Tetris

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==Development==

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>

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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@@ Line 29: / Line 29: @@
 ==Development==
-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>
+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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