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Tetris (Game Boy)
Encyclopedia
Tetris is a puzzle video game that was included as a pack-in title with the Game Boy
at the handheld's release in 1989
. It is a portable version of Alexey Pajitnov's Tetris
. It was the first game compatible with the Game Boy Game Link Cable, a pack-in accessory that allowed two Game Boys to link together for multiplayer purposes. A colorized remake of the game was released on the Game Boy Color
entitled Tetris DX.
The Game Boy version of Tetris plays identically to versions of Tetris released on other platforms. A pseudorandom sequence of "tetromino
s" – shapes composed of four square blocks each – fall down the playing field. The object of the game is to manipulate these tetrads, by moving each one sideways and rotating it by 90 degree units, with the aim of creating a horizontal line of blocks without gaps. When one or more such lines are created, they disappear, and the blocks above (if any) move down by the number of lines cleared. As in most standard versions of Tetris, blocks do not automatically fall into open gaps when lines are cleared (see image captioned "Naïve gravity").
As the game progresses, the tetrominos fall faster. The game ends when at least part of a tetromino extends beyond the top of the playfield when set in place. The player can normally see which block will appear next in a window off to the side of the playing field, but this feature can be toggled during the game. Points are awarded based on the current level and number of lines cleared. The level increases each time the player clears ten lines, as does the speed of falling tetrominoes. The player may adjust the difficulty before beginning a game by selecting a starting level and/or choosing to pre-fill the play area with a given number of lines of randomly-placed blocks. The game ends when the stack of blocks extends past the top of the playfield.
This version of Tetris includes a two-player mode, in which each player's objective is to remain in play for longer than his or her opponent. Each player plays on their own Game Boy, with the two consoles connected via the Game Link Cable. During gameplay, when a player scores a Double, Triple or Tetris, one or more incomplete rows of blocks are added to the bottom of their opponent's stack, causing it to rise.
developed Tetris
out of a desire to create a two-player puzzle game, and the game spread commercially amongst computers. In 1988 computer game publisher Henk Rogers
noticed the game at the Las Vegas
Consumer Electronics Show
in a Spectrum HoloByte
booth. Finding himself hooked to the game, he pursued the rights for the game, and knowing Nintendo planned to release the Game Boy approached Nintendo of America head Minoru Arakawa
with the suggestion that Tetris was the perfect title to be packaged with the handheld. Arakawa questioned the idea, noting they planned to package Super Mario Land
with it instead, but Rogers countered by stating that while a Mario title would sell the Game Boy to young boys, Tetris would sell it to everyone. Rogers was told to pursue the rights, and secured them from both Spectrum HoloByte and Atari
-spinoff company Tengen
, who had also secured a license at the time, to license Tetris in Japan. He additionally approached Robert Stein, who had secured permission for both companies to distribute Tetris through company Mirrorsoft
, to seek rights for it to be distributed with the Game Boy.
However, after several months passed Stein had not produced the rights for the Game Boy, and Rogers learned that another person had approached Nintendo with the idea of a Game Boy Tetris. Requesting more time from Arakawa, he traveled to Moscow to speak with the USSR's Ministry of Software and Hardware Export
and Pajitnov. During this time, Nintendo approached Spectrum HoloByte on the prospect of a Game Boy Tetris, causing Mirrorsoft to send a representative, Kevin Maxwell, to Moscow to secure rights for the Game Boy version. Meanwhile, Rogers negotiated for the rights for Tetris on the Game Boy, noting in a later interview with IGN
that the government officials did not understand the concept of intellectual property
, and were looking for greater payment than Rogers or Nintendo could afford. However it was revealed that the Tetris property had not actually been licensed to anyone: Stein had secured the rights from Pajitnov directly and not from the Russian authorities. Russia sent a fax to Maxwell in England with 48 hours to respond, but due to being in Russia at the time Maxwell did not receive the fax, and the rights were given to Rogers. Nintendo granted Rogers publishing rights to Tetris, sued Tengen, and in March 1989, Rogers, Arakawa, and Nintendo vice president Howard Lincoln
signed a contract securing rights for console and handheld distribution of Tetris. However, Tetris's production was delayed due to the ongoing legal battle with Tengen, and the game was released in Japan two months after the Game Boy's release there. The title was co-developed by Bullet-Proof Software and Nintendo
.
