Possible Game & Watch: Tetris Footage Has Been Released

A recent tweet has revealed possible footage of an unreleased version of Game & Watch: Tetris. The authenticity of the footage remains unclear, but it presents a convincing representation of what an unreleased edition of the game might look like.

Game & Watch, a series of handheld electronic games, was developed, manufactured, released, and marketed by Nintendo from 1980 to 1991. The brainchild of game designer Gunpei Yokoi, the Game & Watch brand derived its name from its combination of a single game and a clock on an LCD screen. Models released from 1981 onwards even featured an alarm.

These units were powered by a 4-bit CPU from the Sharp SM5xx family, which included a small ROM and RAM area, as well as an LCD screen driver circuit. Tetris was rumored to be a canceled Multi Screen Game & Watch, with the game based on the popular Tetris series. The reason for its cancellation, or even its existence, remains unknown.

The footage in question seems to show the Game & Watch Safe Buster shell, but it is difficult to confirm its authenticity. In this edition of Tetris, blocks drop in from the top screen, and the player controls the playfield on the bottom display, shifting it left and right to accommodate the falling shapes.

The Game & Watch series has seen a resurgence in recent years. On September 3, 2020, Nintendo announced a limited run Game & Watch system containing full NES versions of Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, along with a variant of Ball featuring Mario’s head. Released on November 13, 2020, this console, Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros., used a built-in rechargeable battery instead of disposable ones, charging through a USB-C cable.

Nintendo continued this trend by revealing the Game & Watch: The Legend of Zelda system on June 15, 2021, in celebration of the franchise’s 35th anniversary. Released on November 12, 2021, this system contains four games, including The Legend of Zelda, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, and a variant of Vermin with Link replacing the original character’s head.