This Is Going to Be the Game Boy Killer

About

This Is Going to Be the Game Boy Killer refers to a Console War image macro in which four predictions, three of them already failed, are made about portable consoles taking a market share from Nintendo consoles. In late July 2021, the macro was parodied in memes, with the part comparing the Nintendo Switch and Steam Deck replaced with non-sequitur punchlines.

Origin

On July 17th, 2021, Redditor Inevitable-Belt-4467 posted an image containing three failed predictions about the portable console market. The predictions regarded Sega Game Gear, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation Vita, which were predicted by some to steal a sizable market share from more successful Nintendo portable consoles. The fourth prediction, similar to the previous failed three, regarded the recently announced Steam Deck portable gaming device. The image (shown below) received over 56,300 upvotes in the /r/gaming^[1] subreddit in 10 days.

Spread

On July 23rd, 2021, Twitter^[2] user @Nintendeal reposted the image, writing, "discuss." The tweet received over 2,600 retweets and 24,400 likes in four days.

Later on the same day, Twitter^[3] user @DavidPCM_ posted the first meme parodying the macro, replacing the bottom line with a This Is How You Eat a Big Mac meme. The post (shown below) received over 2,000 retweets and 13,400 likes in four days.

On July 24th, Twitter^[4] user @AsterShock posted a version of the meme that gained over 2,300 retweets and 20,300 likes in three days (shown below). A same-day repost by Facebook^[5] group Niby gained over 1,400 reactions and 260 shares in the same period.

Starting on July 25th, the format achieved a notable presence on social media, with several viral versions posted on Twitter.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References