• 1. About
  • 2. Credits
  • 3. Songwriters & Composers
  • 4. Lyrics
  • 5. Licensing
Materia Collective Materia Collective
  • 1. About
  • 2. Credits
  • 3. Songwriters & Composers
  • 4. Lyrics
  • 5. Licensing
© 2025 Materia Music Inc.
Track

Geymdizaynery (The Game Designers) [from "Tetris"]

Elizabeth Zharoff

3 minutes • November 04, 2016

Shortly before the release of the GameBoy, American developer Henk Rogers approached Nintendo of America head Minoru Arakawa to suggest that Tetris, a port of a little-known Soviet puzzle game, would be an ideal title to package with the new console.  When Arakawa noted that they already planned to launch the GameBoy with Super Mario Land, Rogers countered that while Super Mario Land would certainly sell the system to young boys, Tetris would hook everyone on handheld gaming—and it did.
Tetris became a worldwide sensation, selling over 170 million copies, 35 million on the GameBoy alone.
Korobeiniki, now the series' de facto theme, was a beloved Russian folk song but was not well known outside of the Soviet bloc until it was arranged for the GameBoy version by Hirokazu Tanaka.  This arrangement sets the story of Tetris' development—from its development by Alexey Pajitnov to the worldwide sensation it spawned—to its most famous musical theme.

 

Appears on Song Cycle: The History of Video Games

℗ 2016 Materia Collective / Materia Music Inc.

credits

Primary & Featured Artists
Elizabeth Zharoff
Elizabeth Zharoff
Vocalist
Performers
Trevor Alan Gomes
Trevor Alan Gomes
Piano
Production & Engineers
Elizabeth Zharoff
Elizabeth Zharoff
Vocalist
Jonathan Balcewicz
Jonathan Balcewicz
Arranger & Lyricist
Report incorrect or missing information.

Songwriters & Composers

Recording of
Geymdizaynery (The Game Designers)
Report incorrect or missing information
Sing along if you know the words

Lyrics

Nineteen eighty-four, the Soviet
          Academy of Sciences:
A Researcher makes puzzle game to test
          New hardware’s effectiveness.
       
Soon the game spreads virus
          On mainframes ‘cross the CCCP;
Then it crosses the Iron Curtain:
          On Commodore, the plague is set free!
Nineteen eighty-eight in Las Vegas
          Man sees Tetris on display—
Soon he’s hooked! Yes he’s caught the bug! And he
          Pitches a port Nintendo’s way.
The GameBoy port smashes all expectations:
          Bundles flying off the shelves!
Thus Nintendo’s handheld empire was built
          On tetronimo blocks themselves!
Now I just stack falling blocks eternally;
          I must have caught the fever too!
Well, I guess what they say is true: that in
          Soviet Russia game plays you!
Now I just stack falling blocks eternally;
          I must have caught the fever too!
Well, I guess what they say is true: that in
          Soviet Russia game plays you!
Now I just stack falling blocks eternally;
          I must have caught the fever too!
Ah—
Well, I guess what they say is true: that in
Soviet Russia…
…GAME PLAYS YOU!

Licensing & Permissions

Music has value. Materia Collective takes great care in protecting the intellectual property and copyrights on behalf of our partners.

We welcome license inquiries for sync, broadcast, sample usages, derivative works, and other usages. Please be advised that not all requests may be considered or permitted.

You may reach our team at info@materiacollective.com.

Materia Collective is part of Materia Music, the premier video game music group.

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