. The player can select one of three types of background music during the game or play with sound effects only. Some of the songs are arrangements of works from other composers: "Type A" is based on the Russian folk song Korobeiniki
and "Type C" is an arranged version of French Suite No. 3 in B minor, BWV 814: Menuet by Johann Sebastian Bach
.
After a player exits pause mode (toggled using the start button), the background music continues with the volume of the bassline increased, which returns to normal when the next phrase of the song begins. Nintendo has offered no explanation for this anomaly, nor has any programming error isolated by a third party (e.g., via a ROM hack) gained widespread public recognition.
The compositions "Type A" and "Type B" can be unlocked for use on the Luigi's Mansion stage in Super Smash Bros. Brawl
for the Wii
.
game that is backwards compatible with the original Game Boy. It was released in Japan on October 21, 1998, in Europe and Australia on October 31, 1998, and in North America on November 20, 1998. Tetris DX features battery-saved high scores and three player profiles. It has a new single-player mode against the CPU, and also features two new modes of play. In "Ultra Mode," players must accumulate as many points as possible within a three-minute time period. In "40 Lines," players are timed on how quickly they can clear 40 lines of play. In addition, new music themes were added as well.
/Game Boy Color
video game, stating that it meant more to handheld gaming than any other video game. They also described it as the best version of Tetris until Tetris DS
was released. In an interview with IGN
, Alexey Pajitnov noted the Game Boy version of Tetris as his favorite, describing it as very close to his original version.
Game Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
at the handheld's release in 1989
1989 in video gaming
-Notable releases:* October 3, Brøderbund releases the Prince of Persia game, the first in a series of games, noted for its advancements in animation....
. It is a portable version of Alexey Pajitnov's Tetris
Tetris
Tetris is a puzzle video game originally designed and programmed by Alexey Pajitnov in the Soviet Union. It was released on June 6, 1984, while he was working for the Dorodnicyn Computing Centre of the Academy of Science of the USSR in Moscow, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic...
. It was the first game compatible with the Game Boy Game Link Cable, a pack-in accessory that allowed two Game Boys to link together for multiplayer purposes. A colorized remake of the game was released on the Game Boy Color
Game Boy Color
The is Nintendo's successor to the 8-bit Game Boy handheld game console, and was released on October 21, 1998 in Japan, November 19, 1998 in North America, November 23, 1998 in Europe and November 27, 1998 in the United Kingdom. It features a color screen and is slightly thicker and taller than...
entitled Tetris DX.
Gameplay
Tetromino
A tetromino is a geometric shape composed of four squares, connected orthogonally. This, like dominoes and pentominoes, is a particular type of polyomino...
s" – shapes composed of four square blocks each – fall down the playing field. The object of the game is to manipulate these tetrads, by moving each one sideways and rotating it by 90 degree units, with the aim of creating a horizontal line of blocks without gaps. When one or more such lines are created, they disappear, and the blocks above (if any) move down by the number of lines cleared. As in most standard versions of Tetris, blocks do not automatically fall into open gaps when lines are cleared (see image captioned "Naïve gravity").
As the game progresses, the tetrominos fall faster. The game ends when at least part of a tetromino extends beyond the top of the playfield when set in place. The player can normally see which block will appear next in a window off to the side of the playing field, but this feature can be toggled during the game. Points are awarded based on the current level and number of lines cleared. The level increases each time the player clears ten lines, as does the speed of falling tetrominoes. The player may adjust the difficulty before beginning a game by selecting a starting level and/or choosing to pre-fill the play area with a given number of lines of randomly-placed blocks. The game ends when the stack of blocks extends past the top of the playfield.
This version of Tetris includes a two-player mode, in which each player's objective is to remain in play for longer than his or her opponent. Each player plays on their own Game Boy, with the two consoles connected via the Game Link Cable. During gameplay, when a player scores a Double, Triple or Tetris, one or more incomplete rows of blocks are added to the bottom of their opponent's stack, causing it to rise.
