Editing Tetris (section)

===Game Boy and NES (1989–1996)===
[[File:Tetris on Game Boy.jpg|thumb|upright|Tetris on a Nintendo [[Game&nbsp;Boy]]]]
[[Tetris (Game Boy video game)|The Game Boy version of ''Tetris'']] was released in Japan on June 14, 1989<ref name="GameBoyJP">{{cite web|script-title=ja:ゲームボーイ |trans-title=Game Boy |language=ja |url=https://www.nintendo.co.jp/n02/dmg/index.html |website=[[Nintendo]] |access-date=March 29, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150317065341/http://www.nintendo.co.jp/n02/dmg/index.html |archive-date=March 17, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> and as a [[pack-in game]] in the United States on July 31, 1989.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2009/07/27/ign-presents-the-history-of-game-boy |last=Fahs |first=Travis |title=''IGN'' Presents the History of Game Boy |website=[[IGN]] |date=July 27, 2009 |access-date=November 19, 2024 |archive-date=May 28, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100528083411/http://retro.ign.com/articles/100/1007864p3.html |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfn|Ackerman|2016|p=226}} [[Tetris (NES video game)|The NES version]] was released the same year. Both versions achieved commercial success.{{sfn|Kent|2001|p=379–380}} The Game Boy version was the primary game promoted for the Game Boy, becoming its [[killer app]],<ref name=polygon_gameboy/> generating $80 million in revenue,{{sfn|Sheff|Eddy|1999|p=343}} and popularizing both the Game Boy and ''Tetris''.{{sfn|Ackerman|2016|p=226}}{{sfn|Linneman|2018|loc=10:58–11:06}} The Game Boy version is the most commercially successful and considered by many to be the best version of ''Tetris''.<ref name=cnn-history>{{cite news |url=https://www.cnn.com/style/article/tetris-video-game-history/index.html |last=Prisco |first=Jacopo |title=''Tetris'': The Soviet 'Mind Game' that Took Over the World |work=[[CNN]] |date=October 31, 2019 |access-date=February 6, 2025 |archive-date=November 1, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191101023959/https://www.cnn.com/style/article/tetris-video-game-history/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The NES version appeared on Nintendo's most popular games list for over a year.{{sfn|Sheff|Eddy|1999|p=339}} To date, the Game Boy version has sold 35 million copies,<ref name=tetris-numbers/> and the NES version has sold 8 million copies.{{sfn|Temple|2004|loc=51:23}}

Through the legal history of the license, Pajitnov gained a reputation in the West. He was regularly invited by journalists and publishers, through which he discovered that ''Tetris'' had sold millions of copies, from which he had not made any money. He took pride in the game, which he considered "an electronic ambassador of benevolence".{{sfn|Ichibian|2009|page=96}} In January 1990, Pajitnov was invited by Spectrum HoloByte to the Consumer Electronics Show, and he was immersed in American life for the first time.{{sfn|Ichibian|2009|page=97}} After a period of adaptation, he explored American culture in several cities, including Las Vegas, San Francisco, New York City and Boston. He engaged in interviews with several hosts, including the directors of Nintendo of America.{{sfn|Sheff|Eddy|1999|page=347}} He marveled at the freedom and the advantages of Western society, and, upon returning to the Soviet Union, he spoke often of his travels to his colleagues. He realized that there was no market in Russia for their programs.{{sfn|Ichibian|2009|page=97}} 

In 1991, with Rogers' help, Pajitnov and his family emigrated to Seattle, United States, where he worked as a freelance game designer.{{sfn|Ackerman|2016|p=241}}<ref name=entertainmentweekly>{{cite magazine |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_entertainment-weekly_1991-05-03_64/page/12/mode/2up |last=Givens |first=Ron |title=Soviet Blocks Invade America |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |date=May 3, 1991 |issue=64 |via=[[Internet Archive]] |url-access=registration}}</ref> During this time, Pajitnov worked on several sequels to ''Tetris''. ''[[Welltris]]'' (1990) involved adjusting geometrical pieces descending down one of four walls of a three-dimensional well, and ''[[Hatris]]'' (1990) and ''[[Faces...tris III]]'' (1991) replaced descending tetrominoes with hats and faces respectively.<ref name=retrogamer/> Though they generally received positive reviews and commercial success,<ref name=entertainmentweekly/> with ''Faces...Tris III'' winning "Best Action/Arcade Program" in the 1991 Excellence in Software Awards,<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://archive.org/details/Computer_Gaming_World_Issue_83/page/n65/ |title=Celebrating Software |magazine=[[Computer Gaming World]] |date=June 1991 |issue=83 |page=66 |via=[[Internet Archive]]}}</ref> none replicated ''Tetris''{{'s}} success.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/usa-today-tetris-inventor-gets-a-turn-at/164431581/ |last=Wlsosoczyn |first=Susan |title=''Tetris'' inventor gets a turn at the profit game |work=[[USA Today]] |date=May 9, 1996 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.denofgeek.com/games/why-tetris-creator-never-made-tetris-2/ |last=Byrd |first=Matthew |title=Why ''Tetris''{{'}} Creator Never Made Tetris 2 |website=[[Den of Geek]] |date=March 31, 2023 |access-date=February 4, 2025}}</ref> Other early variants of ''Tetris'' developed without Pajitnov's involvement included Spectrum Holobyte's ''[[Super Tetris]]'' (1991), Bullet-Proof Software's ''[[Tetris 2 + BomBliss]]'' (1991) and ''[[Tetris Battle Gaiden]]'' (1993), and Nintendo's ''[[Tetris 2 (1993 video game)|Tetris 2]]'' (1993).<ref name=retrogamer>{{cite magazine |last=Crookes |first=David |title=The History of ''Tetris'' |magazine=[[Retro Gamer]] |date=September 2018 |issue=183 |pages=20–29}}</ref>