| exceedingdeath said:
Reminder that Yokoi was very opposed to the idea of the Gameboy as we know it but it was rather thanks to Okada's team that it became more than a glorified game and watch. |
This statement needs some additional context. Yes, Yokoi wanted the most affordable design for GameBoy, but he ultimately did support Okada’s proposal. This matter boils down to nothing more than a difference in vision and should not tarnish his overall contribution which arguably made the GameBoy the success that it was.
That said: What was his contribution? Well, one if his major contributions was in making the system significantly less powerful and, in particular, being without color output. In doing such, Yokoi intended for the system (a.) to have a solid battery life and (b.) be sold at an affordable price. If it weren’t for Yokoi’s intense advocation on this matter, the system would’ve likely been in a situation very similar to the GearGear, a portable system which did output color at the cost of being over priced and with a very short battery life.
Matter of fact, had it not been for Yokoi scrapping together the GameBoy production fiasco after a fatal production error caused GB to temporarily be canned, there would have been no GameBoy. So, again, I don’t believe a single difference in vision should discredit Yokoi’s overwhelming contribution to the GameBoy’s massive success. (Need I remind you that this individual was solely responsible for setting up GameFreak with small projects to pump up funds, in order that they may produce a little know franchise called Pokémon?)
Last edited by firebush03 - on 18 October 2025
