ATARI LYNX

The Atari Lynx was originally designed by Epyx under the name "Handy" — Atari acquired the rights and launched it in 1989, weeks before the Game Boy. It was the first backlit colour handheld, with hardware sprite scaling and rotation, and ComLynx networking support for up to 18 units. It beat the Game Boy technically on almost every spec. It lost on everything else: six AA batteries lasted under four hours, the price was nearly double, and the library stayed limited. The Lynx II (1991) improved energy efficiency and the industrial design. The screen could be physically flipped and controls remapped for left-handed players — an extraordinarily thoughtful design detail. PAL distribution was minimal: many games are effectively North American imports.