Gameboy Advance SP list of system variations?

[orrimarrko]

I know as soon as I say this, someone will post a link right here at DP that I couldn't find.

Honestly, I'm counting on it! LOL

I've just spent the last hour and a half searching google and this site for a complete listing with pics of the different types and colors/special edition releases for the GBA SP.

There are basic colors here in the US, and some additional ones in Japan (prehaps Europe.)

Then there are the Special Editions released here in the US (NES Classic, "Where Are You", etc.)

In Japan, there are tons more.

So - does anyone know of a site that has a current, complete listing of all the various SPs that are available (pics are important as well.)

If anyone knows, please show me the way.

Thanks,
Steve (Orri-)

[Kuros]

Here you go:

http://www.imgcab.com/gameboy/gameboy0.html

It's pretty well up to date, missing a couple though.

[smokehouse]

Man that is a ridiculous number of releases! I feel like a chump myself. I have a Gameboy Advance (white), Gameboy Advance Sp (silver) and a new Gameboy Advance Sp with improved screen (silver/blue). The only other GB I have is the Color see through purple one.

[Mattiekrome]

There some killer stuff on there, sadly 90% of it was never released in the states :(

[Iron Draggon]

Don't you wish that you could afford this?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Gameboy-Advance-SP-Donkey-Kong-very-Ltd-Ed-NEW_W0QQitemZ8252632923QQcategoryZ62054QQrdZ1QQcmd ZViewItem

$1000 for a limited edition DK GBA SP, the second rarest GBA SP in the world! Makes you wonder what the rarest one is worth, a Zelda GBA SP autographed by Miyamato!

[DocRamon]

yeah, there's a few SPs missing from that website, but it's pretty good. nice pictures of the ones they do have, at least.

and i don't think that the signed zelda one is really the rarest SP... nor do i think that this DK one is the second rarest SP.

the metroid one given out in the contest (not the club nintendo version) is really limited. the 24K gold plated one would surely sell for more than $1000. i'm not even sure how some SPs were distributed... there's 2 camo ones, a marble one, a black one with the Rockstar Games logo on it... they could very well be limited to like, 5 or something.

[Ed Oscuro]

Huh...I want the Chinese Dragon one :D

The All Blacks edition one is nice, too...I was actually in Australia/NZ when they were marketing that (I think it's actually for New Zealand, though, as the All Blacks are the official NZ team).

[Jasoco]

I don't think that DK one is worth nearly $1000. That's ridiculous.

Why the hell didn't the US get the Mario vs. DK one? Or the Orange/Green one? Me wantie!

[smokehouse]

Don't you wish that you could afford this?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Gameboy-Advance-SP-Donkey-Kong-very-Ltd-Ed-NEW_W0QQitemZ8252632923QQcategoryZ62054QQrdZ1QQcmd ZViewItem

$1000 for a limited edition DK GBA SP, the second rarest GBA SP in the world! Makes you wonder what the rarest one is worth, a Zelda GBA SP autographed by Miyamato!

I guess to me that seems like a stupid way to spend quit a bit of money. I can see possibly purchasing a limited edition console but a handheld…and for $1000? Seems a bit excessive. It’s not really much of a collection centerpiece and selling it in the future would be difficult figuring there’s 10,000,000,000 GBA SP’s floating around (yes, I know, not limited edition ones but you get the point). You could spend the grand on some really neat rare games that would better serve a collection.

[DocRamon]

Why the hell didn't the US get the Mario vs. DK one? Or the Orange/Green one? Me wantie!

the US did get the orange/green one... that's why the listing on the site says "U.S. ONLY." it was a toys r us exclusive... came bundled with a shrek game.

[orrimarrko]

yeah, there's a few SPs missing from that website, but it's pretty good. nice pictures of the ones they do have, at least.

So which ones are they missing?


the metroid one given out in the contest (not the club nintendo version) is really limited.

It was limited to approximately 2000, which makes the DK version more difficult to obtain.


the 24K gold plated one would surely sell for more than $1000. i'm not even sure how some SPs were distributed... there's 2 camo ones, a marble one, a black one with the Rockstar Games logo on it... they could very well be limited to like, 5 or something.

These weren't available at retail, so I wouldn't count them. The logic behind that would be the same as including the DS custom-made for 50-Cent. Nintendo would custom make an SP for anyone if they paid enough.

Do you have picks or links of these others you speak of?

Thanks,
Steve

[Ed Oscuro]

It’s not really much of a collection centerpiece and selling it in the future would be difficult figuring there’s 10,000,000,000 GBA SP’s floating around
I wouldn't be too impressed with a rare SP either, but they do seem set to hold their value. Look up white Game Gears or Game Boy Lights as examples.

