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Nintendo Announces Wireless GBA Adapter
Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to the Yahoo press release announcing Nintendo is using Motorola technology to produce a wireless adapter for the GameBoy Advance. According to the release, "The 2.4GHz radio frequency (RF) chipset enables up to five players to play each other wirelessly, allowing for flexible, mobile game playing", and it "...will be launched in Japan first half of 2004." Motorola is also hosting a picture of the device, showing how it connects to the GBA.
technology offers robust performance with a high-speed data rate
I thought that the GBAs data port was limited to an extremely slow transfer rate. (2kb/s?) Is it faster on the sp? Does anyone have info on this?
"Come on, let's go drink till we can't feel feelings anymore."
Until I can start doing Gameboy Warchalking?
How long do you think it will be before GBA emulators use Wi-Fi cards to do the same thing?
Great. now I have to worry about some students gameboy interfering with our campus' wireless network.
Like microwaves, and portable phones werent enough.
Great idea, but I'm wondering about the design. From the image, it looks like the edges will be either flush with or slightly overlapping the L and R buttons of the GBA SP. This might make playing some games slightly problematic.
Otherwise, I'm looking forward to it. Too bad it won't ship in time for the Return of the King premiere line-up.
The article only mentions this as usable for GBA/GBA connections. I hope that this will also work with GBA/GCN connections, allowing gamecube games which link with the gameboy to finally be free of cabling.
The wavebird took care of this on the controller end, and with upcoming games taking more advantage of the GBA as a supplemental or primary controller, a wireless adapter could really rock (FF: Crystal Chronicals, for example). Considering it's the same port, I don't see why they wouldn't offer it...
what the hell is a 'junk character', anyway?
When you live in the sewer, it's considered rude to complain about the other rats.
Mea navis aericumbens anguillis abundat
The real problem with WEP isn't the weak method it uses to generate RC4 keys. I've seen with my own eyes many networks that don't even have encryption enabled. The real problem is that encryption is: A. Optional. B. Difficult to set up. WEP isn't close to being "wire equivalent" because wires are, by default, pretty secure. You don't need to manually enable 'no-public-hub-ports-on-external-walls' mode with a wired Ethernet. A wire isn't just a way to get the bits from A to B - it also acts as a user interface for associating machines with networks. I bet you didn't think of the patch panel in the server room as a user interface, right? Actually, it's a pretty good user interface. It's much more intuitive than any GUI and very reliable (ok, so it's a little messy, but so is my desktop :-)
Here's an idea for how WEP could have been much closer to 'wired equivalent':
When you set up the device on your machine it scans for available networks and shows a list. You choose one. It then tells you to press a key at the same time as pressing a button on the access point.
If you have physical access to the access point you can do it yourself. Otherwise you call the admin on the phone and after checking your identity (usually it's just a matter of recognizing your voice) the admin tells you to press the key '...now!'. That's it. You're on the network, with securely configured strong encryption.
This can be much more secure that it appears - the key is exchanged using Diffie-Hellman key exchange so eavesdropping is not possible. Man-in-the-middle attacks are difficult in a shared medium such as wireless where everyone hears everyone else: if the two participants are careful they can detect such attacks. To prevent attempts to 'take a ride' and join the network at the same time as another machine the access point will verify that there are no other attempts to join the network within a certain period before or after the time window for 'simultaneous' button presses (actually within plus or minus a few hundred milliseconds).
Now, what are the chances of some company actually implementing this?
The linux hacker
That's totally possible.
It's how the GBA -> GCN link works. GBAs can boot off of the data port, and this lets you have companion programs included on game discs (which is how FF: CC works.)
It's also how multiplayer, single cart games work. Only limiting factor is that the entire program has to be held in ram.
This is how, incidentally, all the new flashrom carts from HK work. No cart-writer needed, just a USB -> GBA cable. Boots a writer program, stick the cart in, and you're done.
Frankly, I would believe that I live in a world where even evil terrorist hackers have better things to do than to try and hack into someones handheld game...
You don't frigging need any security when all you do is trying to outwit your mate in Pokemon. It's not like it's a critical system, or contains personal information. Leave it unsecure, it'll leave bandwidth and CPU power to what matter - the game.
Everything in the world is controlled by a small, evil group to which, unfortunately, no one you know belongs.
I think (well, I'm not sure) that I was another device like this made by some guys from Norway about a year ago or so. They'd made their own to hook up to a GB, and they used mobile phones for connecting the two GB's.
Anyone got a link?
A proud member of the Onion-in-Hand alliance
While getting rid of the cable is a step in the right direction, my GameBoyAdvance still don't look like a proper PDA when I pull it up during booring meetings...
Everything in the world is controlled by a small, evil group to which, unfortunately, no one you know belongs.
but it looks like this is the deathknell for the N-Gage already. The only thing it had going for it as a gaming system was the much touted wireless multiplayer gaming. Now that Nintendo has added the feature to the Game Boy, the only thing that the N-Gage is relegated to is an overpriced cellphone.
GBA->PC USB Cable, You mean like this one?
http://www.flash2advance.com
While there hasn't been any Emulator written that will connect up to a GBA for multiplayer linking using a Flash2Advance, there is no reason why theoretically it could not be done.
The GBA powers on and checks that port, and what it finds there is totally up to the PC on the other side. With some clever software trickery, it should be no major task to fool the GBA into thinking it's connected to another GBA via a link cable.
"Everything you know is wrong. (And stupid.)"
Moderation Totals: Wrong=2, Stupid=3, Total=5.
