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Actor Noah Schnapp spotted wearing Qbert

When Stranger Things Season 3 landed on Netflix, the costume department's attention to period detail was immediately scrutinised by fans and collectors alike. Among the props that passed the authenticity test with flying colours was the Nelsonic Q*bert Game Watch strapped to the wrist of Noah Schnapp's character Will Byers — a piece that would have retailed for roughly $24.99 at a mid-1980s Toys 'R' Us or Kay-Bee Toys.

Nelsonic Industries entered the market in the late 1970s riding the LCD game craze ignited by Mattel and Coleco. By the early 1980s, the company had secured licensing agreements with major arcade publishers including Konami, Atari, and Mylstar Electronics — the latter being the rights holder for Q*bert at the time of this watch's manufacture, circa 1982–1984. The watch features a rectangular black ABS resin case, a fixed bezel, a light-blue lower dial panel bearing the Nelsonic logo, and four dedicated game-control buttons below the screen. The LCD display reproduces the isometric pyramid gameplay of the coin-op original with surprising fidelity for the era.

From a horological standpoint, these pieces are modest: a standard quartz timekeeping module sits alongside the game IC, with time accessible via the 'MODE' button. No sapphire crystal, no finishing to speak of — but that was never the point. What Nelsonic sold was novelty and the cachet of carrying an arcade cabinet on your wrist, a concept that predates the Apple Watch's gaming ambitions by three decades.

Collector interest in Nelsonic game watches has grown steadily since the mid-2010s, accelerated sharply by Stranger Things itself. The Q*bert variant in particular commands a premium in working condition; examples with intact original band and functioning game routinely fetch $80–$180 on eBay and Etsy, while new-old-stock boxed units have crossed $300 at auction.

For Noah Schnapp and the Stranger Things wardrobe team, the choice of the Q*bert Nelsonic is not incidental — it is precise period signalling. Will Byers as a character exists slightly out of step with his peers, and a game watch obsession in 1985, when digital wristwatches were already giving way to analogue fashion pieces, is exactly the kind of understated detail that rewards attentive viewers.