Game Boy Micro Announced

The Nintendo press conference this afternoon revealed the new Game Boy Advanced format: the Game boy Micro. The new handheld will play all GBA titles, and is only slightly larger than an iPod. From the article: "The sporty, silver metal Game Boy Micro measures a mere 4 inches wide, 2 inches tall and 0.7 inches deep, allowing it to sit comfortably alongside today's hippest technological gadgets. It weighs an astonishing 2.8 ounces, or about the weight of 80 paper clips. Yet Game Boy Micro has the same processing power and plays the same games as Game Boy Advance SP models, complete with standard face controls and gleaming shoulder and Start/Select buttons that literally shine." Photo available from the AP.

Comments

Going Out on a Limb Here...

[GTRacer]

The people who think an SP is just too bulky and clamor for the Micro probably live in a standard Xbox controller, right?

Seriously, for me, the SP is about as small as I can stand handgrip-wise. I know this Micro returns to the GBA formfactor, but why? The SP seems to be the right balance of size, heft, and comfort. And screen visibility/legibility.

GTRacer
- What's in your wallet?

Re:Going Out on a Limb Here...

[IpalindromeI]

At first I also thought the wrist position you needed to maintain for a good viewing angle on the SP was awkward. But then I realized that if you tilt the screen a bit more, it snaps softly into a position that transforms it from an acute angle into a slightly obtuse angle. This actually makes it easier to hold than the GBA, in my opinion, because you can position your wrists almost naturally.

In case my explanation is failing, here's an attempt at ASCII art to display the idea:

Crappy Good
\ <- screen \ <- screen
\_____ \
|
|

Re:Best gameboy

[Dwedit]

Doom is available, not quake. A set of emulated Atari 2600 games are also available.
You can buy a Majesco Wireless Link cable for GBA, it's not Wi-fi though.

Nice

[rAiNsT0rm]

Now if it is priced low enough and the release a NES controller faceplate it's mine. Very nice design and idea, I just wish they could get the technology down to $49.99 because too many bought a GBA, then a GBA SP, now this. Or even a trade in system as before would be nice.

iPod Mini

[Ionizer7]

The submitter said it is slightly larger than an iPod, I believe it should say "slightly larger than the iPod Mini"

Re:It's not really new, is it?

[barawn]

but my hands get cramped enough on the SP that I can't imagine anything smaller or thinner than that.

GB Micro: 4" wide, 0.7" thick
GBA SP: 3.2" wide, ~0.9" thick

It's not smaller, as far as your hands are concerned. It's wider. A little thinner, but really not much (maybe not even, I'm not sure those numbers are the 'unfolded' numbers). Smaller than the original GBA's 5.7", but still wider than the GBA SP.

Re:Tiny goodness

[rsmith-mac]

2" diagonal to be precise, so it's very small.

Re:Tiny goodness

[Yorrike]

Sorry, but you're wrong on the screen size. Currently, a GBA cartridge can fit comfortably inside the dimensions of a GBA or GBA SP screen. If you take a look at the micro pics, you'll see the screen is smaller than the width of the cartridge, and therefore, smaller than the current GBA's screen.

And the GBA SP has a rechargable battery, so that's nothing new.