[Poofta!]

next time im at nintendo world center ill take a picture of them. they have a display case with all variations of the gba sp released worldwide.

[DocRamon]

orrimarrko-

some of the more recent SPs are missing, like the spongebob one available at toys r us right now for example...

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000AX23NE.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

and at the nintendo world store, they have a case set up with a bunch of colors in there... including ones that aren't listed on the website, like that pikachu one.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v684/Shayde52/3ba6a7a3.jpg

as for the "available at retail" thing, the DK banana yellow wasn't available at retail either. it was a contest prize in japan. does that mean you don't count it? and if you do, the 24k zelda one was a contest prize too...

http://www.t3.co.uk/__data/assets/image/56027/goldgba_302.jpg

[Jasoco]

Is that Spongebob DS still available? How much does the bundle cost? And is it an older front-lit screen or a back-lit screen version?

Also, man, I would kill for that Zelda gold DS. That's so cool. I remember that contest. How many were made?

[DocRamon]

the spongebob DS was available at toys r us over this past christmas... i thought it was still available online, but a quick check on amazon doesn't show any in stock. i'd think you could probably still find one if you looked hard enough, but they might have sold out by now.

the bundle may have been an online deal or a christmas sale only. i never saw it packaged with the games or anything, just by itself, same price. it IS the new screen.

the 24k gold SP is limited to 7, six of which were given away through the golden ticket method, and one given away on gamestm.co.uk.

[orrimarrko]

the spongebob DS was available at toys r us over this past christmas... i thought it was still available online, but a quick check on amazon doesn't show any in stock. i'd think you could probably still find one if you looked hard enough, but they might have sold out by now.

the bundle may have been an online deal or a christmas sale only. i never saw it packaged with the games or anything, just by itself, same price. it IS the new screen.

the 24k gold SP is limited to 7, six of which were given away through the golden ticket method, and one given away on gamestm.co.uk.


Doc - I would definitely count it then.

I wasn't sure of the method to get the 24K gold one. I thought perhaps that it was a custom done by Nintendo for some person (or whatever.)

I do see the camo and marble ones in the picture, although I still don't know how or where they were available for acquisition.

If there was only one 24K gold SP out there, then I wouldn't count it. You can't collect something that isn't possible to acquire (in my opinion.)

Thanks for the info.

Steve

[DocRamon]

i more or less agree... one-of-a-kind systems shouldn't be included... unless they were made available to everybody. like you said, the 50 cent DS is not one you'd need. i've said it before, if you have that system in your collection, you're currently being hunted by one angry G Unit. but the 24K gold zelda one... if it was a contest prize and only 1 grand prize winner got it... since that contest was open to the public, and not a private transaction made on the side between nintendo and the buyer, i'd say it would count.

but that's just getting into the picky details of collecting... :D

as for the marble and camo ones... yeah, i'm not sure where they came from. i seem to remember hearing about them once... i believe the 2 camo ones are japanese units and the marble is a european one. but i have no idea how they were distributed. i'd think they were made available to the masses though, since the nintendo world store is including them in their collection. i can't imagine they'd include the "impossible" ones in there, but i could wrong.

[Iron Draggon]

Hey, that Spongebob SP looks pretty cool! I wouldn't really want one myself, but it does look like a neat limited edition.

But I'm wondering about the Zelda SP autographed by Mr. Miyamato... Is it one of the 24K gold ones? Anyone know?

[orrimarrko]

Hey, that Spongebob SP looks pretty cool! I wouldn't really want one myself, but it does look like a neat limited edition.

But I'm wondering about the Zelda SP autographed by Mr. Miyamato... Is it one of the 24K gold ones? Anyone know?

I don't believe that it was the 24K gold one.

I think that it was the same one that was distributed in Europe.

Doc - any idea?

Steve

[Tbowl]

The Miyamoto signed one is the Legend of Zelda SP, regular edition. It's the same as the Zelda SP, but with documents verifying that Miyamoto signed it. There was one on ebay 2 months ago.. went for $530.

While I'm on the topic of Nintendo, I really HATE how they spew out different versions/bundles seemingly every single month. It's impossible to have all of them unless if you have an nice stack of cash lying around! :angry:

[DocRamon]

The Miyamoto signed one is the Legend of Zelda SP, regular edition. It's the same as the Zelda SP, but with documents verifying that Miyamoto signed it. There was one on ebay 2 months ago.. went for $530.

what he said. :)

although, i'm not sure you should fault nintendo for releasing a ton of different versions like that. they're not expecting anyone to get them all. the guy that decides to try and collect them is the crazy one. (in a good way. i'd certainly stand up and applaud the guy that managed to collect ALL the SPs out there.)

