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Picture: Nintendo (official site)

Tetris (Game Boy)

Released 14 June 1989 Developer Nintendo R&D1 Publisher Nintendo

Blocks made of four squares fall down a narrow well, and you slide and rotate them so they fill complete rows, which then disappear. A-Type never ends and gets faster as you go, B-Type finishes after 25 lines, and two players can battle by linking two Game Boys. It suits every age.

Money health FairPay clearly, know the ceiling
Addictive design None0 of 5 — counts the hooks designed in
Average price —no price listed yet
Spending ceiling Has a ceilingYou can buy it all

How it makes money

Fair: pay clearly, know the ceiling

Tetris was bundled with the Game Boy console in North America and Europe, and sold as a cartridge elsewhere; Nintendo no longer sells it new. Today the official way to play this version in Australia is the Game Boy library in Nintendo Switch Online: A$29.95 for 12 months, or A$5.95 per 30 days, for an individual membership, which also allows online two-player games. It is not sold separately and you lose access when the membership ends. The game has no ads, timers or in-game purchases.

How you pay

  • Editions

    Sold again as Tetris DX (Game Boy Color, 1998) and as a 3DS Virtual Console download (December 2011), before arriving on Switch Online in 2023.

    minor part of the game
  • Game library

    Today the only official way to play it is the Game Boy - Nintendo Classics library (since 8 February 2023), included with a Nintendo Switch Online membership (A$29.95 for 12 months or A$5.95 per 30 days, individual).

    minor part of the game
  • Pay once

    A one-off cartridge purchase, and packed in with the Game Boy console in North America and Europe. It isn't sold new today; the 3DS Virtual Console download left sale after 2014.

What it costs

Price: —

WhatWherePriceChecked
Individual membership, 12 months (Game Boy library)
Standard Nintendo Switch Online tier; the game is not sold separately and is only playable while the membership is active.		 Nintendo Switch Online (AU) A$29.95/year Oct 2026
Individual membership, 30 days
Renewal price shown on the Nintendo membership page after the free 7-day trial.		 Nintendo Switch Online (AU) A$5.95/30 days Oct 2026

Store prices change often and sales are common; we record the regular price on the date shown.

Reviews from across the web

What the critics said

  • 8/ 10

    Nintendo Life

    Corbs · 23 December 2011 · 3DS eShop (Game Boy)

    Called the Game Boy version arguably the most loved Tetris and worth another look, while finding the 3DS download pricey for the content and lacking multiplayer.

Scores belong to the outlets that published them; follow the links to read the full reviews. Summaries are ours.

Age ratings & content

What's in it

Classification

No classification recorded yet.

Safety & parental controls

Who can talk to your child, and what can they buy?

  • No chat
  • No contact with strangers
  • No user-made content
  • Needs an online account

No violence or text. On Switch Online the Game Boy library supports two-player play locally or online with friends ("join with friends via local wireless or online" on Nintendo's page), and on Switch 2 the separate GameChat feature adds voice and screen sharing with friends. A Nintendo Account and a paid membership are needed. I could not find an individual Australian classification for this game.

Who makes it

The company behind it, and its track record

Nintendo

Developer and publisher · Kyoto, Japan · founded 1889

  • Labour dispute

    Labour dispute

    US National Labor Relations Board, 2022: unfair-labour-practice charge by a fired contract tester settled for $25,910 plus union-rights notices.
  • Shut down paid games

    Shut down games people paid for

    Nintendo, March 2023 and April 2024: closed the Wii U and 3DS eShops, then ended online play for 3DS and Wii U software.
  • Competition law

    Competition-law action

    European Commission, October 2002: fined Nintendo €149 million for colluding with distributors to block cheaper cross-border sales (1991 to 1998); reduced to €119.2 million by the EU Court of First Instance in April 2009.
  • Publishes odds

    Publishes drop odds

    Nintendo, August 2019: said it would require drop-rate disclosure for paid random items in Switch games.

Latest on the record

  1. Court case

    Brazilian first-instance court ordered R$5 million in loot-box damages, subject to appeal

    Brazil Ministry of Justice and Public Security (Technical Note 55/2026)
  2. Game preservation

    Nintendo replaced Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp with a paid offline version

    Eurogamer
  3. Game preservation

    Nintendo closed the Wii U and 3DS eShops and later ended their online play

    Nintendo

Nintendo: full profile and track record →

A company's history doesn't change this game's money verdict, which rates only how the game itself makes money. About company track records

Platforms & release

Where you can play it

PlatformReleasedStore
Nintendo Switch 2
Game Boy - Nintendo Classics also runs on Switch 2.		 — Store page
Nintendo Switch
Game Boy - Nintendo Classics, included with Nintendo Switch Online.		 8 February 2023 Store page
Game Boy
Japan 14 June 1989; North America 31 July 1989 (bundled with the Game Boy); Europe September 1990.		 14 June 1989 —

Further reading

Facts last checked 22 October 2026. Sources: en.wikipedia.org, en.wikipedia.org, www.nintendo.com, www.nintendo.com, ec.nintendo.com, www.nintendolife.com, www.museumofplay.org, tetris.com. Spotted something wrong? Send a correction.