GBA SP Updated with Brighter Backlit Screen

PSXer writes "Nintendo has quietly included a much brighter backlit screen into the new Game Boy Advance SP Graphite and Pearl Blue colors. From the article: "Though all that's changed between the classic GBA SP system and the updated ones is the screen technology, the difference is night and day. The new system kicks on with incredible brightness and clarity in its display right from the start, and the improvement becomes even more obvious with each game you stick in the system.""

Comments

That's nice...

[caryw]

But where's the incredible Gameboy Revolution that you can throw like a dart or kick like a soccer ball?
--
Fairfax Underground: Where Fairfax County comes out to play

Re:That's nice...

[ciroknight]

You can do that already with a GBA SP..

Just don't expect it to continue working afterwards..

Re:That's nice...

[Soul-Burn666]

Actually you should.
Nintendo devices are known to be virtually indestructable.

My friend's DS fell from a sitting height onto a hard tiled floor, while running. Result? Not even a stratch and the game kept on running.

A recent slashdot post was about someone who threw his GC Wavebird controller in anger. It flew two rooms until it landed in a kitchen shelf. Result? a few scratchs, and the controller kept working, controlling the game two rooms away!

Moreover, I don't remember if it was for the GBA or one of the older GBs, but there was a game which had a tilt sensor inside the game catridge and allowed you to control some of the features by tilting. iirc it had a maze with a ball that you could tilt the device to make it roll to one side or the other.

psss who need a brigher blacklight

[Kuku_monroe]

I have no problems playing with a flashlight in my mouth (and a candle if i need to take the flashlight batteries for my GB)

Re:psss who need a brigher blacklight

[BenjyD]

Obligatory Penny Arcade comic.

Similar to the new Game Boy Micro

[meatflower]

The new Game Boy Micro (think GBA SP meets iPod Nano) has been noted for its much brighter display.
http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000990043834/
I suppose Nintendo has decided to move the technology to the standard size SP as well...all of this development on what is basically a GBA I find puzzling. With the DS having been out for some time now I would think most people looking to buy a Game Boy device would look to the DS, especially considering it can be had for as little as $129 now.

Re:Similar to the new Game Boy Micro

[pnice]

I've whipped out quite a few things while riding a bus and the NDS was one of the easiest...and the least criminal.

3 IGN

[beckett]

dear slashdot editors,

hey i think you made a mistake in the article posting. i was expecting an article on the new GBA but all i got was an ad. what's up?

Re:3 IGN

[makomk]

The website does have one interesting property. If you've got cookies disabled, you can't read the article - it just displays ad after ad, in some sort of loop. Damn annoying. Of course, that's not to say the article itself isn't an ad of sorts - but it's more relevant (and interesting).

Anyway, I wonder if retailers are going to have to discount the older, dimmer version in order to sell off old stock - and by how much?

True if all you play is GBA games

[gasaraki]

But the DS doesn't support regular old GB and GBC games, whereas the GBA and GBA SP do.

not brighter, but bigger !!!

[maharg]

http://gameman.loungespot.com/play/index.html

Much Better

[Anonymous Coward]

I love the photos with the slightly adjusted 'previous version' gameboy that has just a tad bit more angle on it to increase the viewing angle and thus the increased light effect they are trying to show *cough*buybuysatan*cough*

Brighter light=shorter battery life

[jurt1235]

Plan to win a head to head game:
1. Take your original GBA with dim light
2. Play a game against a person with a new brightly lid GBA.
3. At a certain moment the other one just stops because he ran out of battery power. You will still have some minutes left. => Victory!

Re:Brighter light=shorter battery life

[FidelCatsro]

There is a switch on the machine for setting the brightness so it shouldn't really be that much of a problem.
Though the article doesn't cover it , I am assuming that since nintendo do enjoy keeping Battery life high that the new technology will perhaps be a touch more efficient .That (which is a maybe) and the switch should keep things all even on the machines

Yeah!

[ShaolinTiger]

1. Change something minor on your product
2. Get loads more free publicity
3. PROFIT!

Gameboy Micro is sweet!

[los furtive]

To hell with the SP. I just got a Gameboy Micro and it is sweet! It's the same size as my Nokia phone, and way smaller than my Mario Cement Factory Nintendo Game & Watch. The screen, while small is just brilliantly gorgeous. For those of you who have SPs you'll find the screen lacking in size, but for a guy like me who skipped the whole Advance series and was using the original Gameboy as my last portable (we'll ignore the fact I also owned a GameGear and Lynx) the screen size is just fine. It's a real classy device.

Battery Usage

[Bad to the Ben]

What sort of effect does the new screen have on battery usage? Has battery capacity been increased to compensate?

It can be frustrating when new energy-draining features are added without a corresponding increase in power supply. I now a lot of this is due to battery chemistry restrictions, but isn't the Gameboy battery system rather old? Perhaps some new advances have come out that Nintendo could use to offset the extra drain.

Re:Battery Usage

[ultranova]

It can be frustrating when new energy-draining features are added without a corresponding increase in power supply. I now a lot of this is due to battery chemistry restrictions, but isn't the Gameboy battery system rather old? Perhaps some new advances have come out that Nintendo could use to offset the extra drain.

Perhaps one could connect the buttons (especially the directional controller) into generators ? It wouldn't neccessarily give them much more resistance, but together with some of those funky generators that turn acceleration and shaking into power, it might be just enough to supply the device.

Re:Damn

[Dogtanian]

Damn, I had just bought one the these a year ago (classic NES version). They upgrade these things yearly it seems.

Putting some retro-decals on a standard GameBoy SP doesn't really count as an upgrade. This is the first "real" upgrade since the SP came out, and is hardly of the same magnitude as the upgrades the SP had over the plain Advance; let alone the original Advance against previous GameBoys.

Re:Why we haven't heard of it till now:

[real_smiff]

Look Ma, he can copy and paste!
That's nice!
Try some quote marks next time!
(maybe you meant to comment on that paragraph and hit the submit button too early?)

Fixing problems that don't exist?

[KeiserSoze]

Interestingly enough, the main gripe users had with the backlight was the discolouration it had on the screen, tinting everything slightly blue. If this fixes that problem I could see merit in it - but if it not only is just brighter, but uses x amount of battery life to power that, what is the benefit? Personally, what the SP needed was a brightness adjustment, as anybody who has used it late at night will no doubt agree.

Re:Lucky me.

[Red Flayer]

"I was honestly planning to go to Wal-Mart... Now that there is a new version, I won't look quite so much like a goon buying ancient hardware."

Umm, sorry to mention this, but if you're concerned about looking like a goon while shopping at Wal-Mart... you've got other problems.