[Iron Draggon]

Well Nintendo knows their market. And they know there's alot of people out there who will either try to collect them all or keep trading in their old ones to get the newest one.

They do the exact same thing with their system upgrades. First you had to have a Game Boy, then you had to have a Game Boy Pocket, then you had to have a Game Boy Color, then you had to have a Game Boy Advance, then you had to have a Game Boy Advance SP, then you had to have a Game Boy Advance SP2, next you'll have to have a Game Boy Evolution. And as if that wasn't enough, you also had to have a DS, then you had to have a DS Lite, etc, etc, etc.

It is kind of annoying how they keep trickling out new stuff all the time, but at least they do keep their stuff interesting.

[DocRamon]

system upgrades and color variations are different...

getting people to upgrade to the newest version of a system is good business on nintendo's part. as you said, they know that people will keep doing it.

but i highly doubt that nintendo releases new colors of their systems expecting people to try and collect them all. the new colors, special editions, etc. are more designed to cater to specific markets and bring in new buyers.

i'm willing to bet that none of their business moves are based on the fact that a few people collect nintendo stuff.

[orrimarrko]

Well, it shouldn't be a secret that the reason I started this thread is because I'm considering undertaking that quest...

It would take a while and some serious dough, but I think it would be fun!

I'll keep you posted.

Thanks for all the input.

Steve

[DocRamon]

i certainly wish you the best of luck with that... can't wait to see a full set of them.

that said, this thread has really sparked my interest. i've been looking around for info on some of them, and i keep finding new ones.

from japan, no idea how it was distributed:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/darklene/tukrpg2-img448x385-1108876137141.jpg

another chinese ique color:
http://www.ique.com/images/img_machine/SP/spimg_mario20th1.gif

[Iron Draggon]

Well if you only bought used systems, it might not be so hard to do. It's the new systems that really cost a fortune.

[orrimarrko]

i certainly wish you the best of luck with that... can't wait to see a full set of them.

that said, this thread has really sparked my interest. i've been looking around for info on some of them, and i keep finding new ones.

from japan, no idea how it was distributed:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/darklene/tukrpg2-img448x385-1108876137141.jpg

another chinese ique color:
http://www.ique.com/images/img_machine/SP/spimg_mario20th1.gif

Now we're talking Doc - what on earth are those?

Haven't seen either of those. I wonder what the BR stands for...

Orri-

[DocRamon]

sorry i couldn't get back to you sooner... internet connection is fried at my house, so i'm having to steal online time whenever i can from friends. sucks.

but anyway... i did more research on them, and got a friend living in japan to help me out with what he knew.

the BR one is the "battle royale" logo. it's a controversial japanese movie. that SP was apparently made by the studio itself. sounds like they more or less bought a large number of black SPs from nintendo and painted the logo on front. but it was sold at japanese retailers.

the bottom one, if you can't tell from the pic, is a 20th anniversary mario one... iQue from china though. it seems to still be on sale there, though i can't be sure. the iQue site has more photos and info about it.

[Jasoco]

That 20th anniversary one is awesome. I wouldn't mind having one to go with my Famicom micro.

Edit: How about this?
http://www.lik-sang.com/info.php?category=6&products_id=8730&

But it looks red over white instead of white over red. Are there two kinds?

[mills]

Today at game crazy i saw a black SP with "Who are you?" In graffitti-esque font emblazoned on the top. ANyone have info about this one?

[DocRamon]

Jasoco- nice find with that other mario SP... not sure if there are 2 styles or not. very interesting... worth looking into, for sure.

mills - here's some basic info on the who are you? SP - http://gameboy.ign.com/articles/548/548678p1.html. in fall/christmas 2004, several retailers got different exclusive SPs. walmart got this one, best buy got surf blue, circuit city got pearl white... etc...

[MarkMan]

Resurrecting an old thread. Recently I came across some NEW in box Gameboy Advance SP units from when I was in Singapore. I did some research and it turns out this was a special edition color that was only released in Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines.

Pretty neat. I haven't seen it listed on many websites. Note this is not the mint green variation, this is more of an emerald green.

http://distilleryimage2.ak.instagram.com/8ea2d2b6282911e3a94c22000ab68b88_8.jpg

Anyone know just how rare this is? I can't find em' anywhere else aside from some random google images via search.

[BlastProcessing402]

TRU sold an exclusive gold SP in the US (not to be confused with the Zelda ones). Came out on Black Friday of one year, with ones sold on that day including Super Mario Bros Advance 4 (smb3) as a pack in. That's the one I have.