On July 31st, 1989, Nintendo released the Game Boy handheld video game console in North American markets. Originally launched in Japan on April 21st, 1989, the console was meant to be a "handheld NES" and used interchangeable game cartridges to store game data. It was developed and designed by the Nintendo Research and Development 1 team, which had some of the same designers of Nintendo's earlier "Game & Watch" series. In Japan, it was sold as a stand-alone console, but in the North American and European markets, the console came bundled with "Tetris", which became the most popular and most iconic game on the system. By its discontinuation in March 2003, Nintendo had sold approximately 118.69 million units of the Game Boy and its successor, the Game Boy Color, combined worldwide.
