Nintendo named the Game Boy for boys — girls bought it anyway

In 1989, Nintendo was developing a handheld game console to follow the success of the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). The development team, led by Gunpei Yokoi, believed that handheld gaming would appeal primarily to boys. The name 'Game Boy' was chosen to reflect that assumption — a product for boys who wanted to play games on the go.

The name was controversial within Nintendo. Some executives worried that the name would alienate half the potential market. But the team stuck with the name. The Game Boy launched in Japan on 21 April 1989, priced at ¥12,500. It was a monochrome screen with a 4-shade green LCD, powered by four AA batteries that lasted 15 hours. The technology was deliberately outdated — Yokoi's philosophy was 'lateral thinking with withered technology.'

The Game Boy was a massive success. It sold 118 million units worldwide, making it one of the best-selling consoles of all time. The device was a hit with boys and girls alike. The game that drove the most sales was Tetris — a puzzle game with no gender targeting. The 'Game Boy' became a unisex cultural phenomenon, despite the name that said otherwise.

The Game Boy name is one of the most famous 'targeting mistakes' in product history. The name that was supposed to limit the audience became a generic term for handheld gaming. Nintendo's assumption that only boys would play handheld games was wrong — and the name that reflected that assumption became one of the most valuable brand names in the industry.