But in the mid-60s, a 24-year-old chap had joined Nintendo straight from university.
Other hit toys followed, all designed by Yokoi.
Curiously, this latter equipment is still in production.
The Game & Watch series was, however, rather different.
The buttons were responsive, and the equipment was perfectly sized to fit comfortably in the hand.
With each successive Game & Watch release, Nintendo played around with the handheld format.
1982sDonkey Kongwas even better.
Its cheap components made it cheap to manufacture and therefore more affordable than its rival.
And then there were the games.
On launch, the Game Boy hadSuper Mario Land, a rather unusual yet wonderfully playable platformer.
It was withTetristhat handheld gaming enjoyed another, and perhaps its ultimate, defining moment.
At a time before wi-fi or widespread online gaming, it was a revelation.
Gunpei Yokoi left Nintendo in 1996, and tragically died in a car accident one year later.
The increasing power of mobile phones meant you could do more on them than play variations of the gameSnake.
What the handheld game market needed was another spot of agitation.
Launched in November 2004, the Nintendo DS was inarguably another defining moment in handheld gaming.
The visual similarities, of course, didnt tell the whole story.
Right now, the handheld gaming market is more competitive than ever.
The 3DS XL is its latest iteration, which offers larger screens and improved battery life.
