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Gameboy Advance SP Released Today in North America
Txiasaeia writes "The latest version of Nintendo's venerable Gameboy has been released today in North America. The Gameboy Advance SP builds upon its predecessor by adding a front lit display, and a foldable design in order to protect the screen. Also, instead of using AA batteries to power the device, it uses a
Lithium-Ion battery. Other than that, the basic architecture of the system remains the same as the original Gameboy Advance. Most online retailers' first shipment has been sold out, but my local Walmart had plenty of copies.
Check out this Gamespy review." I snagged one at lunch today. The screen is vastly improved from the original GBA. Now the only question is how many Pokemon I can collect ;) (And yes Hemos, we got you one too ;)
Unless I am completely insane, it seems they have forgotten to include a headphone jack on the unit I messed around with. Anyone else find it?
I had a chance to hold the new GameBoy Advance SP.
Big problem--it doesn't fit your hands comfortably. I like the older GBA design because all the controls fit your hands very comfortably.
no link?
Since I installed my Afterburner GameBoy light kit many many many months ago for practically nothing, I have no need for a barely improved piece of gaming hardware that doesn't really offer me anything more for the cost.
What a waste.
The GameBoy Player is the device you're talking about. It's already been released in Japan, and it will be coming to the US in June or July. You can read hands-on impressions of it here at IGN.
"Chances of RHIC-induced Armageddon are exceedingly rare, but... you never know." - MIT Physicist Bob Jaffe
Those of you that will use this device in public may want to know that it does not have a headphone jack built-in. You have to buy a seperate add-on ($5) that plugs into the expansion port.
I picked up mine yesterday and the screen is evenly lit, and even the darkish Castlevania game is playable in a dim room.
Whenever the offence inspires less horror than the punishment, the rigour of penal law is obliged to give way...
You can return your old Gameboy Advance for 40 dollars off a Gameboy Advance SP. Seems like a pretty fair and reasonable deal to me. I plan on doing that myself.
..There's a-dooin's a-transpirin'
next friday old chap, that's the 28th...
Pfft - Sorry, what?
but it's truly bizarre that they didn't include it built in
For the same reason that tablet PCs and smaller laptop PCs don't have all the ports built in and need a "port replicator". There's just not enough space on the case.
after all it has a speaker anyway
Unlike the headphone connector, the internal speaker is monaural. Monaural audio is ill suited for first-person shooters such as Doom (now available for GBA) or 007 (coming soon for GBA).
The biggest problem that I have found so far with the description of the headphone/charger jack is that I haven't seen pictures of a headphone dongle with a passthru for AC, so I can't play with stereo sound and mains power at the same time; I would have to wait for the thing to recharge.
Will I retire or break 10K?
Yep. You Europeans also get it in normal, non-metallic colors. I've read in a few places that the metallic paint the SP uses gets scratched way too easily.
There are a lot of messages posted right now from people complaining about ergonomics and lack of a head phone jack. There are already 3rd party accessories out to deal with these problems... partially.
I cant wait for someone to come out for an emulator!
Download GBA freeware (or dump your GBA cartridges with a "Flash Linker" sold at gbax.com or gamegizmo.com), and then play the games with VisualBoyAdvance.
Will I retire or break 10K?
I bought an import on EBay several weeks ago. I'm quite pleased with the system. I had previously bought Golden Sun and a GBA based on some strong reviews of it. I found the original GBA to be essentially unplayable. The small, dark screen was just too unpleasant for my adult (age 35) eyes to handle. I gave up on Golden Sun after a few hours.
The SP model is an amazing difference. I'd have preferred a true backlight, but what they provided is *almost* as good. It's a clever frontlighting system that puts some sort of glowing stripe on all four sides of the screen, hidden from view by the case.
The big problem with all the regular GBA lighting systems was that there were direct reflections and glare. (the Afterburner system is apparently better, but I haven't seen it.) This indirect front-lighting system is nearly perfect. You can see a sort of shimmering 'fringe' effect of widely-spaced squares (which I think are third-order reflections) if you are using it in a very dark room, but it's honestly barely noticeable, and about 20 seconds into the game you'll forget about it.
It seems pretty hard to use, though, in very bright light. This is a little ironic, because the original GBA required extremely bright light to be playable. This one is best in a slightly darkened room. The recessed screen doesn't pick up outside light sources well, and its frontlight is easily drowned out by more than normal room brightness. For outdoor use, you may actually prefer the original GBA.
Complaints: I wish the screen were just a *little* bigger, but it's usable. The lack of a headphone jack is also quite annoying. And I wish they'd stayed with regular AA batteries. I have the NiMH rechargeables, which pack an amazing amount of power in a small space. I'd have preferred to be able to charge up 2 or 3 pairs for an extended roadtrip. 10 hours isn't bad, but with regular AAs you have essentially unlimited battery life.
Nitpicks notwithstanding, this is the system Nintendo should have shipped originally. I'm quite happy with mine.
I think a built-in front light (which it says this thing has) is better, since the back of the screen can probably be a lot more reflective. IMO, the worst thing about the GA was that the glass front of the screen was so shiny, and reflected a lot of light back at you.
No reason not to buy early.
Except that early is more expensive. Lik Sang was selling imported units for about $130, as opposed to $100 from Wal-Mart and Best Buy this week. Add shipping, and you're looking at a big incentive to wait unless you're a rich early adopter.
Will I retire or break 10K?
Dude, it's $20 per YEAR. I dunno where you're getting $50 per month. That would be pretty ridiculous.
You should never take life too seriously - You'll never get out of it alive.
According to the article, several stores are allowing trade-ins with your old GBA and then getting the new one for like $60. It's worth a shot.
This is my digital signature. 10011011001
Sure, you can get it here for $69.
There are 2 kinds of people in this world: Those who write in decimal and those who don't
The buttons are recessed slightly, so it takes a bit of time to get used to. Also, they're slightly smaller than the original GBA, so larger hands might find it awkward, especially with the new configuration. It's also harder to do a soft-reset (which may or may not be a bad thing).
The sound is significantly better (IMO), probably due to the placement of the speaker. It's smack in the middle of the device, so your palms won't muffle the sound (a la GBA). Still, no headset jack.
The shoulder buttons are smaller (L & R), but after a couple of games, it's not noticeable.
The cartridge slot is at the bottom, so certain peripherals like the Kirby tilt module won't work, and the digital camera attachments might be weird to work with.
The AC adapter is really well made, with the prongs folding inside so it's easy to transport. It's also small (about 3/4" x 1.5" x 2") and light. Too bad it's still a wall-wart design.
The screen is now protected due to the design, but the plastic doesn't feel that robust. I'm thinking that it can get easily scratched (though I'm not going to try to find out).
Other than that, I'm *highly* impressed with the GBA SP. If you have a GBA without the Afterburner kit, try to sell it to kid next door or give it to some young relatives. It's just that good. For only $100US, you get an amazing piece of hardware that can entertain you longer than a $2k laptop can on a flight overseas. 9.5/10
Nintendo has done this before.
Gameboy Pocket. Gameboy Pocket Light.
Sony did it with the PSOne.
Of course, this is preferable I think to having later iterations of the same platform LOSE useful features of the earlier ones. (Later versions of the sega genesis and playstation)
They are fantastic with service parts. You can still buy replacement parts for the original NES from them.
They'll have new batteries on their website within days and trust me, they will be VERY affordable. My guess is under $10. Not bad for at least 2 years of use.
As to the headphone jack, there is a cable for it.
You really should give it a good look/try before you dis it.