is a

handheld electronic game Handheld electronic games are interactive electronic games, often miniaturized versions of video games, that are played on portable handheld devices, known as handheld game consoles, whose controls, display and speakers are all part of a singl ...

simulating Japanese mahjong, released exclusively in Japan by

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both video games and video game consoles. The history of Nintendo began when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi ...

in 1983. Following the success of the simpler

Game & Watch is a series of handheld electronic games developed by Nintendo. Designed by Gunpei Yokoi, the first game, ''Ball'' was released in 1980 and the original production run of the devices continued until 1991. The name Game & Watch reflects thei ...

series, Nintendo aimed to attract an older audience with this more complex and strategy-driven device. However, its high price and limited functionality hindered its commercial success. Despite this, it introduced key innovations that would later be integral to the success of the Game Boy, including a

dot-matrix display A dot-matrix display is a low-cost electronic digital display device that displays information on machines such as clocks, watches, calculators, and many other devices requiring a simple alphanumeric (and/or graphic) display device of limited res ...

and

multiplayer gaming A game is a structured type of play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or video games) or art ( ...

via a link cable. It also marked the beginning of Nintendo's long-running series of mahjong video games, which would continue to bring Japanese mahjong to the company's future gaming platforms.

History

Mahjong Mahjong (English pronunciation: ; also transliterated as mah jongg, mah-jongg, and mahjongg) is a tile-based game that was developed in the 19th century in China and has spread throughout the world since the early 20th century. It is played ...

has existed since at least the 1800s and became widely popular in Japan from the 1920s onward after its introduction from China. Seeking to capitalize on this popularity, Nintendo developed a portable electronic version of the game. The device was created by

Nintendo Research & Development 1 (commonly abbreviated as Nintendo R&D1 and formerly known as before splitting in 1978) was a division of Nintendo, and is its oldest video game development, development team. Its creation coincided with Nintendo's entry into the video game in ...

, the team behind the Game & Watch and later the Game Boy. Nintendo released ''Computer Mah-Jong Yakuman'' in 1983 for . Despite its technical innovations, it struggled commercially. It was priced nearly three times higher than a Game & Watch and even surpassed the cost of the

Famicom The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the ...

home console, released the same year at , which had a mahjong game available.

Overview

''Computer Mah-jong Yakuman'' featured a black-and-white dot-matrix LCD and an intricate control system with 20 buttons, alongside a power switch and a screen contrast switch. Thirteen buttons corresponded to the tiles in a mahjong hand, while the remaining facilitated gameplay functions. The device ran on four

AA batteries The AA battery (or double-A battery) is a standard size single cell cylindrical dry battery. ANSI and IEC battery nomenclature gives several designations for cells in this size, depending on cell features and chemistry. The IEC 60086 system c ...

but also supported an optional AC adapter sold separately for . It was also the first handheld Nintendo device to feature a link cable, sold separately for , that enabled two consoles to connect for head-to-head play. The game simulated Japanese mahjong in a format tailored for electronic handheld play. While its controls reflected the game's complexity, the computer opponent followed relatively simple logic, making its play style predictable for experienced mahjong players.

Legacy

Despite its commercial struggles, ''Computer Mah‐jong Yakuman'' holds an important place in Nintendo's history. As the company's first handheld device featuring a link cable for multiplayer play, it set a precedent for portable gaming connectivity, a concept that would later be refined with the

Game Boy The is a handheld game console developed by Nintendo, launched in the Japanese home market on April 21, 1989, followed by North America later that year and other territories from 1990 onwards. Following the success of the Game & Watch single-ga ...

Game Link Cable The also known as ''Video Link'' in early versions, is an accessory for the Game Boy line of handheld consoles. Introduced in 1989 alongside the original Game Boy, it was revised over four generations with varying degrees of backward compatibil ...

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Game and Watch 1983 video games Dedicated consoles Handheld electronic games Monochrome video game consoles Nintendo hardware 1980s toys Mahjong Nintendo mahjong video games