The Next Game Boy Advance: Want It?

[SUPrEmEBeInGismyFrIeND]

to me it LOOKS really kick ass, but the question is will it have good games...

article: ( picture attached )

Hands-on with the Game Boy Advance SP
We give the brand new GBA system a test drive in Las Vegas.

January 09, 2003 - Nintendo held an intimate meeting in Las Vegas today to give the industry a hands-on experience with its brand new Game Boy design that it unveiled on Tuesday, the Game Boy Advance SP. Many of the units at the meeting were actually marked on the bottom with what might be the unit's original system name: Game Boy Advance DX. But it's the Game Boy Advance SP, and it will forever be known as the Game Boy Advance SP. And incidentally, "SP" stands for "Special."

First of all, the unit is small. The Game Boy Advance can pretty much fit in the middle of a regular Game Boy Advance system. When folded, it's nearly the same thickness as the original Game Boy Advance, and it's as "tall" as a GBA as well...but its width is nearly cut in half, making the thing way more portable than its older brother.

The Game Boy Advance unit opens almost exactly like a clamshell mobile phone. The hinge is tight and springy, with a specific position set when it's open. Users can position the hinge halfway if they want, but the internal spring will force the unit all the way open eventually. The set open position is perfect for gaming, though, so I can't see anyone really wanting to play the unit while the system is only partially open.

The Game Boy Advance SP's screen is very similar, if not darn near exactly the same as the LCD screen used in the original Game Boy Advance system. The biggest change is, obviously, the brand new front light. With the light on, gamers can finally play their games anywhere without the need for an external light source. The image quality is great, but not quite as good as getting a direct ray of sunlight or illumination from a florescent desk lamp. Which is why it's handy that the system's front light can be turned on and off via the upper middle button on the control face. The light always turns on when players power up the system.

Comparisons will be made with the third-party Afterburner frontlight kit that can be purchased and installed on the original Game Boy Advance system. While this modification, when done right, looks decent on the original GBA, the front light on the Game Boy Advance SP is significantly better. The GBA SP light still favors an ever-so-slight blue tint in its illumination, which does wash out a bit of detail and color on the Game Boy Advance screen. But only slightly. I still like it a lot.

Like a mobile phone, the Game Boy Advance SP's face buttons and D-pad are recessed, very thin and "clicky." But even though the buttons feel different, they're just as responsive as the classic buttons and D-pad on the original Game Boy Advance system. But what's surprising is how comfortable the shoulder buttons are. In pictures, the L and R buttons look awkwardly small. But the way they're positioned on the system, they're extremely usable and responsive. Players can wrap their index fingers all the way behind the unit and press the buttons below the first or second knuckle, or push them in with their fingertips. Both ways feel just right. And even though the system returns to the vertical orientation of past Game Boy systems, I believe the Game Boy Advance SP's button layout and smaller size actually makes the system more comfortable to hold and play than the wider, more spread out Game Boy Advance original.

The GBA SP unit doesn't feature a headphone jack, but Nintendo will sell separately an adapter that plugs into the brand new second expansion port on the back of the GBA SP system. This expansion port is also used for the AC adapter which comes included with the GBA SP system. The downside to this design feature is that players cannot use headphones when charging or playing the system with the AC adapter, nor can they use the headphones when the system is connected to a GameCube system. The GameCube Game Boy Advance cable blocks access to the secondary port on the Game Boy Advance SP system. The volume control on the left side of the unit is now a slide switch instead of a control knob. The function is still analog, which means users can slide the switch just a little bit to slightly adjust the level of audio.

Users will notice two LED lights on the front right of the control face. The top LED light is simply a "power on" indicator, the same one that's on the current Game Boy Advance system. Like the original GBA system, this light will turn red when the power gets below a certain level which tells the user to get the system to the AC adapter for charging. The second LED is to show that the unit's being charged; the light turns orange when it's in the process of charging, and then green when it hits its maximum charge.

Interestingly, the Game Boy Advance SP system features a built-in rechargeable lithium battery that's not user-swappable. If something goes wrong with the battery, users will have to send their unit to Nintendo for a replacement. The battery door on the bottom of the unit is sealed with a tri-wing screw, which makes it difficult for the end-user to access.

One of the biggest questions that's been on seemingly everyone's mind since the announcement of the Game Boy Advance SP: Is the new system compatible with the e-Reader card scanning peripheral? The answer: Absolutely. Even though Nintendo announced that it was compatible, many people still didn't believe it, because of the extra bit that plugs into the link port on the original Game Boy Advance system.

Before heading out to Las Vegas, I made sure to bring along my own e-Reader to test. During my hands-on with the Game Boy Advance SP system, I whipped out my e-Reader and plugged it into the cartridge slot at the bottom of the unit. The designers obviously constructed the Game Boy Advance SP system with the e-Reader in mind (or vice versa), because the pass-through link port doesn't even touch the surface of the system. To link the Game Boy Advance SP with e-Reader to the GameCube or another Game Boy Advance, players simply plug their cable into the link port at the top of the SP system...the link port built onto the e-Reader is not used.

The Game Boy Advance SP is 100% compatible with all Game Boy releases, just like the original Game Boy Advance is. One game, unfortunately, will not work properly with the new design of the Game Boy Advance SP: Kirby's Tilt 'n Tumble. Because of the new cartridge slot orientation of the GBA SP, the motion sensor, made specifically for the Game Boy Color and Advance cartridge position, won't calibrate in the right direction on the Game Boy Advance SP. But all the rest of the Game Boy Color and Game Boy games work just fine on the Game Boy Advance SP.

