Tetris: Difference between revisions

The [[Nintendo Entertainment System]] version of the game also has ''[[Super Mario (franchise)|Super Mario]]'' characters [[List of references in Nintendo video games#Tetris (NES)|cameo on the end screen]]. This version was never released in Japan as Bullet-Proof Software held the rights to produce ''Tetris'' for the [[Family Computer]].

The goal of the game is to stack blocks into complete lines, removing them from play. All of the blocks, called Tetriminos,<ref>"About Tetris®." ''Tetris'', tetris.com/about-us. Retrieved January 26, 2017.</ref> are based on the {{wp|tetromino}}es (every geometric shape that can be created from four perfect squares). As play begins, a random Tetrimino falls to the bottom of the screen, and the player can position it and rotate it without being able to move it back up. After one is placed down, another appears, and this continues for every subsequent Tetrimino. In single-player, the player can choose from the A-Type or B-Type modes to play. In A-Type, the player selects the speed at which the Tetriminos fall, then the game begins. It continues forever<ref>Spectre255. "Game Boy Tetris - 999,999 Points." ''YouTube'', 13 Mar. 2006, www.youtube.com/watch?v=keeSEJG4XzU. Retrieved January 26, 2017.</ref> until the Tetriminos reach the top of the screen, with no more room left for them to appear. In B-Type, the player must clear twenty-five lines, and in this mode, they can choose both the Tetriminos' falling speed and the number of misaligned blocks that are already on-screen. Once the necessary lines have been cleared, the player is scored on their performance. If they complete B-Type with the maximum settings, a special ending plays featuring the launch of a spaceship.

Though the Game Boy had four launch titles upon its Japanese release, none of them were bundled with the console. Henk Rogers of Bullet-Proof Software convinced Minoru Arakawa to bundle the Game Boy in North America and Europe with ''Tetris'' rather than ''[[Super Mario Land]]'', stating that the former would have broader appeal while the latter would only appeal to children. As he put it, "[i]f you want little boys to buy your machine include 'Mario,' but if you want everyone to buy your machine, include 'Tetris'".<ref>Levy, Karyne. "The Complicated History Of 'Tetris,' Which Celebrates Its 30th Anniversary Today." ''Business Insider'', 6 June 2014, 10:59 AM, www.businessinsider.com/tetris-history-2014-6.</ref> Nintendo consequently encouraged Rogers to seek out the rights to develop a Game Boy port; since the game's creator, Alexey Pajitnov (Romanized on the game's startup screen as Alexey Pazhitnov), was an employee of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union, this meant arranging a deal with the federal government of the Soviet Union itself.<ref>DeMaria, Rusel; Wilson, Johnny L. (2003). ''High Score! The Illustrated History of Electronic Video Games'' (2 ed.). McGraw-Hill Professional. ISBN 0-07-223172-6.</ref>

 

After a failed attempt at getting Robert Stein of Andromeda Software (who had previously obtained the rights for various home computer ports outside the Eastern Bloc) to work out a deal, Rogers flew out to the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic to meet with Pajitnov and ELORG, the Soviet Union's state-sanctioned computer company. At the same time, Nintendo contacted Spectrum HoloByte, to whom Andromeda Software previously granted the North American distribution rights, to work on the Game Boy port, leading to a legal dispute with Mirrorsoft, who owned the European rights for home computer ports.<ref>DeMaria, Rusel; Wilson, Johnny L. (2003). ''High Score! The Illustrated History of Electronic Video Games'' (2 ed.). McGraw-Hill Professional. ISBN 0-07-223172-6.</ref> Eventually, Rogers learned that Stein had never actually contacted the Soviet government to obtain the international distribution rights, instead talking directly to Pajitnov (who Soviet law prohibited from owning the game),<ref>Evans, David Sparks; Hagiu, Andrei; Schmalensee, Richard (2006). ''Invisible Engines: How Software Platforms Drive Innovation and Transform Industries'' (Illustrated ed.). MIT Press. ISBN 0-262-05085-4.</ref> and worked out a deal to give Nintendo exclusive home console and handheld rights for ''Tetris''.<ref>DeMaria, Rusel; Wilson, Johnny L. (2003). ''High Score! The Illustrated History of Electronic Video Games'' (2 ed.). McGraw-Hill Professional. ISBN 0-07-223172-6.</ref> Consequently, the game's startup screen lists both Nintendo and Rogers' company, Bullet-Proof Software, as copyright holders. Rogers' efforts were later dramatized in the 2023 thriller film ''{{wp|Tetris (film)|Tetris}}''.

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The popularity of ''Tetris'' was immense, to the point where the success of the Game Boy is often attributed to ''Tetris'' itself.<ref>Kaplan, Arie. "Games To Go." ''The Epic Evolution of Video Games'', Lerner Publications Company, 2014, p. 15. ShockZone — Games and Gamers. ''Google Books'', books.google.ca/books?id=ACejAgAAQBAJ.</ref><ref>Rollings, Andrew, and Dave Morris. ''Game Architecture and Design'', New Riders, 2004, p. 538. ''Google Books'', books.google.ca/books?id=qFdzalo0ixcC.</ref> Due in large part to the game being bundled with the Game Boy, ''Tetris'' sold over 33 million copies<ref name="Handheld Market">Haghirian, Parissa, and Philippe Gagnon. "The Handheld Market." ''Case Studies in Japanese Management'', World Scientific, 2011, pp. 61-62. ''Google Books'', books.google.ca/books?id=Lx08DQAAQBAJ.</ref> and its combined earnings were billions of dollars.<ref>Sheff, David. ''Game Over: How Nintendo Conquered The World''. Knopf Doubleday, 2011. ''Google Books'', books.google.ca/books?id=b_N5FzzD3hsC.</ref> The game has thus gained a reputation as the handheld's "killer app".<ref>Bellomo, Mark."Bricks and Pocket Monsters." ''Totally Tubular '80s Toys'', Krause, 2010, p. 348. ''Google Books'', books.google.ca/books?id=CF8AjVJXvH0C.</ref> Although the game succeeded with Nintendo's core demographic of young children, the game was notably also popular with people outside of their usual audience, such as businessmen and other non-traditional gamers, and Nintendo began marketing the game towards them.<ref name="Handheld Market"/><ref>Loguidice, Bill, and Matt Barton. "Nintendo Game Boy (1989)." ''Vintage Game Consoles: An Inside Look at Apple, Atari, Commodore, Nintendo, and the Greatest Gaming Platforms of All Time'', CRC Press, 2014. ''Google Books'', books.google.ca/books?id=wZnpAgAAQBAJ.</ref>

Mario Tetris.jpg|Artwork of Mario leaning on a Tetrimino