Before there was a 3DS, a PlayStation Portable or even an original Game Boy, there was the Game & Watch, a single-game device that happened to turn 35 this year. The Game & Watch electronic games were published by Nintendo between 1980 and 1991 and introduced the world to handheld electronic gaming.

The Game & Watch was named as such because it functioned as a clock or an alarm (or in some cases, both) in addition to the gaming element. Developer Gunpei Yokoi got the idea for the devices while traveling in the late ‘70s; he saw a businessman playing with an LCD calculator on the train, and thought it would be fun to have a watch that doubled as a game machine.

A number of Game & Watch titles were made based on popular properties, such as Mickey Mouse, Balloon Fight, The Legend of Zelda, Donkey Kong, and of course Mario Bros. The Game & Watch line sold more than 80 million units around the world and many of the games are considered highly collectible. Game & Watch titles have been ported to newer Nintendo handhelds in the form of Game & Watch Gallery titles.

The most notable contemporary Game & Watch reference is in the Super Smash Bros. series, which features a two-dimensional character named simply “Mr. Game & Watch,” who is based on the character who appeared in many of the original titles. Most of Mr. Game & Watch’s attacks are references to classic titles.

However, the biggest impact that the Game & Watch line had on the industry is one many forget about, despite gamers encountering it all the time – the cross-shaped “D-Pad,” or directional pad. Every contemporary controller today, 35 years after the fact, still incorporates a D-Pad in some form. Though the Game & Watch has long been discontinued, its legacy is clearly still felt today.