1982 and remember all these. I got a calculator watch for my 12th birthday and found out it had a decent side-scroll racing game, that was so cool.
It's amazing how in our life we've gone from LCD watch games to ps3 emulators in our pocket
I still have the early eighties grand prix racing car calculater watch, it's amazing...
I remember getting a My Little Pony watch as a child, and I felt so betrayed when I realized it didn’t have a game on it.
Very enjoyable video. Doing the world a favour by documenting this history.
A tip: watch series at kaldrostream. Me and my gf have been using it for watching loads of movies recently.
@Elijah Owen Yea, I have been watching on kaldroStream for years myself :D
@Elijah Owen yea, been using Kaldrostream for since november myself =)
As someone who likes opening up and tinkering with simple LCD watches, the idea of a double layer LCD is simultaneously insanely cool and terrifying to fix.
It's like Q made a watch that will make women avoid James Bond.
"Now see here, 007, press just here and the watch will let you play American Football on a little screen."
"This is lame, Q. This is for nerds."
"Shut up, 007!"
The old game wrist watches from early 80s looked much better than the 90s offerings. They looked like watches whereas the later models looked like toys. In the year 2000, I had purchased a ink pen with a lcd game within it. That was pretty cool just do to its novelty.
This is AMAZING, an exceptional video, so much to talk about! But I will just thank you for putting such much fastidious the work into. Right, off to ebay to track some of these down! 😅😅
I totally forgot about those Tiger watches, wow.
Best regards,
TGV
Ah the nostalgia....Thanks for this vid, brings back so many fond wrist gaming memories!!
These were all the rage when I was a kid. That and watches that played melodies.
Last time I was this early ET was being proudly advertised for the Atari 2600
I wonder why dual-layer LCDs never caught on? Seems like a cool technology!
I find myself thinking about the possibilities for a colour display. Instead of having your subpixels side-by-side, stack them up.
@@Roxor128 Colors are tainted layers so you won't see them separately. LCD are just masking the light, activating 2 layers at the same time would show black blobs.
It kinda did, mobvoi uses a dual layer screen on their ticwatch pro.
They also made a full color versions that I really liked alot... you had to be in a brite room or out in the sun to get the colors to scream out brite
I only realised yesterday that Game & Watch meant a clock, and not watch as in to look at something...
haha you are not alone, it was also my simple mind thinking that it ment watch as watching.
"In church whether satanic or normal" lol 😂
I got the Tiger Super Mario Bros 3 watch and I actually thought it was coolest watch ever. It was so cool I decided it could probably be cleaned under a stream of water, and it died. However later the water dried up and it worked again so yes, just amazing.
I had mario 3 and Tetris! Wish I knew where they were now. I'm going to resist an eBay search.
I’ve got Zelda, turned down Tetris for £10 when Argos had it on sale for a GB game.
They are surprisingly cheap if you get the most recently made ones, like £15.
I love all the old advertisements that you put in your videos, I always enjoy hitting pause to read them. They are like a little nostalgia time capsule back into my childhood in 80's and early 90's. Edit: "You'll have the most popular wrist in town!" That does sound pretty tawdry, lol.
Back in the 1980s (yes I'm old), I had a game watch and a knight rider watch and was always fiddling with them. Fast forward to 2020, I have a smartphone with 12gb ram and yet hardly ever play games on it. These old devices had a magic...I miss that
I remember specifically having a StarFox game watch and I would play it religiously... Oh how I miss those days.
This was a really great video, thanks for taking the time to make it :)
how come you're not having much more views, your content is really unique and entertaining, I mean when I first saw the, quote on quote VERY CREATIVE channel name I didn't expect much, but man you're doing great! thumb up from the other side of the planet!!
My sister and I got a pair of watches, the Mario and Zelda ones. I got the Mario and she got the Zelda, but I was constantly borrowing hers because it was a more fun game to play. Mario was just "step forward on the platforms that appear/disappear", but Zelda had you actually moving around, picking up items, placing bombs, etc.
When I saw the video thumbnail, I commented out loud, "Oh wow, Nintendo game watches!" And then spent a bit explaining to my roommate what I was talking about. ^_^
I had a couple handhelds with the same vibe as these and i distinctly remember them being the "beeper" line. they looked just like pagers and beepers of the era with the belt clip and stuff and had some random lcd games on them similar to tiger games. but also had a couple hidden features. when the game was seemingly turned off and clipped on your belt, if you previously tapped the designated button it would add a min to the built in timer. little kid me thought i was so cool, because i would walk out of the room, tap the button a few times then clip the device my belt then go socialize, then act all important when my "pager" went off.
Don't forget the Casio GM-40 UFO Pyramid Game Watch Module 245, I loved that game!
I live in Asia and they sell knock off versions of these at the dollar store near my house. I've been tempted a few times because I grew up with these in the 80's.
I remember when I was 8 I had pac man watch and one with a lot of melodies and Donkey kong JR game and watch and the famous digital red clock pen in the late 70 th.
Ahh i am old now
I had the "Nintendo" Tetris one. It was pretty awesome for the time. Fond memories. Tetris translated pretty well to a watch game.
