Nintendo's release in 1989 of the Game Boy, a buttery-operated, handheld interactive entertainment system incorporating an 8-bit microprocessor , revolutionized the hand-held game machine market. Previously, the only handheld systems available were ded-icated to a single game. sega's color Game Gear handheld system, released in 1991,competed directly with the Nintendo Game Boy. The market for video games on these platforms had declined in recent years and in 1998 did not comprise a sizable component of the video game business.