<s>
Handheld	B-Application
electronic	I-Application
games	I-Application
are	O
interactive	O
electronic	O
games	O
,	O
often	O
miniaturized	O
versions	O
of	O
video	O
games	O
,	O
that	O
are	O
played	O
on	O
portable	O
handheld	B-Application
devices	I-Application
,	O
known	O
as	O
handheld	B-Application
game	I-Application
consoles	I-Application
,	O
whose	O
controls	O
,	O
display	O
and	O
speakers	O
are	O
all	O
part	O
of	O
a	O
single	O
unit	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Rather	O
than	O
a	O
general-purpose	O
screen	O
made	O
up	O
of	O
a	O
grid	O
of	O
small	O
pixels	B-Algorithm
,	O
they	O
usually	O
have	O
custom	O
displays	O
designed	O
to	O
play	O
one	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
simplicity	O
means	O
they	O
can	O
be	O
made	O
as	O
small	O
as	O
a	O
smartwatch	B-Application
,	O
and	O
sometimes	O
are	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
visual	O
output	O
of	O
these	O
games	O
can	O
range	O
from	O
a	O
few	O
small	O
light	O
bulbs	O
or	O
LED	O
lights	O
to	O
calculator-like	O
alphanumerical	O
screens	O
;	O
later	O
these	O
were	O
mostly	O
displaced	O
by	O
liquid	B-Device
crystal	I-Device
and	O
vacuum	B-General_Concept
fluorescent	I-General_Concept
display	I-General_Concept
screens	O
with	O
detailed	O
images	O
and	O
in	O
the	O
case	O
of	O
VFD	O
games	O
,	O
color	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Handhelds	B-Application
 '	O
popularity	O
was	O
at	O
its	O
peak	O
from	O
the	O
late	O
1970s	O
into	O
the	O
early	O
1990s	O
before	O
declining	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
are	O
the	O
precursors	O
to	O
the	O
handheld	B-Application
game	I-Application
console	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Early	O
handheld	B-Application
games	I-Application
used	O
simple	O
mechanisms	O
to	O
interact	O
with	O
players	O
,	O
often	O
limited	O
to	O
illuminated	O
buttons	O
and	O
sound	O
effects	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Early	O
handheld	B-Application
games	I-Application
include	O
Mattel	B-Application
Auto	I-Application
Race	I-Application
(	O
1976	O
)	O
and	O
Mattel	O
Electronic	O
Football	O
(	O
1977	O
)	O
,	O
which	O
have	O
simple	O
red-LED	O
displays	O
;	O
gameplay	O
involves	O
pressing	O
buttons	O
to	O
move	O
a	O
car	O
or	O
quarterback	O
icon	O
(	O
represented	O
by	O
a	O
bright	O
dot	O
)	O
to	O
avoid	O
obstacles	O
(	O
represented	O
by	O
less	O
bright	O
dots	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1978	O
the	O
Milton	O
Bradley	O
Company	O
entered	O
the	O
handheld	B-Application
market	I-Application
with	O
Simon	B-Application
,	O
a	O
simple	O
color-and-sound-matching	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Simon	B-Application
had	O
no	O
dedicated	O
display	O
,	O
but	O
featured	O
four	O
colored	O
,	O
lighted	O
buttons	O
;	O
the	O
original	O
version	O
was	O
large	O
enough	O
to	O
be	O
used	O
as	O
a	O
tabletop	O
game	O
or	O
a	O
handheld	B-Application
;	O
later	O
versions	O
became	O
increasingly	O
smaller	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
same	O
year	O
,	O
Parker	O
Brothers	O
also	O
released	O
Merlin	O
,	O
a	O
more	O
sophisticated	O
handheld	B-Application
which	O
could	O
play	O
six	O
different	O
games	O
using	O
an	O
array	O
of	O
11	O
buttons	O
with	O
integrated	O
LEDs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
initial	O
success	O
of	O
Mattel	O
and	O
Parker	O
Brothers	O
 '	O
entries	O
spawned	O
a	O
wave	O
of	O
similar	O
handheld	B-Application
devices	I-Application
which	O
were	O
released	O
through	O
the	O
early	O
1980s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1979	O
,	O
Gunpei	O
Yokoi	O
,	O
traveling	O
on	O
a	O
bullet	O
train	O
,	O
saw	O
a	O
bored	O
businessman	O
playing	O
with	O
an	O
LCD	B-Device
calculator	B-Application
by	O
pressing	O
the	O
buttons	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Starting	O
in	O
1980	O
,	O
Nintendo	O
began	O
to	O
release	O
a	O
series	O
of	O
electronic	O
games	O
designed	O
by	O
Yokoi	O
called	O
the	O
Game	B-Device
&	I-Device
Watch	I-Device
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Taking	O
advantage	O
of	O
the	O
technology	O
used	O
in	O
the	O
credit-card-sized	O
calculators	B-Application
that	O
had	O
appeared	O
on	O
the	O
market	O
,	O
Yokoi	O
designed	O
the	O
series	O
of	O
LCD-based	O
games	O
to	O
include	O
a	O
digital	O
time	O
display	O
in	O
the	O
corner	O
of	O
the	O
screen	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
later	O
,	O
more	O
complicated	O
Game	B-Device
&	I-Device
Watch	I-Device
games	O
,	O
Yokoi	O
invented	O
a	O
cross	O
shaped	O
directional	O
pad	O
or	O
"	O
D-pad	O
"	O
for	O
control	O
of	O
on-screen	O
characters	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
the	O
1980s	O
,	O
LCDs	B-Device
became	O
inexpensive	O
and	O
largely	O
replaced	O
LED	O
displays	O
in	O
handheld	B-Application
games	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
use	O
of	O
custom	O
images	O
in	O
LCD	B-Device
and	O
VFD	O