Man this video & watches take me back. I have a Zelda and Q-Bert.
I even remember just the Calculator watches, I didn't have but a few kids in grade school got in trouble for using the calculator in class.
I remember having that Zelda watch, my younger brother had the Mario watch, I still have 2 Nintendo Game & Watch multi screen games, Donkey Kong (1982) and Squish (1986).
I have the mario 3 unit. I don't remember who bought it for me, but I played it so much that I could beat it over and over. When you get to the end it loops.
I never understood the watch and Tiger style games. I would say I was spoiled by my NES at home, but you had game systems too. Interesting to see a bit of how they worked.
This was awesome to see all those nostalgic moments……really brings back those childhood memories.
Fun fact, in a draft script for the breakfast club, allison has a galaxian wrist watch game
I still have a Nelsonic game watch, it’s one of those virtual pets, came out in ‘97 after the explosion of Tamagotchi
I had street fighter, Star fox and Mario 3. And they were so excellent as a kid.
We need these back!
Ahh Index 1990, where my video game journey began with a Game Boy and Super Mario Land and of course Tetris.
I had that Mario watch when I was a kid, but it didn't even survive the first day. I loved it so much that I didn't want to take it off, so when I got into the bath with it still on later that night, water got into it immediately because it had a headphone jack on the side, and it instantly died. Soon took it off when it didn't bloody work anymore lol
I remember being about four years old playing my older brother's Batman watch game. I thought it was the most boring game. I watched Fievel Goes West instead and then played Snake Rattle'N'Roll.
I find it odd that a lot of people don't remember much of being a few years old.
I remember wanting one of those Super Mario watches as a kid in the 80's, but i got the ordinary game & watch handhelds instead.
I too had that Mario 3 watch, brilliant at the time :)
The Casio golf Game Watch was magnificent!
I wonder what came first, Nelsonic logo or Nescafe logo, because they sure do look alike
Ok Nescafe logo was designed in 1938, but had a line above and below the 'N'. The single line above design came about in 1968
Had the super mario 3 watch myself, was brilliant way to pass the time in Sunday school
My brother had the Pac-Man watch (buttons version). It played Dixie for some reason. He would always stop it after the first few notes to match the horn from the General Lee on The Dukes of Hazard.
In my late teens I had a Fishing game watch. I missed quite a few busses to work playing that.
Thanks enjoyed that. My mum bought me the Nelsonic Pac Man with joystick, and my brother had Space War. Wish I still had them, for sentimental reasons rather than the value.
They are really collectable now. cool episode . pls make more!
I actually had the Mario watch. I loved it as a kid. A long oil panic from game and watch. Memories...😊
I had the Super Mario Bros. Game and Watch and have nothing but fond memories of it!
I had the mario 3 one. I recall falling and being devastated it had been slightly scuffed.
Awesome to see that Star Trek II game watch in action again after all these decades. It was my first digital watch back in 1982 and I loved it! Unfortunately I broke the sound somehow while opening it up to change the battery myself... I still remember it after 40 years.
I had one of the Super Mario watches, only mine was red. I think it's still around here somewhere. The beeping could get annoying after a while but as a short time waster it was fun enough.
We had all three GCE watches as a kid: Game-Time, Arcade-Time and Sports-Time. I was worried they'd get damaged if I took them to school and we didn't really go anywhere where I would be idle. When I went away to summer camp I would take my Donkey Kong Game and Watch which was more fun and physically easier to hold & play. So, the GCE watches ended up being mostly novelty items.
What a great video, thanks for making it, was fascinating to hear the background of these fun toys. I've managed to collect a pile of old handheld LCD games over the years, including these wrist watch games:
Nelsonic: Pac Man, Frogger, Donkey Kong, Tetris, Q*Bert, Zelda (black strap & white strap versions), StarFox, StarWing, Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario Race, Super Mario World, Black Jack.
Tiger: RoboCop, Batman Returns, Jurassic Park, Minnie Mouse, Street Fighter II, Sonic The Hedgehog, Beauty and the Beast, Ninja Gaiden, The Little Mermaid, The Simpsons, WWF Super Stars.
Plus about 20 more like Ribena, Nintendo Super Mario Bros Egg Catch, Casio Zoomnzap, Imado branded Pac Man, and some extremely rare Sega Game Gear shaped watches.
Totally had the SMB3 watch in like 1st grade haha. It was so fun haha!
That Casio WR was no Gimmick, amazing watch, I remember my entire class at school being in awe of our teacher changing the channel on the TV with his watch lol - I plan to get one soon but I always forget. Thanks for reminding me.
You forgot Fossil
They designed the first Palm OS on a wrist watch. Because it utilizes the m68K CPU you can run in realtime GB GBC and Amiga games. It was rather interesting playing pokemon yellow on a touchscreen watch back in 2003.
Awesome video, a great trip down memory lane. I remember having a Pac man clone with the joystick. but I can’t find anything about it. Sold in England 1982/3 ish.
13:07 My friend had that Zelda Game & Watch. It was oddly more entertaining to watch him play that instead of the NES version for some reason.
