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GPS for GBA
Grey Ninja writes "I just came across a preview for a new gadget that's going to be demoed at E3, which is a GPS and map attachment for your GBA. It should be mentioned that you can pre-order now and get $50 off. " I can't imagine very many useful applications for this, but it sure is nifty.
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I know plenty of people that use a handheld and a GPS. Consolidating the number of devices I have to hold when geocaching would be a great thing... I currently have the GPS, a digital camera, and a Sidekick. I sometimes have to bring along other things like a headlamp, etc.
If I could have a reliable GPS unit that was attached to my PDA and it still functioned as well as a handheld one I would love it.
Nintendo really does have a monopoly on portable gaming. The GBA is 1/10 as powerful as most handheld PDAs, the screen is hard to see (even on the newer SP), and yet they come out with a GPS attachment for it that will only work for the GBA. Plus, I can't see entering address information with five buttons being very viable.
Though GPS on a GBA is somewhat nifty, I think that a normal compactflash (or other media style) of GPS unit for a PDA would be more useful.
Perhaps Nintendo can turn global navigation into a 2d mario-style game. Then, I could break the road blocks in my way by jumping up at them.
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I'm sure this could be incorporated into the real-life pacman played on the streets of new york...
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I can think of market that this might really appeal to... Backpackers and other travellers. Lots of gamers buy a GBA when travelling for a long time (something to do on the plane, etc). If they could use it when they get to their destination to help find their way around then I guess a fair number of nerdy backpackers would pay for one.
I know I would have killed for one of these when I was in London a little while ago. I kept getting lost at four in the morning in some maze of lanes near Soho, with my guidebook sitting on the couch where I was staying. A GBA is light and easy to carry/store, I'd rather haul that around than my Lonely Planet guide.
It seems like there's some sort of internal memory in the unit, in which case it should be able to simply download new maps (via USB maybe?). This would rock if you were travelling through Europe and staying in lots of large towns, for example. Just grab the next map at an internet café and you're set.
This is to say nothing of the possibilities with regards to GPS gaming. I can think of a bunch, especially if the games can be downloaded and localised. Among the more annoying/money making: Advertisers could have you unlock extra features of a game (secret Pokemon, etc) when you enter one of their stores...
For years, I've driven with a triple-A card and a statewide mapbook on hand. I've seldom actually used either, but having them affords me a certain (justified or not) peace of mind in plunging into new automotive adventures.
GPS/maps increase that same sort of assurance, and this gizmo seems to significantly commoditize the technology. I suspect that lack of a specific application won't matter.
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Theres already alot of evidence that Pokemon regions are based on real places, with the wireless adapter you can goto see the 7th movie and it'll give you a special ticket toaccess the last pokemon in the pokedex not avaible any other way.
It wouldn't surprize me for them to use the GPS (if they also do it with the DS) so you can wander from tokyo and each area will have different pokemon. It could even make the area around you and turn it into a map (think diablo 2 style but with real stuff). Hell they could have it so as you move your character moves.
Very unlikely but it'd be a cool idea and might incourage a bit of tourism in Japan.
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All they need is to add 802.11g in there and we'd have the ultimate incognito war-walking/driving/biking device!
A couple months ago I heard about a GPS system for the gameboy. It seemed more aimed at the Japanese market at the time. The one really cool idea I heard about the GPS was that Nintendo was going to be making games that relied on where you were in both time and space (the space they envisioned using was Tokyo). For instance, if the player is at the fish market at 4am instead of 7am with his gameboy, his character might be able to buy some really rare fish that he might not otherwise have been able to get. I know it's a strange example, but this of the wacky dynamics this could add to a game!! This would be similar to Majora's Mask, EXCEPT, it matters where the PLAYER is in time and space, not the character! I believe this was another attempt to by Nintendo to get gamers out of the house. Really, the idea is kind of a cross between Zelda: Marjora's Mask, the light sensing game (whatever it was called), and Animal Crossing. Not much good for us that don't live in Tokyo though. It'll be interesting to see what other more generic ideas they can come up with.
With wireless connectivity for GameBoys, I can imagine some pretty nifty peer-to-peer, realtime combat games....or some sort of detective-like game as a function of location (the mapping programs tell you where restaurants, motels, churches, schools, and other "points of interest" are and will give you directions for getting there, etc.) ...location-specific games, based on a generic game, informed by localized information. At minimum GPS+maps is a neat addon for a GBA, just like it is for a PDA.