History Trivia / Tetris

** Tengen ''Tetris'' after it was pulled from sale in June 1989 (it had sold around 100,000 copies by that point). Tellingly, many people who had rented copies at the time decided they'd rather pay the fee for not returning the game.

** The fates of the Tengen version of NES ''Tetris'' and the 1989 [[UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis Genesis/Mega Drive]] port of Creator/{{Sega}}'s arcade version of ''Tetris''.

** In 2014, due to the release of ''Tetris Ultimate'' granting Creator/{{Ubisoft}} a ''Tetris'' exclusivity contract, ALL other ''Tetris'' versions on digital storefronts were discontinued by the end of the year, including the much-acclaimed Platform/GameBoy version, which had been re-released on Platform/Nintendo3DS at the time, and almost no other game has been able to get a license to release in the West since.[[note]]The Western release of ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyo Tetris'' managed to get 'round the restriction with both a physical-only release on the UsefulNotes/{{PlayStation 4}} (Ubisoft only holds the cards when it comes to '''digital''' ''Tetris'' releases) and especially a primary physical/digital release on the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch, a console that wasn't even '''announced''' when Ubisoft's exclusivity deal was inked, ergo could not be listed in the contract. Presumably, ''Tetris 99'' got around this the same way.[[/note]] ''Ultimate'' has since been delisted from all storefronts as of February 2019. Since ''Puyo Puyo Tetris'' and ''Tetris 99'' are both on the Switch, the exclusivity contract is presumed to be dead. Because of this, [[https://www.playstationlifestyle.net/2019/02/26/puyo-puyo-tetris-digital-playstation-store-soon/ Puyo Puyo Tetris was able to make it to the PS4 store.]]

** And the ultimate "keep circulating the tapes" example: the Mega Drive version from Sega themselves. While Atari Games had produced the North American arcade version (which also saw release in Europe), they didn't bother exporting it to Japan, instead sub-(sub-sub-)licensing the Japanese arcade rights to Sega, which released their version in 1988, just before BPS released their Famicom version. Their arcade version was a big hit, and Sega planned to release a port of it for their just-released Mega Drive, but after Nintendo locked up exclusive worldwide console rights, Sega cancelled it shortly before release. However, a small number of cartridges had already been manufactured, and perhaps a dozen of those survive, making it the world's rarest Tetris (though Chinese bootleggers somehow managed to get a copy at the time, which led to the game being distributed on bootleg cartridges as well). The game was finally made officially available in 2004 as part of the Sega Ages ''Tetris Collection'' for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2, but that was never released outside Japan. While the Genesis Mini does have a ''Tetris'' game based on the 1988 Sega version, it's not this particular version, but rather a new port written from whole cloth by Creator/{{M2}}.

* KillerApp: This game ''made'' the UsefulNotes/GameBoy, and it was packed in with the system for years, and even was an early release on the Nintendo 3DS eShop (before it was ScrewedByTheLawyers).

** ''Tetris'' was going to have a UsefulNotes/GameAndWatch port. It was touted as "Coming Soon" when ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI Zelda]]'' was released but cancelled because Nintendo thought it would hurt sales of the UsefulNotes/GameBoy version. It was eventually released as part of the Mini Classics line in 1999. Ultimately, Nintendo missed the boat as many fly-by-night Chinese companies started putting out handheld Tetris game systems under the generic brand "[[BlandNameProduct Brick Game]]" which ate what could be further revenue for Nintendo.
** The UsefulNotes/NintendoDS almost got an [[https://tcrfwiki.tumblr.com/post/145420915583/prototype-release-thqs-unreleased-tetris-ds alternate version]] of ''Tetris DS'', developed by Creator/{{TOSE}} and published by Creator/{{THQ}}, which was originally slated to be released in 2005. Then it was unceremoniously cancelled due to running into legal disputes with The Tetris Company, with the latter arguing that THQ's license to ''Tetris'' expired. By the time the case was settled, Nintendo already released their version, while THQ was instead given to rights to ''Tetris Evolution'' on the UsefulNotes/Xbox360.

