The Game Boy Database - tetris_11_box_front.jpgThe Game Boy Database - tetris_12_box_back.jpgThe Game Boy Database - tetris_13_cart.jpgThe Game Boy Database - tetris_21_pc_box_front.jpgThe Game Boy Database - tetris_22_pc_box_back.jpgThe Game Boy Database - tetris_23_pc_cart.jpgThe Game Boy Database - tetris_33_variant_cart.jpgThe Game Boy Database - tetris_33_variant_cart1.jpg

Tetris

Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
Release Date: 08/01/1989
Variants: Yes
Part #: DMG-TR-USA

Genre: Puzzle
Players: 2
Multiplayer method: Game Link
Super GB support: No
Saves: None

Box back

"The Soviet Sensation!

Beams, boxes, zig-zags and L-shaped blocks drop down a narrow passage.

Feel your pulse quicken as you spin, shift and align the shapes for a perfect fit. It's challenging and demands split second decision!

Start at new heights for a tougher contest. Pick the music and set your pace form 20 progressive skill levels!

Variants

Tetris has only a few variants. Considering it's production run you'd think there'd be more, but Tetris didn't get it's own box until 1993. Four years after it's release. Let's start with the boxes then.

Coinciding with the release of the Small Box, which had no pack in game, Tetris saw it's first retail box. It is a testament to the popularity of Tetris that it still sold enough to get a Player's Choice release in 1996.

The Game Boy Database - Tetris Box Front The Game Boy Database - Tetris Player's Choice Box Front


A few easily spotted differences here. First the typical Player's Choice gold badging and Game Boy logo. The two player logo had been dropped on the Player's Choice box and an ESRB rating has been added. The only other real difference is Tetris has a Registered, ®, mark on the Player's Choice box, as opposed to the Trade Mark, ™, on the original box.

The Game Boy Database - Tetris Box Back The Game Boy Database - Tetris Player's Choice Box Back

Here we have the box backs. The Tetris logo and the description font size have been made smaller on the Player's Choice box. Also the wording of the copyright notice in the bottom right has been updated. Bullet-Proof's license from Elorg ran out in 1996 and it passed to The Teris Company, which was pretty much the same folks. Corporate lawyers, eh?

A fun note on the backs. The original box had a grammatical error, most likely from translation. In the description it is stated "It's challenging and demands split second decision!". Looks like we're missing an "a" in there, which was added to correct the error on the Player's Choice Box. However, apparently someone had to re-type the whole description, because now passage is spelled wrong. Doh!

Let's take a look at the carts, shall we?

The Game Boy Database - Tetris Cart The Game Boy Database - Tetris Variant Pack-in Cart

These are the two carts that were packed in the Big Box Game Boys. Even though there is a label change, there is no -1 designation for the second cart. The only difference is the "Made in Japan" mark was moved to the left gray border from the bottom of the label.

The Game Boy Database - Tetris Variant Retail Cart The Game Boy Database - Tetris Player's Choice Cart

And these are the retail carts. The difference between these and the pack in carts is the Tetris logo has been redesigned. The differences between each other are the same as the box fronts. Player's Choice badging, two player logo, and ESRB rating..