A handheld history

A Handheld History is a unique celebration of portable platforms and their iconic games.

Forty years ago, businessmen fiddling with calculators inspired Gunpei Yokoi to create the Game & Watch. Ever since then, handheld gaming has been hugely influential, spawning communities who trade Pokémon in the playground and share Miis on the subway. This introspective adventure will delve into decades of gaming memories and reconnect you to that long car journey full of discarded AA batteries before speeding ahead to the contemporary days of blockbusters in your backpack.

Handheld gaming is celebrated loudly, proudly, and across hundreds of beautifully assembled pages of art and essays. Featuring words from many incredible voices, this is an unmissable ode to the gaming device that you keep close to your heart – right in your jacket pocket.

Words and art by:

Alex Olney

Ashens

Bob Wulff

Brandon Saltalamacchia

Brian Crecente

Hannah Kwan Cosselmon

Janet Garcia

Jason Bradbury

Jeff Grubb

Jonathan Traynor

Kevin Kenson

Larry Bundy Jr.

Mike Diver

Raul Higuera

Stephen Maurice Graham

Plus many more!

Made in collaboration with Retro Dodo. This edition published in partnership with Expanse, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers.