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Gameboy Advance SP Reviewed & Disassembled
lotech writes "lik-sang has a review with full photos of the new Nintendo Ganeboy Advance SP.
Not just supplying heaps of photos they have even beaten the pack on voiding the warranty and include heaps of internal photos.
The handheld market is heating up with new releases from Nokia too and also the feature packed GP32. Oh and maybe then there maybe some Sony competition soon?"
"New front light screen"
Sounds a lot like engrish to me.
"GameBoy SP new and much enjoyable front light screen! All GameBoy games can you have play!"
Why bother.
No, seriously... I really think it looks much cooler than the stuff Nintendo has done so far. Anyone else think it's all or partially Apples "fault"? And I mean that as a good thing.
.: Max Romantschuk
PS2...Xbox.....Gameboy Advance?
No...it's not ENTIRELY flamebait. :)
Make it capable of using Mini DVD Videos like the Hitachi Camcorders. Other features: TV out, USB, Mp3 capability. I think this would be a popular convergence.
They could even release 5 game PS1 packs on one mini DVD. Most of those games were 100 - 300 MB.
I believe battery technology is where it would need to be for a unit like this as well.
Yell & scream & rant & rave... it's no use... you need a shaaaave ~ Bugs Bunny
Here (PGC)
and some nice pics Here. Boy, this is late!
If current devices just keep getting smaller, soon I'll have a jumble of things bouncing off my keychain. It's stupid. I can't hold a feather up to my ear to talk on, or a piece of paper for playing games on. I want some feedback from gravity to know if my phone has gone silent because the connection dropped or I dropped it!
The better solution by far would be to combine a few of them so that my phone, pocket computer, camera and portable game machine all fit in one nice small (but not too small) package. If the manufacturers don't figure that out, they won't be selling them for much longer. The market for these things is hitting the point of diminishing to no returns.
But either way, none of Sonys products are competing with the Gameboy as they're all over $100 and arent specifically for games. They're PDAs first and formost, while games are at the bottom of the list, which is why the Gameboy will never be replaced. Same with the Nokia unit, it's nearly $400-500 and is a clunky phone first, and a game machine second. Wont work.
Another new design called B'ngo,a sub $200 handheld console / phone is covered on The Register.
Frankly, I might have bought more games for my GBA if I thought I could actually see them. Instead it sits in a drawer except for occasional forays in good lighting. Nintendo can go to hell if they think I'm going to make the same mistake twice.
Nintendo has been doing little flip-open portable game systems long before Apple did anything cute with their computers.
I'm trying to decide which one I want. Both have their appeal.
Of course, One question I had when I heard about the GSP was that the e-reader wouldn't work with it. I would imagine that with the homebrew/demo scene that the original GBA would be better because one could decode the protocol used on the e-reader, print your own cards, and publish your own game that way. That, plus the GSP probably has new "license protection"/DRM/Region Coding/Developer lockout/authentication etc. that the original GBA doesn'have.
Just my Z80's worth
--RickTheWizKid
Geesh, with all the awesome games on the GBA, you'll be missing out bigtime. Unless games really dont mean much to you. Or just get the GBAPlayer for the GameCube when that comes for 40 bux.
After fumbling around trying to find the best source for light, whether it be my lamp in the living room or the ever annoying 'Worm Light' attachment, the Gameboy will come with a backlit screen. Not only that, but a rechargeable battery that comes standard, and a price tag (albeit you don't import it before the US release date) that will be less than $100. It will make it worth my time to give games like Castlevania a second look considering the first time I played the game I couldn't even see the game b/c the screen was so dark.
It's nice to see inside of these devices without having the crack open one yourself. How long before DMCA is used by a company to prosecute anyone that shares such photos? Does anyone know if that has already happened?
Trolling using another account since 2005.
The GBA did not have regional lockout.
I just thought I'd point out that, here in Japan, the GBA-SP comes in 3 colors: silver, cobalt, and black. The U.S. version will only come in the first two. (IMO, this sucks, as black is the coolest.)
Sono koro, bokura wa, sore ga sekai no shinjitsu da to shinjite ita.
As of right now the GBA has no competition at all. The GP32 can't even been seen as an issue due to its pure lack of power. While it has a higher MHZ rating it doesn't have any special hardware to deal with sprite effects, background effects and more...this is where the GBA really out muscles it. The Nokia NGage is still a vague object on the horizon if you ask me. And when we finally do get to truely see it, it will be an over priced monster without support from the big channels that it needs and with a customer base that is too small. The GBA SP is just Nintendo's next step in maintaining their control on this market.
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Penny Arcade
"Sic Semper Tyrannosaurus Rex."