* GodDoesNotOwnThisWorld: Dozens of companies have all made ''Tetris'' games that they cannot rerelease due to violating the current guidelines on ''Tetris'' games, among other things. While games can have visual themes styled after these games, they still must use the current mandated game rules. However, Sega did manage to get a port of their 1988 arcade game released on the Genesis Mini in 2019, without having to add anything mandated by TTC (the most it adds is clockwise rotation and hard drop).

* PromotedFanboy: Clearing 21 lines during Zone in ''Tetris Effect'' is called a Kirbtris, named after high-level Tetris player [=Kirby703=] that first showed clearing more that 20 lines was possible.

* DuelingWorks: An unusual case of two versions of the same IP. [[Creator/{{Atari}} Atari Games]], through its subsidiary Tengen, released a port of Ed Logg's arcade version of ''Tetris'' for the [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]] in 1989. As with most of Tengen's other NES games, it was produced outside of Creator/{{Nintendo}}'s licensing system for the NES, which had already led to a number of legal battles between Atari Games and Nintendo. This also conflicted with the NES version of ''Tetris'' produced by Nintendo's in-house development team in Japan that was released later that year. Nintendo had obtained the legal rights to ''Tetris'' on consoles produced outside of Japan. The courts found in favor of Nintendo, and Tengen was forced to recall and destroy all unsold copies of its version of ''Tetris''. The 100,000 or so copies that Tengen managed to sell before the court-ordered recall are among the most sought-after rarities for NES collectors.

** Both UsefulNotes/VirtualBoy releases: ''V-Tetris'' was released in Japan only, while ''3D Tetris'' was released in North America only.

** [[https://web.archive.org/web/20040502042412/http://www.fatbabies.com:80/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=3649&amp A post in this forum thread]] describes problems caused by Henk Rogers during the development of ''VideoGame/TetrisWorlds''.
** In 2014, due to the release of ''Tetris Ultimate'' granting Creator/{{Ubisoft}} a ''Tetris'' exclusivity contract, ALL other ''Tetris'' versions on digital storefronts were discontinued by the end of the year, including the much-acclaimed UsefulNotes/GameBoy version, which had been re-released on UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS at the time, and almost no other game has been able to get a license to release in the West since.[[note]]The Western release of ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyo Tetris'' managed to get 'round the restriction with both a physical-only release on the UsefulNotes/{{PlayStation 4}} (Ubisoft only holds the cards when it comes to '''digital''' ''Tetris'' releases) and especially a primary physical/digital release on the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch, a console that wasn't even '''announced''' when Ubisoft's exclusivity deal was inked, ergo could not be listed in the contract. Presumably, ''Tetris 99'' got around this the same way.[[/note]] ''Ultimate'' has since been delisted from all storefronts as of February 2019. Since ''Puyo Puyo Tetris'' and ''Tetris 99'' are both on the Switch, the exclusivity contract is presumed to be dead. Because of this, [[https://www.playstationlifestyle.net/2019/02/26/puyo-puyo-tetris-digital-playstation-store-soon/ Puyo Puyo Tetris was able to make it to the PS4 store.]]

** ''Tetris'' was going to have a UsefulNotes/GameAndWatch port. It was touted as "Coming Soon" when ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZelda Zelda]]'' was released but cancelled because Nintendo thought it would hurt sales of the UsefulNotes/GameBoy version. It was eventually released as part of the Mini Classics line in 1999. Ultimately, Nintendo missed the boat as many fly-by-night Chinese companies started putting out handheld Tetris game systems under the generic brand "[[BlandNameProduct Brick Game]]" which ate what could be further revenue for Nintendo.

* ReferencedBy: [[Referencedby/TetRis Has its own page]].

* DummiedOut: The NES version has an unfinished [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKX10r3qMLE versus mode]].

** And the ultimate "keep circulating the tapes" example: the Mega Drive version from Sega themselves. While Atari Games had produced the North American arcade version (which also saw release in Europe), they didn't bother exporting it to Japan, instead sub-(sub-sub-)licensing the Japanese arcade rights to Sega, which released their version in 1988, just before BPS released their Famicom version. Their arcade version was a big hit, and Sega planned to release a port of it for their just-released Mega Drive, but after Nintendo locked up exclusive worldwide console rights, Sega cancelled it shortly before release. However, a small number of cartridges had already been manufactured, and perhaps a dozen of those survive, making it the world's rarest Tetris (though Chinese bootleggers somehow managed to get a copy at the time, which led to the game being distributed on bootleg cartridges as well). The game was finally made officially available in 2004 as part of the Sega Ages ''Tetris Collection'' for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2, but that was never released outside Japan. While the Genesis Mini does have a ''Tetris'' game based on the 1988 Sega version, it's not this particular version, but rather a new port written from whole cloth by Creator/{M2}}.

** The UsefulNotes/NintendoDS almost got an alternate version of ''Tetris DS'', developed by Creator/{{TOSE}} and published by Creator/{{THQ}}, which was originally slated to be released in 2005. Then it was unceremoniously cancelled due to running into legal disputes with The Tetris Company, with the latter arguing that THQ's license to ''Tetris'' expired. By the time the case was settled, Nintendo already released their version, while THQ was instead given to rights to ''Tetris Evolution'' on the UsefulNotes/Xbox360.

* DuelingWorks: An unusual case of two versions of the same IP. [[Creator/{{Atari}} Atari Games]], through its subsidiary Tengen, released a port of Ed Logg's arcade version of Tetris for the NES in 1989. As with most of Tengen's other NES games, it was produced outside of Nintendo's licensing system for the NES, which had already led to a number of legal battles between Atari Games and Nintendo. This also conflicted with the NES version of Tetris produced by Nintendo's in-house development team in Japan that was released later that year. Nintendo had obtained the legal rights to Tetris on consoles produced outside of Japan. The courts found in favor of Nintendo, and Tengen was forced to recall and destroy all unsold copies of its version of Tetris. The 100,000 or so copies that Tengen managed to sell before the court-ordered recall are among the most sought-after rarities for NES collectors.

** The fates of the Tengen version of NES ''Tetris'' and the 1989 [[UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis Genesis/Mega Drive]] port of Sega's arcade version of ''Tetris''.
** Beginning in [[TurnOfTheMillennium the 2000's]] with ''VideoGame/TetrisWorlds'', the Tetris Company began enforcing guidelines on what a game carrying the ''Tetris'' name should be like, such as exact playfield dimensions, piece colors, and piece behavior, especially piece rotations. This proved to be a problem for developers like Arika that have [[VideoGame/TetrisTheGrandMaster their own ideas]] on ''Tetris'' games.

** In 2014, due to the release of ''Tetris Ultimate'' granting Creator/{{Ubisoft}} a ''Tetris'' exclusivity contract, ALL other Tetris versions on digital storefronts were discontinued by the end of the year, including the much-acclaimed Game Boy version, which had been re-released on Nintendo 3DS at the time, and almost no other game has been able to get a license to release in the West since.[[note]]The Western release of ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyo Tetris'' managed to get 'round the restriction with both a physical-only release on the UsefulNotes/{{PlayStation 4}} (Ubisoft only holds the cards when it comes to '''digital''' ''Tetris'' releases) and especially a primary physical/digital release on the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch, a console that wasn't even '''announced''' when Ubisoft's exclusivity deal was inked, ergo could not be listed in the contract. Presumably, ''Tetris 99'' got around this the same way.[[/note]] ''Ultimate'' has since been delisted from all storefronts as of February 2019. Since ''Puyo Puyo Tetris'' and ''Tetris 99'' are both on the Switch, the exclusivity contract is presumed to be dead. Because of this, [[https://www.playstationlifestyle.net/2019/02/26/puyo-puyo-tetris-digital-playstation-store-soon/ Puyo Puyo Tetris will be able to make it to the PS4 store.]]

** ''Tetris 99'' follows in the trend of massively-multiplayer battle royale games set by ''VideoGame/PlayerUnknownsBattlegrounds'' and ''VideoGame/{{Fortnite}}''.

** Tengen Tetris after it was pulled from sale in June 1989 (it had sold around 100,000 copies by that point). Tellingly, many people who had rented copies at the time decided they'd rather pay the fee for not returning the game.
** Both Ubisoft's ''Tetris Ultimate'' and EA's mobile Tetris were pulled from online storefronts when their respective licences expired. Can't even circulate them, either, as they outright ceased to function after the licenses expired.
** And the ultimate "keep circulating the tapes" example: the Mega Drive version from Sega themselves. While Atari Games had produced the North American arcade version (which also saw release in Europe), they didn't bother exporting it to Japan, instead sub-(sub-sub-)licensing the Japanese arcade rights to Sega, which released their version in 1988, just before BPS released their Famicom version. Their arcade version was a big hit, and Sega planned to release a port of it for their just-released Mega Drive, but after Nintendo locked up exclusive worldwide console rights, Sega cancelled it shortly before release. However, a small number of cartridges had already been manufactured, and perhaps a dozen of those survive, making it the world's rarest Tetris (though Chinese bootleggers somehow managed to get a copy at the time, which led to the game being distributed on bootleg cartridges as well). The game was finally made officially available in 2004 as part of the Sega Ages ''Tetris Collection'' for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2, but that was never released outside Japan. While the Genesis Mini does have a ''Tetris'' game based on the 1988 Sega version, it's not this particular version, but rather a new port written from whole cloth by M2.
** Another example: ''Minuet Tetris'', aka version 1.0 of Game Boy Tetris (the version everyone knows about is actually version 1.1). This version only ever sold in Japan for a short period of time due to The Tetris Company having some troubles securing the rights to Korobeiniki.

* KillerApp: This game ''made'' the UsefulNotes/GameBoy, and it was packed in with the system for years, and even was an early release on the Nintendo 3DS eShop.

* PromotedFanboy: Clearing 21 lines during Zone in Tetris Effect is called a Kirbtris, named after high-level Tetris player [=Kirby703=] that first showed clearing more that 20 lines was possible.

* UncreditedRole: Arika, the development team for ''Tetris 99'', is not mentioned anywhere in the game's information or copyright screen. They were credited as developer in the Nintendo's game store website however. And this was eventually averted with the 2.0.0 update, which included "Staff Credits" in the options menu.

** Many people consider Tengen's NES version of Tetris, a port of an arcade game programmed by longtime Atari engineer Ed Logg, to be superior to the NES version produced by Nintendo. One of the big draws of the Tengen version was head-to-head two-player mode, which Nintendo's version lacked. It also featured nearly arcade-perfect renditions of the four musical tracks used in the arcade version, "Loginska," "Bradinsky," "Troika," and "Kalinka." A court injunction favoring Nintendo forced the recall and destruction of all unsold copies of Tengen's Tetris, but 100,000 copies still managed to be sold before that happened.

** In 2014, due to the release of ''Tetris Ultimate'' granting Creator/{{Ubisoft}} a ''Tetris'' exclusivity contract, ALL other Tetris versions on digital storefronts were discontinued by the end of the year, including the much-acclaimed Game Boy version, which had been re-released on Nintendo 3DS at the time, and almost no other game has been able to get a license to release in the West since.[[note]]The Western release of ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyo Tetris'' managed to get 'round the restriction with both a physical-only release on the UsefulNotes/{{PlayStation 4}} (Ubisoft only holds the cards when it comes to '''digital''' ''Tetris'' releases) and especially a primary physical/digital release on the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch, a console that wasn't even '''announced''' when Ubisoft's exclusivity deal was inked, ergo could not be listed in the contract. Presumably, ''Tetris 99'' got around this the same way, though nobody is certain as of now.[[/note]]
*** ''Ultimate'' has since been delisted from all storefronts as of February 2019. Since ''Puyo Puyo Tetris'' and ''Tetris 99'' are both on the Switch, the exclusivity contract is presumed to be dead. Because of this, [[https://www.playstationlifestyle.net/2019/02/26/puyo-puyo-tetris-digital-playstation-store-soon/ Puyo Puyo Tetris will be able to make it to the PS4 store.]]

