Nintendo announcement at 9.30 this morning

theciscokid

in britain

its apparently 10 in germany/france to tie all the announcements together or something

anyway a new gba successor

"The Game Boy Advance SP with a flip-up, lighted color screen will cost $99 when it hits U.S. stores March 23, according to Nintendo. It joins Game Boy Advance, now $70, and replaces the discontinued Game Boy Color system.

Screen visibility has been a particular sticking point in the past with users. "The one big complaint about Game Boy Advance has always been it has a dark display," says Simon Price, analyst with International Development Group. Billy Berghammer, director of an influential Nintendo Internet site called Planet GameCube, adds: "I used to get a headache from squinting at that screen."

The Advance SP includes lighting along the screen's edge. For the first time, it also comes with a rechargeable battery pack instead of depending on disposable AA cells. The battery pack lasts about 10 hours including the light and up to 18 hours with the light off.

According to Nintendo, Advance SP is compatible with all previous Game Boy cartridges. More than 300 games have been released for the Advance system with hundreds more available for Game Boy.

The other major change is its clamshell design. Shaped like a cosmetics compact, the SP has its 2.4-by-1.6 inch screen built into its lid and unfolds vertically. It folds into a 3-inch square about an inch thick — nearly half the size of earlier units. "I like the fact that it folds down and becomes very portable," says Brian Farrell, president of game publisher THQ. "I think it's very appealing, perhaps even for an older gamer."



http://www.usatoday.com/tech/techreviews/games/2003-01-06-game-boy_x.htm

what else i dunno, mario kart online anyone? *hopes*

a capcom buyout would be nice too

theciscokid

http://igngcngb.50megs.com/cvg4.jpg

http://igngcngb.50megs.com/cvg3.jpg

http://igngcngb.50megs.com/cvg2.jpg

http://igngcngb.50megs.com/cvg1.jpg




back to the old orange clam look then,,

l + r buttons are in a bit of a naff position aren't they?

as far as i know a tv tuner was mentioned too

Mr E

Looks great! I think I'll hold off on the afterburner for a while, then.....

- Dave.

Lorax

omg that looks so sweet , what the european release date?

ondafly

reminds me of those Old nintendo Game+Watch LCD games. Talk about a nod to the past !

still though - it doesn't look the most ergonomic. Got a GBA myself last year in the Canaries for 60euros. Money well spent, great little machine.

Repli

It looks really cool and if the screen is the same size as the old gba, the thing will be tiny?

DiscoStu

Looks nice. the backlight is also a big plus. as for the design? not really sure. It looks nice but the original gba was tbh a perfect shape, every button was in the right place. all those corners might cause an outbreak of serious hand craps. looks like the boyos who made the panasonic q were involved in this yoke to.

megaton aint really that impressive now is it

[edit]i just noticed its still mono, no stereo speakers. they really should have fixed that.[/edit]

BLITZ_Molloy

The screen is the exact same size as the old GBA.

I wish they'd chucked in a couple of more face buttons so I could play SFA3 properly. Maybe a mini-arcade stick like the Neo-Geo pocket. That was a brilliant idea on SNK's part.

TomTom

Thats a class looking yoke. Give it a shile and TV mods will be out. The design is a bit old but who cares.

Thorbar

So the megaton announcment is that Nintendo are bringing out a new GBA design with a lighter screen and rechargeable battery?
LoL tbh.

Praetorian

In my opinion the new design is nice looking, but not as ergonomic as the old GBA.

Id prefer a "lighted color screen" on my old GBA tbh :eek:

drrnwbb

more links/pictures here on this slashdot page.

dw

Mr E

Screen looks more or less the size of the current GBA screen.

http://jp.a1.yimg.com/7/50/6316/1041937829/img.news.yahoo.co.jp/images/20030107/reu/20030107-00000980-reu-bus_all-view-000.jpg

- Dave.

Superfurry

I think it looks great, can't wait to get my hands on one so I'll probably import it. It's typical Nintendo though, I mean that's the console that the GBA should have been, and there's going to be thousands of obsolete 'old' GBA's lying about in dark cupboard corners.

There's a great hands-on article over at http://www.spong.com/

Mr E

Originally posted by Superfurry
... and there's going to be thousands of obsolete 'old' GBA's lying about in dark cupboard corners.

Or on the 'For Sale' board here !!

- Dave.

Lex_Diamonds

Originally posted by Thorbar
So the megaton announcment is that Nintendo are bringing out a new GBA design with a lighter screen and rechargeable battery?
LoL tbh.

Come on, what else were you expecting? You cant get much bigger than this.

Celt

Originally posted by Lex_Diamonds
Come on, what else were you expecting? You cant get much bigger than this.

haha

To think all these peons getting all wet about this megaton announcement, and it was just nintendo fixing a glaringly obvious flaw with the original GBA and making people buy a second one.

monument

Originally posted by Lorax
omg that looks so sweet , what the european release date?

28th of March

Dont be at yourself

It looks like one of those ****ty alarm clocks given away as free gifts by life insurance companies to the over 50s upon joining tbh.


If that sounded bitter, it's because I am. I can't resist buying this, despite the fact that my current GBA has done nothing but collect dust for months.

Funky

i dont really like that new design , id rather my GBA tbh

Winning Hand

Fantastic, now will they let us return our defective (and lets face it, not being able to see the screen counts as a defect) GBAs and get a discount?
And while theyre at it, why dont they fire the PAL converters for taking so long to code european releases, theres a reason the cube got burned over christmas.

theciscokid

i say i won't,

but i can't help it, i'll run straight out and buy one,

my love/hate ninty relationship

bastards are getting my money again :rolleyes:

spooky donkey

Though it looks like the kinda thing you might loose easilly. Some times i kinda like my big mobile phone!

po0k

tbh, I'd rather get a modded platinum GBA ff Lik-sang then one of those.

And that yoke isn't "backlit" either, the release says "sidelit", like the early digital watches with the crappy bulbs that are useless.

The rechargable abttery would want to be Li-Ion tbh.

daveirl

This post has been deleted.

Mr. Fancypants

Originally posted by Winning Hand
Fantastic, now will they let us return our defective (and lets face it, not being able to see the screen counts as a defect) GBAs and get a discount?
And while theyre at it, why dont they fire the PAL converters for taking so long to code european releases, theres a reason the cube got burned over christmas.

GBA games arent regionalised. All GBA's are NTSC only thing stopping a GBA game being released in Europe is translation. Check out sites to get import copies if you are after something in particular.

Also, from what i have read the light is similar to the afterburner light in functionality. If thats the case then it should be excellent.

Looking at it, i think it will appeal to the gadget freaks about. It looks really cool and not like a toy at all as Nintendo systems have a tendancy to look like.

Mr. Fancypants

Just saw on Gamespot that Super Mario Advance 4 has been announced for GBA too

http://gamespot.com/gamespot/stories/news/0,10870,2908191,00.html

po0k

wcan you point me in the direction of where you found taht the GBA is NTSC?