If a PSOne + 4" LCD screen without battery or integrated controller costs $150, how much do you think your smaller version with integrated controller, 3" screen, hi-capacity battery (because of all the freaking MOVING PARTS), USB, and mini-DVD drive instead of a regular CD drive cost?
If your answer is $200 or more, congratulations, you have yourself a portable system that will sell so few numbers as to be unprofitable, and therefore unfeasible for any smart company to produce.
More likely scenario is that SUCCESSFUL portable game systems NEVER "evolve" to use optical media drives which use moving parts. They are OLD/inferior technology compared to current high-capacity solid-state storage media, and are completely unsuited to portability. Think discman vs. mp3 player. Nintendo will own this market for as long as they stick to cartridge-based portables that maintain compatibility with older software. The real next step, hopefully, will be a GB with back-compatility, front-lit screen, full complement of 6 or more buttons not counting select and start, wireless connectivity of some sort, minimum 16-bit 22.05 KHz 2MB wavetable sound, and Playstation-level 3d hardware. Such a system that is durable enough to be handled by children will not hit the $100 magic price point for another 4-5 years at least.
Or buy the GBA games that you want, download (or rip) the game ROM, and play it on an emulator.
Hm...
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Besides, who YET has money money initially selling the hardware?
And I disagree with you. Cart games are EXPENSIVE to produce. optical games can be cranked out up to 20X faster and if I read right at Tokyo ETimes about this; a total "optical game" package costs even after royalty for about $4-$7 US. A cart costs up to $15 to produce.
Nintendo has LOST the home war. They will soon lose the portable war if they don't come up with something better than cartridges.
Yell & scream & rant & rave... it's no use... you need a shaaaave ~ Bugs Bunny
"I don't see why Sony ... could make something with a 3 inch screen and mini DVD and integrated controls."
Because maybe Game Boy has been eating technilogically superior handhelds for breakfast for the better part of a decade now and Sony isn't dumb enough to spend all that R & D money on cannon fodder?
"I believe battery technology is where it would need to be for a unit like this as well."
This new Game Boy uses a Li-ion battery. What more do you want?
The light in the GBA SP IS in front of the LCD screen (or more accurately, around the edges in front) . It has to be since the LCD is transreflective. The screen reflects and light hitting it back through the pixels. This prevents the screen from getting washed-out in bright daylight.
Another problem, for me anyway, is that there isnt one of the three (GC, PS2, and XBox) that is a clear loser.
PS2 isnt as technologically advanced hardware-wise as XBox, but it has a really good stable of games, AND is backward compatible with PS1 (a real plus, since PS1 was the last generation best seller, and still has really good games).
XBox has some really kick-butt hardware, but since they are the new kid, they have yet to get games associated with MS (like Mario, Metroid, and Zelda for Nintendo, or Final Fantasy and Metal Gear for Sony; technically FF is Square, and not specifically tied to Sony, but you get the point). XBox has really come on strong with XBox Live, and the ability to potentially use it as a mini-PC is very intreging to me as a computer geek.
Finally, GameCube has the GBA link thing (which they need to use in more games), they have all the signature Nintendo games, and their game design is continually breaking new ground in terms of originality. I wish other games had copied Zelda: Ocharina of Time's control features- it just worked so well. Metroid does this as well with their 'Lock-on'; aiming has always been a weakness on the console compared to a keyboard/mouse setup.
But the poster before was right- you will always be better off with solid-state devices on a portable system. Moving parts = things to break.
Also, throwing all those things into one device, while nice on paper, will cost so much, and take so much development time, that by the time you get it to market it will be three years from now and cost $500- a price point that nobody will want to approach (hear that Palm?). Nintendo knows what they are doing. The most someone would reasonably expect to spend for something like that is around $100.
Once you start to approach $200, people start thinking about all the other things they can do with that money. Also, what parent in their right mind is going to give a $200 portable device to their kid, that they can throw in their book-bag, break, or lose?
Manipulate the moderator system! Mod someone as "overrated" today.
Anyone have any specs on the processor and when I can expect to install my favorite *nix version on the SP?
Come on, I can't be the only one who thought of it!
--Should work--
This thing is very cool... but there is just a few things that could be done to make it just a tiny bit better.
First off- the (nintendo®) Logo on the front is backwards when the screen is in the open position, this is the same mistake that Apple made with it's powerbooks and eventually fixed Pic
Second- the shoulder buttons are upside down! I assume they did this so you could check to see which button was R and Which was L when you flip the device towards you... but really is that necessary? Most people, even children know their left from their right hands- and even if they don't they somehow adapt and figure out what each button does... anyways perhaps it's only me but the buttons seem upside-down Pic
Lastly- a dimmer on the backlight sounds like a good idea.
It looks great and I really look forward to getting my hands on one- nice job Nintendo!