At the Las Vegas meeting, Nintendo representatives reiterated that the Game Boy Advance SP will definitely co-exist with the original Game Boy Advance system. Nintendo will continue to manufacture and sell the original GBA system for the forseeable future. There are currently no plans for a price drop on the Game Boy Advance unit.

Overall, I think the Game Boy Advance SP is a fantastic design that fits the older, gadget-savvy crowd extremely well. The controls are not cramped like pictures lead gamers to believe, and this is coming from a guy with some of the biggest hands around. In fact, I personally believe that the Game Boy Advance SP system is actually more comfortable than the original Game Boy Advance, and anyone looking to get into the GBA market that hasn't done so...pay the extra 30 bucks and go for this sleek little portable.

The Game Boy Advance SP will go on sale in the US on March 23 for a retail price of 99.95. The unit will be available in two colors: Cobalt (a metallic blue) and Platinum.

Play your GBA forever in the sunshine! Find out about a solar-powered GBA accessory and 24 other groundbreaking products Live from CES.

[serrebi101]

Fromwhat I heard, the gbasp is simply a smaller gba with a batery, and a light, so if you want a gba, but want it for less, just get a gba, cause no new types of games will be released with the gbasp

[Munchables]

Still only A and B buttens well I am glade that they introduced the L and R in gba but they still need X and Y(like with the snes). Can't replace your battery? stupid nintendo! I hope you can turn off that light when it is day time and you want to conserve that battery. Can't use head phones? stupid nintendo! wtf are they thinking? Other than that it looks prity cool.

[SUPrEmEBeInGismyFrIeND]

wrong my friend, they already have a line of games that will be released for gba sp, such as nightfire. the graphics will look no different from gba, but they arent a new type

[SUPrEmEBeInGismyFrIeND]

here is a link to nightfire for gba sp

http://mediaviewer.ign.com/ignMediaP...7%3A+Nightfire

[wonderboy2005]

thats for GBA. not SP or whatever....

[SUPrEmEBeInGismyFrIeND]

i thought it said for gba sp, well sorry bout that...:bk

[Ken17625]

I didn't like the first Game Boy Advance. It wasn't very impressive.

[AnimeDood]

fuck the GBA, GameGear all the way!

[SUprEMeBeiNg]

wonder if theyll have a supremebeing game?

[wonderboy2005]

first of all, SB, you are an idiot. with that being said, i did a little research. GBASP is a GBA. there is no difference im the core technology. gbasp just has some better feats incuding a rechargable battery, backlit screen, and a fold down screen for protection. it is also smaller in size, but weighs aproximately the same as the original GBA. there is no difference in the games or hardware. in that respect, they are one in the same. the SP is just a better desinged GBA. thats all. according to my info, the SP will retail for approx. (US)$100.

[PornMaster]

Nintendo Rules!! Can't wait for N64 2!!

[12345678910]

Originally posted by PornMaster
Nintendo Rules!! Can't wait for N64 2!!

That's funny.

Get an XBOX if you really want to game.

If you are good enough and like to push the limit then buy a mod chip, install a larger harddrive, and burn the games you get from Blockbuster onto the harddrive. This makes for the ultimate gaming machine plus it's portable! You will never need any games again, you can play everything straight from the harddrive and have a blast doing it.

No game selection? Give me a break...

Halo
Halo 2 (coming in 2003)
Ghost Recon
Splinter Cell

'Nough Said...

Peace,
12345678910

[PornMaster]

Originally posted by 12345678910
That's funny.

Get an XBOX if you really want to game.

If you are good enough and like to push the limit then buy a mod chip, install a larger harddrive, and burn the games you get from Blockbuster onto the harddrive. This makes for the ultimate gaming machine plus it's portable! You will never need any games again, you can play everything straight from the harddrive and have a blast doing it.

No game selection? Give me a break...

Halo
Halo 2 (coming in 2003)
Ghost Recon
Splinter Cell

'Nough Said...

Peace,
12345678910

no no man, your talking to a hardcore nintendo lover here, lol but i think Xbox blows, why on earth would i want A game system made by microsoft? it's bad enough i have a microsoft OS.

it's just kinda sad now microsoft comes into the gaming world, just tells you microsoft is going down. yes i know, they made games for the PC before this but too actaully make a game system? come on

so i'd rather stick with my gamecube and my n64 for now!

[12345678910]

Originally posted by PornMaster
no no man, your talking to a hardcore nintendo lover here, lol but i think Xbox blows, why on earth would i want A game system made by microsoft? it's bad enough i have a microsoft OS.

it's just kinda sad now microsoft comes into the gaming world, just tells you microsoft is going down. yes i know, they made games for the PC before this but too actaully make a game system? come on

so i'd rather stick with my gamecube and my n64 for now!

Why wouldn't you want a game system made by Microsoft?

Microsoft practically owns the Operating System business. If you despise Windows so much, then why don't you switch to Linux?

They have done a lot with the Operating Systems they have created and distributed world wide to millions of people.

I don't see why people bitch about Microsoft and then continue to use there products.

Now, I agree that Microsoft doesn't do everything correct and will try to control as much as they can in any way that they can do it. And that is exactly why people create other OSs to use.

Just a few other operating systems you could use :

http://tunes.org/Review/OSes.html

Install one of those and see how far you get until you start running back to Microsoft.

They have the power. They have the money. They have the technology.

Nintendo is old. Move on..

12345678910