LEGO’s Latest Nintendo Collab Has an Immersion-Breaking Flaw

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Over the past few years, Nintendo and The LEGO Group have been working together to create a multitude of new LEGO sets inspired by their widely acclaimed franchises like Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda, and more recently, Pokemon for 2026. They’ve also collaborated on LEGO sets dedicated to iconic Nintendo video game consoles, such as the LEGO Nintendo Entertainment System launched in 2020. At San Diego Comic Con, they unveiled additional details and a release date for their latest joint effort: the LEGO Game Boy set modeled after Nintendo’s renowned 1989 handheld console. Unfortunately, this set has a minor letdown – it doesn’t include the classic game cartridge for the Game Boy that made it famous: Tetris.

Tetris’ Critical Relationship With Nintendo’s Game Boy

In the 1980s, Nintendo reigned supreme in the home console market due to the phenomenal success of the NES and the lucrative recognition for the Game & Watch series of portable devices. By 1987, Nintendo’s esteemed Gunpei Yokoi and the Research & Development 1 team were busy developing a successor to Game & Watch, which ultimately evolved into the iconic Game Boy, produced by Nintendo.

In 1985, a simple yet captivating computer game named Tetris started gaining attention in the Soviet Union and neighboring countries. The inventor, Russian computer engineer Alexey Pajitnov, developed it for the Elektronika 60 computer as a twist on traditional pentomino puzzles. In essence, players were tasked with arranging geometric blocks into solid rows. However, due to strict trade regulations within the Soviet Union, Tetris faced challenges in penetrating other markets initially.

Ultimately, the Soviet Union granted permission for Tetris to be distributed and purchased in international markets. Initially, Tetris was launched in the UK and US markets in 1988, selling more than a million units. Later on, game entrepreneur Henk Rogers of Bullet-Proof Software secured the portable rights to Tetris from the Soviet Union software licensing organization Elektronorgtechnica.

In December 1988, the president of Nintendo of America, Minoru Arakawa, invited Rogers to come and see their headquarters in Redmond, Washington. He wanted him to check out a prototype of the Game Boy and talk about possible games that could be included with this handheld device. Nintendo planned to release the Game Boy in American markets along with the popular game, Super Mario Land, as a result of the success of the Mario series on the NES.

Tetris’ Pivotal Launch on Nintendo’s Game Boy

As a game enthusiast, I’d put it this way: Back in the day, when I was helping to launch the Game Boy, I proposed that we bundle it with Tetris instead of Super Mario. My reasoning was simple: if we went with Mario, the Game Boy would be marketed as a toy for boys. But, if we included Tetris, everyone – not just kids – would want one. With Nintendo securing the rights to Tetris for handhelds, they swiftly developed their own Tetris version for the Game Boy’s debut in 1989. Little did I know that this decision would prove to be a game-changer! In 1989 alone, Tetris dominated sales charts in Japan and America, shifting 2.5 million copies by the end of 1990. By 1997, over 30 million copies of Tetris on the Game Boy had been sold, contributing significantly to the device’s global success.

Tetris also became available for the NES around five months following its Game Boy debut in November 1989, receiving comparable praise and managing to sell approximately 1.5 million units by the end of 1990.

The Absence of Tetris with LEGO’s Game Boy

The classic game Tetris played a significant role in making the Game Boy popular not only among children but also adults, leading to a successful debut for the device. If Tetris hadn’t been available, the Game Boy might have sold fewer units globally, which could have hindered Nintendo’s future handheld projects. Before Pokemon Red, Blue, and Green were introduced on the Game Boy in 1998 and 1999, Tetris was its defining game due to its straightforward gameplay, addictive nature, and being the first Game Boy title to offer multiplayer through the Game Link Cable. Since 1989, Tetris on the Game Boy has been remade as Tetris DX for the Game Boy Color in 1998, ported to both the Nintendo 3DS and the Nintendo Switch’s digital store, and its iconic Game Boy music can even be heard in other Nintendo games like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

It’s quite surprising that, given Nintendo’s extensive history with Tetris on their platforms, particularly the Game Boy, and considering The LEGO Group created a LEGO Game Boy set, they didn’t include a replica of the Tetris cartridge within it. Instead, the LEGO Game Boy set showcases LEGO versions of Super Mario Land and The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening game cartridges, along with interchangeable screens featuring scenes from both games. While both Super Mario Land and Link’s Awakening are well-known titles, it seems unusual that the set omits a Tetris cartridge replica. Interestingly, LEGO and Nintendo have recreated the original Game Boy trailer for this set, but the original trailer showcased the Tetris cartridge and gameplay.

The Potential Cause for Tetris’ Absence in the LEGO Game Boy Set

All Nintendo’s current and past LEGO sets only include characters and components from four series: Super Mario, Luigi’s Mansion, The Legend of Zelda, and Animal Crossing. When creating the LEGO Game Boy set, it seems that Nintendo and LEGO decided to incorporate elements from Super Mario Land and Link’s Awakening, as these choices align with their previous Nintendo-themed sets. However, it’s worth noting that LEGO has produced sets based on older games like Tetris, such as the LEGO Atari 2600 and LEGO PAC-MAN Arcade. Therefore, having Tetris in the LEGO Game Boy set wouldn’t be unexpected. Alternatively, the absence of Tetris from the LEGO Game Boy set could result from licensing issues, as The Tetris Company, Inc. currently holds global rights to Tetris.

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2025-07-24 21:35