games	O
allows	O
them	O
to	O
have	O
greater	O
detail	O
and	O
avoid	O
the	O
blocky	O
,	O
pixellated	O
look	O
of	O
console	O
screens	O
,	O
but	O
not	O
without	O
drawbacks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Partly	O
due	O
to	O
these	O
limitations	O
,	O
the	O
gameplay	O
of	O
early	O
LCD	B-Application
games	I-Application
was	O
often	O
even	O
more	O
crude	O
than	O
for	O
their	O
LED	O
antecedents	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
of	O
the	O
more	O
well-known	O
handheld	B-Application
games	I-Application
of	O
the	O
LCD	B-Device
era	O
are	O
the	O
Game	B-Device
&	I-Device
Watch	I-Device
series	I-Device
by	O
Nintendo	O
and	O
the	O
games	O
by	O
Tiger	O
Electronics	O
,	O
and	O
many	O
titles	O
from	O
other	O
companies	O
were	O
also	O
popular	O
,	O
especially	O
conversions	O
of	O
arcade	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1982	O
,	O
the	O
Bandai	O
LCD	B-Device
Solarpower	O
series	O
were	O
the	O
first	O
solar-powered	O
gaming	O
devices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
of	O
its	O
games	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
horror-themed	O
game	O
Terror	O
House	O
,	O
featured	O
two	O
LCD	B-Device
panels	I-Device
,	O
one	O
stacked	O
on	O
the	O
other	O
,	O
for	O
an	O
early	O
3D	B-Algorithm
effect	I-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1983	O
,	O
Takara	O
Tomy	O
's	O
Tomytronic	B-Algorithm
3D	I-Algorithm
series	O
simulated	O
3D	O
by	O
having	O
two	O
LED	O
panels	O
that	O
were	O
lit	O
by	O
external	O
light	O
through	O
a	O
window	O
on	O
top	O
of	O
the	O
device	O
,	O
making	O
it	O
the	O
first	O
dedicated	O
home	O
video	O
3D	O
hardware	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
LCD	B-Device
Solarpower	O
series	O
are	O
handheld	B-Application
electronic	I-Application
games	I-Application
powered	O
by	O
solar	O
energy	O
made	O
by	O
Bandai	O
in	O
1982	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
games	O
in	O
the	O
Double	O
Panel	O
series	O
feature	O
two	O
LCD	B-Device
panels	I-Device
stacked	O
on	O
top	O
of	O
each	O
other	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
handheld	B-Application
games	I-Application
were	O
built	O
as	O
flipcases	O
and	O
had	O
two	O
or	O
even	O
three	O
LCDs	B-Device
with	O
different	O
foreground	O
and	O
background	O
scenes	O
,	O
offering	O
some	O
variety	O
in	O
the	O
gameplay	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
the	O
increasing	O
sophistication	O
of	O
handheld	B-Application
consoles	I-Application
such	O
as	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Application
Switch	I-Application
,	O
dedicated	O
handhelds	B-Application
continue	O
to	O
find	O
a	O
niche	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Among	O
technophilic	O
gamer	O
subcultures	O
like	O
Akiba-kei	O
,	O
unique	O
control	O
schemes	O
like	O
that	O
of	O
the	O
2008	O
Tuttuki	B-Application
Bako	I-Application
have	O
been	O
proven	O
salable	O
due	O
to	O
novelty	O
,	O
however	O
dedicated	O
handhelds	B-Application
such	O
as	O
this	O
are	O
uncommon	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Adult	O
fads	O
such	O
as	O
blackjack	B-Application
,	O
poker	O
,	O
and	O
Sudoku	O
also	O
spawn	O
dozens	O
of	O
original	O
and	O
knockoff	O
handheld	B-Application
games	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Chinese/Russian	O
Brick	O
Game	O
,	O
popular	O
in	O
the	O
early	O
1990s	O
,	O
include	O
games	O
using	O
a	O
10	O
×	O
20	O
block	O
grid	O
as	O
a	O
crude	O
,	O
low	O
resolution	O
dot	B-General_Concept
matrix	I-General_Concept
screen	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Such	O
devices	O
often	O
have	O
many	O
variations	O
of	O
Tetris	B-Device
and	O
sometimes	O
even	O
other	O
kinds	O
of	O
games	O
like	O
racing	O
,	O
Breakout	B-Application
or	O
even	O
shoot	O
'	O
em	O
up	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
those	O
resembling	O
Galaga	B-Application
or	O
Battle	B-Application
City	I-Application
,	O
where	O
one	O
block	O
projects	O
blocks	O
at	O
the	O
"	O
enemy	O
"	O
blocks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
most	O
advanced	O
of	O
these	O
designs	O
usually	O
have	O
26	O
distinct	O
games	O
sorted	O
in	O
alphabetical	B-Application
letters	I-Application
and	O
feature	O
multi-channel	O
sound	O
,	O
voice	O
synthesis	O
or	O
digital	O
sounds	O
samples	O
,	O
and	O
internal	O
CMOS	B-Device
memory	I-Device
which	O
can	O
save	O
the	O
current	O
game	O
progress	O
and	O
high	O
scores	O
when	O
the	O
system	O
is	O
turned	O
off	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
of	O
these	O
handhelds	B-Application
with	O
a	O
dozen	O
such	O
games	O
are	O
marketed	O
as	O
having	O
hundreds	O
or	O
even	O
thousands	O
of	O
games	O
(	O
e.g.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
lowest	O
end	O
of	O
handheld	B-Application
game	I-Application
sophistication	O
,	O
there	O
is	O
also	O
the	O
"	O
avoid/catch	O
the	O
falling	O
objects	O
"	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
