▲
1
▼
In a 2009 interview with IGN conducted to celebrate the franchise's 25th anniversary, series creator Alexey Pajitnov named the Game Boy version of Tetris as his favorite rendition, describing it as the closest approximation of what he first had in mind for the game.
▲
1
▼
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak was an avid Tetris player since the Game Boy's release. He got so good that he sent his scores to Nintendo Power multiple times, and always got the highest score. Eventually, Nintendo Power stopped publishing his name in the magazine. He then sent his name backwards (Evets Kainzow) in, which was then accepted and published.
▲
1
▼
The original Japanese version 1.0 cartridge didn't have "Korobeiniki" as the "A-Type" music. It instead had another song called "Minuet".
subdirectory_arrow_right Game Boy (Platform)
▲
1
▼
After the second phase of the Gulf War ended in early 1991, Dr. Stephan Scoggins, a medic during the war, mailed his Game Boy to Nintendo of America hoping to get a replacement after it was damaged when his tent burned down in a fire. While the back of the console was in fair condition, the front was melted, severely charred and blistered, and the technicians that received it initially determined it could not be fixed. As an experiment, they inserted a copy of Tetris and powered it on, and to their surprise, the console still worked. The D-Pad, A and B buttons were nonfunctional, but the Start and Select buttons worked as normal. The magazine Nintendo Power sent Scoggins a replacement Game Boy "as a special 'Desert Storm' courtesy", and his letter asking for a replacement along with pictures of the console were featured in the magazine's July 1991 issue. The damaged Game Boy was not discarded; it was later displayed at the Nintendo New York store in New York City since its opening in 2001. As a testament to the console's durability and longevity, it remained powered on, looping the title screen and attract mode demo of Tetris, and receiving timely maintenance for over 20 years, until it was returned to Nintendo of America's headquarters in Redmond, Washington in 2023.
Footage of the Game Boy at Nintendo New York in 2006:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBeTXPaewMo
[Below links and info provided by MehDeletingLater.]
Esquire article:
https://www.esquire.com/lifestyle/a27183316/nintendo-game-boy-survived-gulf-war/
G.I. Jobs article (Stephan Scoggins letter taken from Nintendo Power: Volume 26 [July 1991] - Page 7):
https://www.gijobs.com/gulf-war-game-boy/
Game Boy's removal from Nintendo New York (Note: Scoggins clarifies in the second link that a widely reported origin of the Game Boy being damaged in a bombing at his barracks is not true. He confirmed there was a bombing in the area he was stationed in, but that the Game Boy was damaged in a separate incident when his tent caught fire):
https://www.siliconera.com/the-gulf-war-game-boy-says-goodbye-to-nintendo-new-york-store-removed/
https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/30/23780549/gulf-war-game-boy-nintendo-nyc
Stephan Scoggins archived personal website biography:
https://web.archive.org/web/20230701201035/https://www.stephanscoggins.com/biography/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBeTXPaewMo
[Below links and info provided by MehDeletingLater.]
Esquire article:
https://www.esquire.com/lifestyle/a27183316/nintendo-game-boy-survived-gulf-war/
G.I. Jobs article (Stephan Scoggins letter taken from Nintendo Power: Volume 26 [July 1991] - Page 7):
https://www.gijobs.com/gulf-war-game-boy/
Game Boy's removal from Nintendo New York (Note: Scoggins clarifies in the second link that a widely reported origin of the Game Boy being damaged in a bombing at his barracks is not true. He confirmed there was a bombing in the area he was stationed in, but that the Game Boy was damaged in a separate incident when his tent caught fire):
https://www.siliconera.com/the-gulf-war-game-boy-says-goodbye-to-nintendo-new-york-store-removed/
https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/30/23780549/gulf-war-game-boy-nintendo-nyc
Stephan Scoggins archived personal website biography:
https://web.archive.org/web/20230701201035/https://www.stephanscoggins.com/biography/
▲
1
▼
The Type A music used in the Game Boy version of Tetris is the well-known Russian 19th Century folk song, Korobeiniki. It originally told the story of a meeting between a peddler and a girl, who haggled over goods as a metaphor for courtship. The fact that this song was included is consistent with Tetris' Russian origins.
▲
1
▼
Tetris was the first video game to be played in space. The game (and the Game Boy it was played on) spent 196 days on board the Mir Space Station in 1993, and orbited the earth more than 3,000 times. The game and system were auctioned off in 1996 for $1,220.
Related Games
The New Tetris
Tetris
Tetrisphere
Tetris: Axis
Tetris
Tetris 64
Tetris Battle Gaiden
Tetris
Magical Tetris Challenge
Tetris: The Grand Master
Nintendo World Championships 1990
McDonald's Chicken McNugget Tetris
Tetris Attack
Mario & Wario
Wii Play
Kirby's Block Ball
Donkey Kong Country
NBA Jam
The Addams Family
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions
Kid Icarus
Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp
Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu!
The Hunt for Red October
Pokémon Black Version
Donkey Kong
Pokémon Puzzle Challenge
Rhythm Heaven Megamix
Super Mario RPG 2
The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games
WarioWare: Touched!
Kirby: Planet Robobot
WarioWare Gold
Pokémon Moon
BS Zelda no Densetsu
Looney Tunes Collector: Alert!
Soma Bringer
Street Fighter II: The World Warrior
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Dinosaur Planet
WCW/nWo Revenge
Donkey Kong Barrel Blast
Advance Wars: Days of Ruin
Dr. Mario 64
Turok 2: Seeds of Evil
Snake's Revenge
Super Mario Maker
New Super Mario Bros. Wii
Mortal Kombat