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What Do Nintendo Clamshells And Make-Up Have In Common?

The Nintendo DS’s design was influenced by the dual LCD clamshell Nintendo Game & Watch. But what influenced that?

Over on Nintendo’s official site, company president Satoru Iwata talked to Makoto Kano, one of the designers on the Game & Watch. Iwata asked if there were any electronics that folded up like a laptop in 1982.

ā€œI wanted to research on things that folded up,ā€ says Kano, ā€œso I went shopping for compacts.ā€

Compacts? Like cosmetics?

ā€œYes,ā€ he continues. ā€œI was doing research on the hinge that held the top and bottom screens together. Those compacts are still lying in a drawer somewhere at the office!ā€

Those were what Kano used as a reference for the Game & Watch. And Nintendo used the Game & Watch as a reference for the dual screen Nintendo DS. The Donkey Kong Game & Watch was released in 1982.

Iwata Asks: Game & Watch [Nintendo via NeoGAF via Tiny Cartridge] [Pic, Pic]

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