Game & Watch games are even more “pick up and play” than your average arcade game and are generally about score. Nintendo also aggresively pursued licenses like Mickey Mouse and Snoopy, because of the higher resolution art that made possible. This was an early example of a Nintendo philosophy known as “lateral thinking with withered technology” which we see even today, where their console uses an older mobile system-on-a-chip to successfully compete with much higher-end consoles.
Describing Nintendo's philosophy as "lateral thinking with withered technology" -- common in its early days and with its three most-recent consoles, Wii, Wii U, and Switch. I discussed its new-found commitment to supporting its older consoles regarding statements that it made about the Switch's life-cycle.