Cartoon stick figure sitting and holding a Game Boy console – representing a blog post about Nintendo handheld consoles and handheld trade dress trademark registrations.

Trademark Topic: Nintendo Handheld Consoles

First US Release: April 28, 1980

Current Owner: NINTENDO OF AMERICA INC. [1]

Trademark Type: non-traditional trademark; trade dress; configuration mark

Brief (and likely incomplete) History [2]:

Nintendo has a long and storied history (first starting with playing cards!) and has released some of the most famous home consoles and handheld consoles in history. Let’s take a look at major releases of Nintendo handhelds (and some non-traditional trademark registrations!).

Did you know the Game Boy was not Nintendo’s first handheld console? Before the Game Boy’s pixelated green screens took over the world, Nintendo released the Game & Watch on April 28, 1980. Each Game & Watch unit featured a single LCD game and a digital clock—an innovative blend of entertainment and practicality. These compact devices were wildly popular and introduced the D-pad, a control innovation that would become standard on future consoles.

Of course, everything changed when the Game Boy was launched on July 31, 1989. It was portable, durable, and paired perfectly with Tetris, a bundled title that helped the Game Boy achieve instant success. Though the 1995 Virtual Boy experiment aimed to bring 3D gaming to a portable format, it was a commercial failure. Nintendo rebounded with the Game Boy Color in 1998 and the Game Boy Advance in 2001, both of which extended the brand’s popularity into the next generation. In 2004, Nintendo introduced the Nintendo DS, which broke new ground with its dual screens and touch controls. The DS family evolved into the Nintendo 3DS (2011) and 2DS (2013), offering glasses-free 3D and budget-friendly options. Then came a bold move: in 2017, Nintendo unified its home console and handheld lines with the Switch, offering home and portable gaming in one system. Now, with the recent launch of the Switch 2 on June 5, 2025, Nintendo continues to lead the handheld market by pushing the limits of where and how we play.

Nintendo owns two non-traditional trademark registrations for its handheld consoles, both directed to the Game Boy. A first Game Boy configuration mark is registered in connection with clothing and wallets. A second Game Boy configuration mark is registered in connection with handheld units for playing electronic games.