Gameboys.

[Aswald]

Recently, for a week, I had a Gameboy Advance SP.

Overall, mainly because of the backlit screen, I'd give it the nod over my Gameboy Color, although I prefer the simple 2 AA batteries the GBC uses, and the fact that the sound is better, at least on the older games (try playing "Gauntlet 2" on the Advance).

What I don't understand is why Nintendo put out 3 units: the DS, the Advance (which needs a wormlight, just like the GBC), and the SP.

Why did they not simply backlight the Advance, or just put out the SP? And is the DS really that special?

Anyone?

[Cmtz]

They wanted more $. The DS is very special.

I don't see many GBA being sold anymore. I think Walmart cleared them at 30 dollars a piece to make room for the SP. The DS is a new system. It's not meant to compete with the SP. It has some good games and some more are on their way. I think it's making a name for itself.

[jajaja]

Backlight takes more battery and its probly more expencive to produce. I dont think they had any plans on making the SP when they first released the GBA. I guess they made the SP because they thought many would buy it with new design and better background light.

[fpbrush]

Well.. they originally did not backlight the GBA for cost issues at the time, or cost vs profit issues most likely. But, that light reflective (tft?) technology screen was on its way out even with the GBC (ever play games on that thing? good lord..). So, the SP was inevitable--and sold very well mind you :)

I really don't know what to think of the DS. It could go either way at this point-- it's still very young.

[Kevin Listwan]

well you can add the gameboy micro to the list. seems like nintendo is really saturating the handheld market.

[Mattiekrome]

They wanted more $.

Cha-Ching! My thoughts exactly, well seeing as it worked with me. Bought 2 GBA's (one for me and one for the old GF, now my wife) at 12:00am on launch day at Wal-Mart down at college, then when the SP's came out I couldn't help but get one with the retro throwback look to it. It all about the $$$$ @_@

[poloplayr]

I was blown away by the SP when it came out and I still love it's small size...but the DS' screens are just 1000 times better for GBA games...Some games just get new life and look sooo delicious. Just look at all the Castlevanias.

[evil_genius]

They wanted to make more money because people probably bought every one of them.

[mieu_c]

Recently, for a week, I had a Gameboy Advance SP.

Overall, mainly because of the backlit screen, I'd give it the nod over my Gameboy Color, although I prefer the simple 2 AA batteries the GBC uses, and the fact that the sound is better, at least on the older games (try playing "Gauntlet 2" on the Advance).

What I don't understand is why Nintendo put out 3 units: the DS, the Advance (which needs a wormlight, just like the GBC), and the SP.

Why did they not simply backlight the Advance, or just put out the SP? And is the DS really that special?

Anyone?

They want you to spend money on the "new" gameboy rather than stamps... x_x

[Arcade Antics]

Recently, for a week, I had a Gameboy Advance SP.

Overall, mainly because of the backlit screen, I'd give it the nod over my Gameboy Color, although I prefer the simple 2 AA batteries the GBC uses, and the fact that the sound is better, at least on the older games (try playing "Gauntlet 2" on the Advance).

What I don't understand is why Nintendo put out 3 units: the DS, the Advance (which needs a wormlight, just like the GBC), and the SP.

Why did they not simply backlight the Advance, or just put out the SP? And is the DS really that special?

Anyone?

They want you to spend money on the "new" gameboy rather than stamps... x_x
LOL

Seriously, Aswald, you're talking about new Gameboys over the course of like 7-8 years. It's not like Nintendo put them all out in the same week, even if you only discovered them all this week.

[Haoie]

Funny story about backlighting. The Atari Lynx used it if I recall, and it drained batteries so fast. Likely 1 of the reasons it didn't do well at all, despite it being more advanced that the orig GB.

[Lady Jaye]

For starters, the GBA and the SP are two versions of the same hardware. It's like comparing the Atari VCS with the Atari 2600 Jr.

And let's not forget that li-ion batteries really became common only a few years ago. It's possible that it was still too expensive to implement it on the first GBA. Plus the sidelight design (which might have come from pressure Nintendo felt with the popularity of the Afterburner mod).

I don't know what's there to complain about. The SP is a huge improvement over the GBA (although I know that people with bigger hands prefer the GBA's button config). And the DS is a whole different system that just happens to be backward-compatible. Heck, it's not even 100% backward-compatible with the GBA (eReader, anyone?).

Besides, as Dave pointed out, it's not like it all came out in the span of a few days or weeks. Anyway, the only model that makes me go WTF? is the GBA micro.

[Jumpman Jr.]

Why did they not simply backlight the Advance, or just put out the SP? And is the DS really that special?

Anyone?

This is what I think:
They put out the GBA, and that was the best they could do at the time. Of coarse, they knew about back-lit screens, but they didn't want to go and be like the GameGear and make it require 6 batteries to last for 2 hours.
Then, they came up with an idea to integrate a backlit screen without draining removable batteries, and released the SP. I think its hard to compare the GBA and the SP. Of coarse, they both play the same games, but in my mind, they are completely different.
And the DS is that special. Where the GBA can play SNES games, the DS can play N64 games. Thats a big enough difference for me to buy it. Throw in a touch-screen, and you've got one hell of a handheld.
The Micro.... ahhh, well... we'll have to see.

[Aswald]

Recently, for a week, I had a Gameboy Advance SP.

Overall, mainly because of the backlit screen, I'd give it the nod over my Gameboy Color, although I prefer the simple 2 AA batteries the GBC uses, and the fact that the sound is better, at least on the older games (try playing "Gauntlet 2" on the Advance).

What I don't understand is why Nintendo put out 3 units: the DS, the Advance (which needs a wormlight, just like the GBC), and the SP.

Why did they not simply backlight the Advance, or just put out the SP? And is the DS really that special?

Anyone?

They want you to spend money on the "new" gameboy rather than stamps... x_x
LOL

Seriously, Aswald, you're talking about new Gameboys over the course of like 7-8 years. It's not like Nintendo put them all out in the same week, even if you only discovered them all this week.

I wasn't referring to the GBC, only the DS, GBA, and GBA SP.

And they did NOT come out over the span of "7 to 8 years." The Gameboy Advance was released in mid-2001. The GBA SP was released in early 2003. The DS? 2004. That's not exactly a long time, now, is it? Not the same week, true, but nowhere near your "7 to 8 years," is it?

[Arcade Antics]

I wasn't referring to the GBC, only the DS, GBA, and GBA SP.
I stand corrected; that wasn't clear to me when I first read your original post.


And they did NOT come out over the span of "7 to 8 years." The Gameboy Advance was released in mid-2001. The GBA SP was released in early 2003. The DS? 2004. That's not exactly a long time, now, is it? Not the same week, true, but nowhere near your "7 to 8 years," is it?
Well, yeah. Again, I thought you were talking about all the iterations of the GB listed in your first post.

Anyway, what's wrong with them putting out different versions? The GBA SP and GBA are very distinctly different versions of the same handheld, and the DS is a completely different animal. So what's the problem? Especially when you didn't buy any of them at launch? :roll: