Happy 25th birthday, Tetris

Ah, the good ol' days of Tetris.

(Credit: The Tetris Company)

On Saturday, Tetris, the famous falling-blocks puzzle game, turns 25.

Tetris was created by Russian programmer Alexey Pajitnov in June 1984. He had an immense love for puzzles, and he felt compelled to create a game that allowed players to arrange distinctive puzzle pieces along the bottom of a field or "matrix." Pajitnov chose the name Tetris by combining the words "tetromino" and "tennis."

The game was first made available on the IBM computer. It quickly enjoyed popularity and was ported to a variety of other platforms. In 1987, it became a major hit in the United States.

But it wasn't until Nintendo released its version of Tetris for the Game Boy in 1989 that Tetris reached critical mass. According to The Tetris Co., the Game Boy version of Tetris sold more than 35 million copies.

Pajitnov made very little money from his popular game during that time. Prior to the release of Tetris on the Game Boy, a series of legal disputes ensued over who really owned Tetris. Atari Games, the former Soviet Union government, and Nintendo all fought in court over the rights to the title.

Eventually, Tetris Holding became the exclusive agent for Tetris licensing rights. The Tetris Co. holds the license to Tetris. Since that company's inception, Tetris has made its way online, attracting 1.5 million monthly visitors. The game is available in-flight on 50 airlines worldwide. It's also available on a variety of mobile devices. The Nintendo DS version of the software sold 2 million copies.

And today, Pajitnov is back where he belongs--controlling the legacy of Tetris.

"We have exciting plans for the future of Tetris," Pajitnov said in a Tuesday statement. "We want to make Tetris more accessible to kids, boomers, and busy moms--everyone who enjoys a fun, stimulating, and even meditative short escape from the daily grind."

The importance of Tetris

So what will the future of Tetris hold? Only Pajitnov knows. But if it's anything like the past, I'm sure that it will be just fine.

Pajitnov's game left an indelible mark on the lives of millions of gamers. It was the game we all played on our Game Boy. It was the title we had to have whenever a new Nintendo handheld was released. It was, quite simply, one of the few games that started our love affair with games. Along with Super Mario Bros. and Pong, Tetris helped defined the video game industry during its early years.

And that's why we celebrate the 25th anniversary of Tetris this week. It might not be the most beautiful game. It certainly isn't the most complex game. But even in the face of today's epic story lines and gorgeous graphics, there is little debate over whether it is one of the greatest games ever released.

Happy birthday, Tetris. And thank you.

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[Error42]

So is Nintendo going to do some huge birthday party bash? I mean this game made the company bizmillions of dollars.

[yiang]

Happy Birthday indeed. One of the best games ever created and I'm proud to be a huge fan of it.

[bvdon]

i still zone out with tetris.... love it.

[sting7k]

Playing Tetris right now on my iPhone. The original theme music from the 1989 Gameboy version is forever burned into my brain. Everyone thinks Mario is the king of gaming, it should be Tetris. Tetris transends time, generations, platforms, and cultuers. Awesome game, long live Tetris!!!!

[pjscullion]

Happy Birthday Tetris! I recently found an original Game Boy copy I'd left in my bright-green GB Color the other day. Not only do the system and game still work, but the thing worked for 24 hours straight before the ancient (5-6 year old) batteries gave way. What a system!

Congrats to Pajitnov for creating a game that defined the puzzle-game genre, and a THANK YOU as well for getting me started gaming way, WAY back in the day.

[MammothCave]

Several web sites (including Wikipedia, AtariHQ, and Factiva) all state that Tetris was invented June 1985 making this the 24th anniversary, not 25th. EA has announced the 25th celebration starting this month however it doesn't have its official 25th until next June.

[ghostfear]

I am sorry, you are wrong. It says 1984.

[Blacksheep1982]

Everyone is so wrapped up in the Gameboy version, yes, I had the Gameboy version and played it a lot, but lest we forget the Nintendo version? That was the version that both myself and my friends fell in love with as children. The bright colored blocks that told you what level you were in before you could even see the number, the nutcracker theme, which every time I hear now, even when attending the Nutcracker Sweet with my girlfriend, instantly reminds me of Tetris. That's the version I will always remember (and in fact still have along with my original Nintendo). I feel compelled to go play it on my Nintendo right now in fact!

Anyone remember the Russian bear commercial for the NES version? Classic!

[hmdz105]

Tetris vs Super Mario ? Which one you preferred?

[LBVMI]

Congratulations Alexey!
Have many fond memories of Alexey in Russia at the Academy of Sciences & JV Dialogue(2nd Soviet/American JV 1987-1994) and his adventures in bringing Tetris to the States. Many wonderful days with Esther Dyson and everyone from JVD. Alexey is a very thoughtful, kind, intelligent software engineer! We wish him all the best, L&J


http://www.flickr.com/photos/byers-russia/3167260619/in/set-72157612167216244/
(Pictured at the first East-West PC Forum (by Esther Dyson) in Budapest (l-r Jack Byers, Alexey Pajitnov, Laura Byers, Vladimir Pokhilko)

[shurygin]

Had a chance to meet Alexey personally. Very nice guy. Tetris is still a one and only game I play occasionally, for most of these 25 years....

[BoardgameNews]

A boardgame inspired by Tetris, Reiner Knizia's Fits (published by Ravensburger), was nominated for Germany's game of the year award in May 2009. Fits isn't a direct port of Tetris ? players use triominoes and pentominoes in addition to the familiar Tetris pieces, and they try to leave certain spaces uncovered when adding pieces to the board in order to score points ? but the game play is so simple and familiar, that you jump into the game immediately. I'm surprised something like this wasn't introduced to the boardgame world earlier, given the success of Tetris, but of course derivatives like this one are sometimes obvious only in retrospect.

[todd3617]

I wish they would release the original Nintendo version on the Wii Shop Channel.

[robin.lurge]

Hey! Happy birthday Tetris!

A new blog about this subject:
http://tetris.happy-25th-anniversary.com/

Join and enjoy!

[Justin_McCloudPhoto]

Oh, you have to love the great game of Tetris!
<a href="http://www.mccloudphotography.com">Justin</a>