I actually had one of the 'cosmic war' watches (shown in this video) as a kid. That thing was awesome. It was entirely metal, unlike many of the later watches, so it actually looked like a decent watch as well. I remember one of my crowning achievements as a kid was clocking the score (looping back to zero).
Liked the video just for the nostalgia bump, but great information too.
I never had one of these, but I had a boom box watch. It was shaped like a boom box and had AM radio plus a watch!
Man, I remember playing my tiger games on the bus on the way to kindergarten in the early 90s.
I owned a Casio gamewatch in the mid to late 80s. It had a game where you flew a helicopter and shot down baddies. We used to have contests during lessons at high school haha!
I once had a Donkey Kong game watch, but then I accidentally gave it to Goodwill.
Its baffling to me how this channel is only at 500k. It should be in the millions.
Nerd, gotta ask: how many minutes of backlog is there of you just staring menacingly into the camera before you get started on your script?
Well, with a stare like that, he is obviously eternal, so *ALL THE TIME*.
I have a Star Fox game watch. Mine came in a box of cereal and it's decent quality for something so cheap. I have another one that's newer, but I forgot what it is, and I don't feel like searching around for it right now lol. It's a large chunky green watch, though.
I have an LG G watch - an Android Wear smartwatch from 2014 - and it plays Minecraft. My friends were pretty amazed, though when they did ask to borrow it they'd rather play something like 2048, which controls a lot better than Minecraft does on that tiny watch.
Thanks for crediting Gerry Carr. I know him personally and showed him the video he really liked it.
Wow I had the same Mario watch for Christmas I loved it..
Ah... I had the Super Mario Bros 3 watch. I still remember the alarm melody.
I thought it was going to be a casio, i always remember casio digital watches when i was a kid!
Wooow that street fighter 2 & aladdin watches really really looks cool., they also give you the elussion as if the lcd screen was really color, if i got the money and know were to find all those watches, i would definitely buy them.
I just realised I never even considered playing games on my smart watch. I wonder if it can play Doom?
Edit: one search later, duh - of course it can
I think you'd be hard pressed to find something with a colour display these days that _doesn't_ have 386 levels of computing power.
@@wes788411 Would you rather I have written the full "80386" instead?
Still, you can't deny it's a better name than anything Intel or AMD have used in the last 20 years.
@@Roxor128 ngl, Intel had a good thing going with the Core i naming scheme between 2011 through 2017.
Core i -
I never could play those lcd action games... I suck at games so much that the stuttered movement of objects made it impossible. The advertising always got me though! Then the frustration set in.
I had that same Tetris watch when I was a kid. Played the crap out of it.
I had a double dragon game watch that totally kept me sane during a summer holiday, and later got the street fighter one you showed at the end. Ah those were the days
I had a StarFox watch game in 1992. Sadly it broke and lost it long ago.
I remember getting the Super Mario World Watch. I loved that thing so much.
I had the PacMan watch with the buttons in the late 80s. Loved playing that game. The watch even survived a fall into the pool. Just took a few days to dry out. Eventually the wrist band broke and it got lost in time.
I loved the Nintendo Game Watches back in the day. Has both the Super Mario 3 and Tetris ones, thought they were brilliant given I wasn't allowed to take my Game Boy to school but I was allowed my Tetris watch
"Watch with alarm."
I will.
Those tiger electronic games were great. I remember those times fondly from my youth. I wish I could turn back the clock (I would have freaked out if I saw a smartphone). Evading an LCD bullet in some tiger game was so exciting at the time. It was a perfectly reasonable way to spend precious minutes of life. Goodby forever sweet time. goodbye forever
(1:49) _Spaceballs_ the instant cassette: it's out in stores before the movie is finished.
I hate how long it took me to realize that "Game & Watch" is game and a watch.
I had the super mario 3 watch...loved it!
I remember when the super Mario world watch came out. That thing was the stuff of legend and when I finally got one I was very underwhelmed and never bout another game wristwatch again.
Wow Pac-Man wrist watch with joystick I had one of these when I was a freshman in high school back in 82 here in the states got kicked out of a few classes playing this but it was worth it and I passed the class
As a kid I had friends with watches that played a bowling game and later a Space Invaders game, and that were the envy of us all. I never had a game watch, but I did get a few Tiger handhelds: Gauntlet, Mortal Kombat, and Terminator (my favorite). I still have them. May need to go fire one up for a few rounds now.
I have a Casio Cosmo Flight. They were very cool. And are super expensive this days. They need to make a reissue.
There was a space shuttle one too!
Great video, thank you! My fond memory of early 80s watches as a kid was the watch that transformed into a robot!
I remember having the Super Mario Bros 3 game watch as a kid!
Edit: I gave in an did an ebay search... wow!
I too got the SMB3 watch for Crimbo 92 and loved it! Still have it and still works great! I also got the Sonic Tiger watch.... never liked it :p
"Michael Zachary Burger" is a pretty awesome name.
its nice to see game watches getting the attention they deserve!
I had this tank game on my watch, back in the early 80's. Played it to death, literally, to the death of the watch anyway, I ended up dismantling it to find out where all the little tanks came from. 😭