Development
In 1984, Soviet Academy of Sciences researcher Alexey Pajitnov alongside Dmitry Pavlovsky and Vadim GerasimovVadim Gerasimov
Vadim Gerasimov is an engineer at Google. In 1994-2003 Vadim worked and studied at the MIT Media Lab. At age 16 he was one of the original co-developers of the famous video game Tetris: he ported Alexey Pajitnov's original game to the PC architecture and the two later added features to the game....
developed Tetris
Tetris
Tetris is a puzzle video game originally designed and programmed by Alexey Pajitnov in the Soviet Union. It was released on June 6, 1984, while he was working for the Dorodnicyn Computing Centre of the Academy of Science of the USSR in Moscow, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic...
out of a desire to create a two-player puzzle game, and the game spread commercially amongst computers. In 1988 computer game publisher Henk Rogers
Henk Rogers
Henk Rogers is a video game designer and entrepreneur. He is known for producing Japan's first major turn-based role-playing video game The Black Onyx, securing the rights to distribute Tetris on video game consoles where the game found popularity, and as the founder of The Tetris Company which...
noticed the game at the Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
Consumer Electronics Show
Consumer Electronics Show
The International Consumer Electronics Show is a major technology-related trade show held each January in the Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. Not open to the public, the Consumer Electronics Association-sponsored show typically hosts previews of products and new...
in a Spectrum HoloByte
Spectrum HoloByte
Spectrum HoloByte, Inc. was a video game developer and publisher originally based in Alameda, California.The company was founded in 1983 and was most famous for its simulation games, notably the Falcon series of flight simulators and Vette!, a driving simulator from 1989...
booth. Finding himself hooked to the game, he pursued the rights for the game, and knowing Nintendo planned to release the Game Boy approached Nintendo of America head Minoru Arakawa
Minoru Arakawa
was the founder and first president of Nintendo of America from 1980 to 2002.Born in Kyoto, Japan, he attended Kyoto University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 1972, he was hired by Japanese conglomerate Marubeni as part of their international staff, with the responsibility of...
with the suggestion that Tetris was the perfect title to be packaged with the handheld. Arakawa questioned the idea, noting they planned to package Super Mario Land
Super Mario Land
is a platforming video game developed by Nintendo for the Game Boy handheld game console. It and the Game Boy debuted in Japan on April 21, 1989, in the United States on July 31, 1989, and in Europe on September 28, 1990...
with it instead, but Rogers countered by stating that while a Mario title would sell the Game Boy to young boys, Tetris would sell it to everyone. Rogers was told to pursue the rights, and secured them from both Spectrum HoloByte and Atari
Atari
Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
-spinoff company Tengen
Tengen (company)
Tengen was a video game publisher and developer that was created by arcade game manufacturer Atari Games.-History:Atari had been split into two distinct companies. Atari Corporation was responsible for computer and console games and hardware and owned the rights to the Atari brand for these domains...
, who had also secured a license at the time, to license Tetris in Japan. He additionally approached Robert Stein, who had secured permission for both companies to distribute Tetris through company Mirrorsoft
Mirrorsoft
Mirrorsoft was a computer game software publisher in the United Kingdom, owned by Mirror Group Newspapers. It was founded as a publisher of educational software before moving into games. One offshoot of its printing roots was Fleet Street Publisher on several platforms...
, to seek rights for it to be distributed with the Game Boy.
However, after several months passed Stein had not produced the rights for the Game Boy, and Rogers learned that another person had approached Nintendo with the idea of a Game Boy Tetris. Requesting more time from Arakawa, he traveled to Moscow to speak with the USSR's Ministry of Software and Hardware Export
Elektronorgtechnica
Elektronorgtechnica , better known abbreviated as ELORG, is the former Soviet Ministry of Software and Hardware Export that was responsible for the licensing and development of the popular video game Tetris...
and Pajitnov. During this time, Nintendo approached Spectrum HoloByte on the prospect of a Game Boy Tetris, causing Mirrorsoft to send a representative, Kevin Maxwell, to Moscow to secure rights for the Game Boy version. Meanwhile, Rogers negotiated for the rights for Tetris on the Game Boy, noting in a later interview with IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
that the government officials did not understand the concept of intellectual property
Intellectual property
Intellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...