It looks like Nintendo isn't exactly ignoring the threat of N-Gage and Zodiac to its current market niche. Granted, this thing doesn't give the GBA the potential of N-Gage for multiplayer, since it doesn't tie in to GSM/GPRS, nor does it give the GBA any claim to serious business usability. But if they keep the price down, it should muddy the waters enough to ensure both appliances don't get much market share.
If Zodiac or N-Gage had some actual first-run games, especially a killer multiplayer game, they might still have a chance, but both platforms have been more interested in licensing tried and true games.. A pity, some competition might produce some better games; the GBA's software has been rife with movie tie-ins, console adaptations and sequels.
Weapons of Mass Analysis
Much as Nokia have just released info about some funky-looking products for next year, their foray into portable gaming is probably over before it's really begun. The "N-Gage" (*shudder*) was touting wireless multiplay as a big feature. Now it's no big thing. I have a GBAsp on my desk beside me, I'm not going to buy a whole new phone for a feature the GBA can gain with a small add-on.
Either Nintendo or some 3rd party hackers should implement a VNC client for this.
I can just see the sysadmins in the coffee room, feet on the table, busily tapping on their GBAs
Boss: What the hellare you doing ?!?!
Admin: Working, what does it look like?
Not confused enough? http://translate.google.com/translate?u=www.slashdot.jp&hl=en&ie=UTF8&sl=ja&tl=en
This is just a wireless replacement for gba-gba link cables. It won't do anything that a link cable couldn't be used to do. I would like to see a model for the gamecube to eliminate the gba-gcn link cable, or even just an adapter to let you use one of these with your gamecube.
Triton Labs (makers of the afterburner) announced a product very similar to this called the stealth link several months ago. Maybe they showed their hand a little early.
It's interesting that the press release says 5 players. I assume that's a typo. The link cables (and the current software) only support 4 players... unless nintendo has something up its sleeve.
I also don't see this as a reaction to the n-gage at all. Nintendo just sees a market for this add-on. The gameboy's dominance is not remotely threatened, and Nintendo has never been a reactive company.
Have you tried to use an N-Gage? I played about a dozen or so games at ECTS and IT SUCKS!!!
I mean... I had high(ish) hopes for the thing and REALLY can't see them battling the Big N on their own territory but this is a terribly designed system and the press keep trying to put a good spin on it but as a games I flat out wouldn't buy one.
1 - The screen is tiny and vertically mounted - it just doesn't work for games. Sonic was damn annoying as the width of the play area is too wide for the screen. It's clear enough but WAY too small.
2 - The keypad SUCKS!! It's useless for gaming although it could be useful for strategy games. You hit just about every other button on the keypad before you hit the onw you want and the surface is so smooth you really have to concentrate on where your fingers are - and thus not the game. The D-Pad is said to be excellent but I found it too smooth and flat - too easy for a thumb to slip off - too hard to detect any response...
3 - There are no L and R buttons even though that's exactly where your fingers are.
4 - There are lots of other buttons on the keypad such as "phone/sms etc" if you accidently push on of these whilst playing a game your gaming experience seems to just stop....
5 - YOU HAVE TO TAKE THE DAMN THING APART TO CHANGE GAMES!!
6 - Nokia's marketing monkies are spewing BS everyday talking about the GBA being a "kiddies toy" (they're trying to make there product look "cool" in a PS sort of way. However most people I see playing GBA are 20/30/40 somethings on tubes and trains playing stuff like Advance Wars. IMNSHO Nokia's marketing line is BS.
7 - THERE ARE LOADING SCREENS!! WTF!! I played a coupla games (some pseudo 3D platformer and a motorbike racer) and there were HUGE (30seconds to a minute) loading screens. DAMN IT! I want to play this on a 10 minute tube journey!!
8 - WHY DO YOU HAVE TO TAKE IT APART TO CHANGE GAMES!!!
9 - The frame rates on a lot of the games are just NOT very good at all. Sonic plays at about 10 to 15 and seemed to have some SERIOUS slow down. As did a lot of the other games (esp. the pseudo 3D stuff)
10 - And this is the one that will kill the N-Gage. People upgrade phones like they change underwear. This thing is going to last 2 years MAX and at that point Nokia have to release an upgrade OR incorporate this functionality into all their phones.
11 - Don't ever believe the Big N is asleep. The games on the Nokia system just feel unfinished and unpolished - frame rate skipping - cheesey loading screens - by contrast when Nintendo launched the GBA a whole chunk of polished gaming came with it.
The wireless adapter isn't a bad plan from Nintendo but it is just a peripheral - not everyone will buy it (in fact few will) but it will give Nintendo a little bit more knowledge to prepare for the onslaught of PSP (which I reckon is going to get screwed because any graphically decent games will drain the battery in about 30 minutes.... but we'll see about that!)
Matthew.
"None of this shit works" -W.Shatner
"So when can i play tetris against someone else simultaneously?"
For that you'll have to wait until some time after 1989.
Usually stuff gets released in Japan
Commoodre (before it went belly up) liked to release in the UK.
America is good for inovation but extreamly bad for first release of new technology.
Commodore did release one thing in the US first...
The Commodore 128.
Ops.
Oh yeah and that CD entertainment thing that was the death of Commoodre.. that was released in the US first.
Japan is more willing to pay over inflated prices just to get *defective* bleading edge.
So when are they going to start selling in america first?
Maybe when we stop recomending that everyone waits untill the price comes down.
No really let them buy the first generation units and when they get the bugs out and the price down we can get it here.
If your REALLY that hard up to get it price-no-matter then order one from Japan. Nobodys going to stop you.
Of course, X-Trafun's quite a small shop, so they haven't been able to market their product sufficiently to get much real attention. Unfortunately, although they were first, they're now going to be thoroughly stomped out of the market by the power of Motorola.
nuke the moon