View Full Version : Why are gameboy advance link cables so rare?
teh_L0ki
08-29-2011, 05:12 PM
It seems almost impossible to find an official agb-005 gameboy advance link cable, yet you can find official Link Cables for Game Boy Advance and Gamecube everywhere. I know I'm probably just grasping at straws and nobody here really has any idea of than that's just what nintendo decided to produce, but it's frustrating for me.
I already tried to purchase one set of link cables through estarland but I got an intec set instead of used first party as advertised and they didn't work for me. @_@
I understand what you are saying. It's probably due to the GBA being extremely popular, so there were billions of unlicensed accessories.
heybtbm
08-29-2011, 07:28 PM
How were these sold originally? Were they packed in with certain games or only sold separately? I don't remember these at all and I was quite the avid GBA gamer at the time. Who knows...I probably have 6 pairs of these laying around and have no idea.
BetaWolf47
08-29-2011, 08:15 PM
The reason the GBA -> GameCube connector cables are so common is because Nintendo made so many, and they didn't sell well. They were pack-ins with some of the first games that required them, and they were as common on store shelves brand new as GameCube controllers. I saw them well after support for them had been discontinued. They went for $15 back in the day, and then dropped down to $10. They sure are common. I have three of them, two of which I got for $1.
With the GBA link cables, third-party ones have always sold really well for whatever reason. Not sure why that is. I personally got a third-party one with four connectors built in and never looked back.
Drixxel
08-29-2011, 11:23 PM
It was a few years back, but I picked up a few sets of the AGB-005s, as well as the infrared link adapters, when a video store I was working at marked down their measly selection of GBA accessories to $0.99 each. I've never had the occasion to bust any of them out as my GBA library is rather pathetic.
Gameguy
08-29-2011, 11:40 PM
Aren't GBA cables the same as Gameboy Color cables? I thought they used the same type of connection, same with the Gameboy Pocket.
theclaw
08-30-2011, 06:35 AM
For the Gameboy Color games yes. GBA mode is different, I'd suspect they redesigned the link system to make 4 player support easier. Can't think of much other reason.
Callin
08-30-2011, 10:54 AM
I suspect the reason third party ones are more common is because a lot of them could connect 4 GBAs right out of the box. With the official cables, you needed to buy up to 3.
Suikoman444
08-30-2011, 11:33 AM
There were always a ton of options when it came to these cables. I would go into a store and look at what I could get and would end up walking out with a 3rd party cable, usually Nyko it seems. They were cheaper and they were right next to the 1st party ones. Eventually Gamestop branded their own and started selling them right in front of the counter.
Edmond Dantes
08-30-2011, 06:03 PM
I have one first-party cable that I never use.
OldSchoolSegaGuy
08-30-2011, 07:30 PM
I see a ton of these on ebay for like $10
InsaneDavid
08-30-2011, 09:42 PM
How were these sold originally?
As with all Nintendo accessories of that era, blister packed.
heybtbm
08-30-2011, 10:17 PM
Ha! I do own a set of these. I found them packed in a GBA case with an E-Reader, 2 wireless connectors (came with Pokemon Fire Red/Leaf Green), 2 GBA/GC link cables, and a GBA Action Replay. It's funny how you start forgetting stuff if you don't use it for 7-8 years. I wonder what else I've forgotten about.
Icarus Moonsight
08-31-2011, 12:06 AM
No kidding. Sometime ago a wireless GBA thread popped up and I had been buying a bunch of them Nintendo wireless adapters at GS for $2-3 thinking they worked like the third party set I had (worked on any link game), when the official ones only work for certain games. DOH!
Sometimes the third party stuff is better.
Callin
08-31-2011, 12:10 AM
No kidding. Sometime ago a wireless GBA thread popped up and I had been buying a bunch of them Nintendo wireless adapters at GS for $2-3 thinking they worked like the third party set I had (worked on any link game), when the official ones only work for certain games. DOH!
Sometimes the third party stuff is better.
Yeah. I really wonder why they only made them for certain games.
Icarus Moonsight
08-31-2011, 12:43 AM
So the wire links still sold, even if miserably? LOL
Rickstilwell1
08-31-2011, 12:44 AM
I already had a Game Boy Color link cable and the most people I would ever play games with was me and one other, so I never needed 4 player compatibility. I just used my third party GBC link cable and never bought a new one for the GBA. Mario Kart Super Circuit was a great 2-player game.