** If The Tetris Company had failed to acquire the rights to Korobeiniki, the music on the Game Boy version of Tetris would've been remembered as a slow-paced Minuet piece.

* ReferencedBy:
** In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'', D.W. mispronounces the term "tetanus booster" as "Tetris booster".
** ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'': In "[[Recap/FamilyGuyS5E6PrickUpYourEars Prick Up Your Ears]]", when Peter shows up at Meg's sex education class where Lois is teaching, Lois asks him why he's there. Peter tells her that he's not going to miss his chance to share his knowledge with Meg's class, as he's already missed out on too many other opportunities. What follows is a cutaway where Peter appears as a straight Tetromino about to dive into a narrow gap built by other Tetrominos. Unfortunately for Peter, he accidentally lands just outside the gap, which the other Tetrominos berate him for. Bruce then appears as a Skew Tetromino and lands on top of Peter, saying "I know I don't fit here, but I'm just gonna settle right in."
** ''Animation/PleasantGoatAndBigBigWolf'':
*** The {{Episode Title Card}}s for ''Mr.Wolffy, Mr.Right!'' feature ''Tetris'' being played.
*** In episode 46 of ''Mighty Little Defenders'', big colorful blocks resembling tetrominoes are sent falling on Wolffy.
** ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS14E9StrongArmsOfTheMa Strong Arms of the Ma]]", after the Simpson family shops at a GarageSale hosted by Rainier Wolfcastle, Homer uses his experience in playing ''Tetris'' to fit everything he bought and his family in the car. Unfortunately, he forgot to include himself in the equation. During this sequence, the Type A music from the Game Boy version plays, followed by a fanfare from the NES version when Homer realizes there's no room for him in the car.
** ''Westernanimation/{{Soul}}'': Moonwind mentions ''Tetris'' was his passion.
** ''Videogame/StarTropics2'': A character called "Tetris" is featured.
** ''Series/TreehouseMasters: Out On a Limb'' had music from the game play during a scene in the episode "Mindbending Silver Maple".
** ''VideoGame/{{Cytus}}'' has an arrangement of "Korobeiniki" called "The Blocks We Loved", which clearly references ''Tetris'' clocks.

* FanNickname:
** The pieces are officially named after the English letters they most closely resemble: L, J, S, Z, I, O, and T. However, many players will often call the S and Z blocks "squigglies" or "zig-zags"; the O block "square", "big block", or "fat block"; and the I block the "line piece" or "long block".
** ''Tetris 99'' instantly picked up the nickname ''Tetris: Battle Royale'' in the West when it was revealed, due to essentially being a battle royale-styled competitive Tetris game. Japanese players likewise call it ''Donkatsu Tetris'', referencing the Japanese localization of the victory catchphrase from ''VideoGame/PlayerUnknownsBattlegrounds''.
*** Unsurprisingly, a win is called a [[VideoGame/PlayerUnknownsBattlegrounds Chicken Dinner]] or a [[VideoGame/{{Fortnite}} Victory Royale]].
** SEGA's ''Tetris'' games are sometimes called "Monkey Tetris" due to the distinctive monkey [[SeriesMascot mascot]].
** There is a version of Tetris for the Game Boy that has a different ''Music A'', instead of Korobeiniki. This version has been nicknamed ''Minuet Tetris'' by the fandom.