, and were looking for greater payment than Rogers or Nintendo could afford. However it was revealed that the Tetris property had not actually been licensed to anyone: Stein had secured the rights from Pajitnov directly and not from the Russian authorities. Russia sent a fax to Maxwell in England with 48 hours to respond, but due to being in Russia at the time Maxwell did not receive the fax, and the rights were given to Rogers. Nintendo granted Rogers publishing rights to Tetris, sued Tengen, and in March 1989, Rogers, Arakawa, and Nintendo vice president Howard Lincoln
Howard Lincoln
Howard Charles Lincoln is an American lawyer and businessman, known primarily for being the former chairman of Nintendo of America and the current Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Seattle Mariners baseball team, representing absentee majority owner Hiroshi Yamauchi...
signed a contract securing rights for console and handheld distribution of Tetris. However, Tetris's production was delayed due to the ongoing legal battle with Tengen, and the game was released in Japan two months after the Game Boy's release there. The title was co-developed by Bullet-Proof Software and Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
.
Music
The music for Tetris was created by Hirokazu TanakaHirokazu Tanaka
is a Japanese composer and musician, best known for his scores for various video games produced by Nintendo. He is also the current President of Creatures, Inc.-Video game soundtracks:*Radar Scope *Space Firebird...
. The player can select one of three types of background music during the game or play with sound effects only. Some of the songs are arrangements of works from other composers: "Type A" is based on the Russian folk song Korobeiniki
Korobeiniki
"Korobeiniki" , also known as the Tetris song is a nineteenth-century Russian folk song that tells of an incident between a peddler and a girl "haggling" over a price, with the details only being said in metaphor...
and "Type C" is an arranged version of French Suite No. 3 in B minor, BWV 814: Menuet by Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
.
After a player exits pause mode (toggled using the start button), the background music continues with the volume of the bassline increased, which returns to normal when the next phrase of the song begins. Nintendo has offered no explanation for this anomaly, nor has any programming error isolated by a third party (e.g., via a ROM hack) gained widespread public recognition.
The compositions "Type A" and "Type B" can be unlocked for use on the Luigi's Mansion stage in Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Super Smash Bros. Brawl, known in Japan as , often abbreviated as SSBB or simply as Brawl, is the third installment in the Super Smash Bros. series of crossover fighting games, developed by an ad hoc development team consisting of Sora, Game Arts and staff from other developers, and published by...
for the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
.
Tetris DX
Tetris DX is a Game Boy ColorGame Boy Color
The is Nintendo's successor to the 8-bit Game Boy handheld game console, and was released on October 21, 1998 in Japan, November 19, 1998 in North America, November 23, 1998 in Europe and November 27, 1998 in the United Kingdom. It features a color screen and is slightly thicker and taller than...
game that is backwards compatible with the original Game Boy. It was released in Japan on October 21, 1998, in Europe and Australia on October 31, 1998, and in North America on November 20, 1998. Tetris DX features battery-saved high scores and three player profiles. It has a new single-player mode against the CPU, and also features two new modes of play. In "Ultra Mode," players must accumulate as many points as possible within a three-minute time period. In "40 Lines," players are timed on how quickly they can clear 40 lines of play. In addition, new music themes were added as well.
Reception
As of June 2009, the Game Boy version of Tetris has sold over 35 million copies. Official Nintendo Magazine ranked Tetris fifth on their list of the "100 Best Nintendo Games". In August 2008, Nintendo Power listed Tetris DX as the best Game BoyGame Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
/Game Boy Color
Game Boy Color
The is Nintendo's successor to the 8-bit Game Boy handheld game console, and was released on October 21, 1998 in Japan, November 19, 1998 in North America, November 23, 1998 in Europe and November 27, 1998 in the United Kingdom. It features a color screen and is slightly thicker and taller than...
video game, stating that it meant more to handheld gaming than any other video game. They also described it as the best version of Tetris until Tetris DS
Tetris DS
Tetris DS is a Touch! Generations puzzle game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. THQ announced Tetris DS before E3 2005, and scheduled it to make an appearance at the show. However, the company decided to cancel the game, and Nintendo released their own make of Tetris DS in...
was released. In an interview with IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
, Alexey Pajitnov noted the Game Boy version of Tetris as his favorite, describing it as very close to his original version.