The Game Boy Micro: What we know
posted May 17th 2005 2:28PM
Nintendo also unveiled the Game Boy Micro this morning, here's what we know so far:
-
Launch is slated for this Fall.
-
Silver in color for now, expect all sorts of rainbow-flavored variations.
-
Dimensions: 4 inches wide by 2 inches tall and 0.7 inches thick.
-
Weight: 2.8 ounces (80 paper clips' worth of weight).
-
Processor: Same as GBA SP.
-
Form factor: "Gleaming shoulder and start/select buttons that literally shine", removable and customizable face plate.
-
Screen: 2-inches, backlit and the "best Game Boy screen ever" with adjustable brightness controls for use indoors or outdoors.
-
Marketing angle: "We're making the gorgeous Game Boy Micro for image-conscious folks who love video games, the ones who want the look of their system to be as cool as the games they play on it" according to George Harrison, Nintendo of America Sr. VP of marketing. It's clear that they're going after the kids who are too cool to carry around an obvious gaming device but who don't mind carrying something that looks like the cell phone that they're already carrying.
-
Accessories: built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery; supports standard headphones.
-
Software: the Game Boy Advance has nearly 700 titles available, all of which will be playable on the Game Boy Micro.
"image-conscious" - this looks kinda plain and boring.
I wonder how this will compete against the
PSP. this is definitely inferior tech.
whoa! thats nice, i remember the disappointment when i got the original gba and discovered there was no backlight, duh! even the afterburner mod couldnt do the magic proper, then nintendo released the gba sp, ok it got backlight now, but the screen itself was troubled (shadows, pixel errors), now the ds seems to be ok screen-wise, but it got ugly gba rendering, horray for GBM!!!
Nintendo has been giving crap for a long time that I almost believed that handheld gaming machines cannot be any better.. until PSP came out.
I hope no one falls in their trap again.
oh man.. i want one, it looks like an old school NES controller...
this sucks, I want more info! I want the revolutionary part of it...so far I like 360 the most...and I guess a tie between PS3 and Revo.
I guess that new Gameboy is a waste..but Ill get it anyway...It should be really cheap.
can the device also play orginial gameboy color games like the sp? or just gameboy advance games?
well, i would never buy that, seeing that i alredy have a GBA what is the point of having two, cuz there so called "kool" factor isnt very tempting. it just looks like a sideways GB ( the old one )
Looks dull and boring. I won't buy it. I am not interested in a 2 inch screen.
What happened to the "evolution"? Is this it?
Bummer. I like how the current GBASP's clamshell design protects the screen. This looks like Scratch Fest '05.
Too bad I'm not digging it because I hate carrying around my headphone adapter...
better picture:
http://www.pro-g.co.uk/images/pub/misc/micro2_lrg.jpg
So, it's an update of an update?
Or will it have software of its own?
Pretty cool.. makes me want to take out the guts and stick in an old school nes controller. That would rock.
like i wanna waste another 100 when i already have the gba sp. nintendo can kiss my butt. psp is light years ahead of nintendo
The Game Boy SP is pefect the way it is. Why would I want this, the only reason MAYBE would be for the audio jack but I honestly haven't played my GBA SP since I got the PSP - I don't see this making me want to play it more.
Is it possible to give a company a delay of game penalty? Because I feel that's what this day was for Nintendo.
My dreams of some sort of Gamecube Portable were thrashed today. That would have killed the PSP if it would even be possible. Too bad.
Very disappointing. I bought a DS exclusively to play GBA games, because the screen is so much better than the GBA SP's.
But I won't get this. The DS's screen is better as it is larger (3" vs. 2"), and the DS has very good/loud stereo sound.
I also don't like the fact it doesn't fold. Come on Nintendo, the GBA SP was a perfect formfactor!
I'd much rather have a GBA SP with a better screen and louder (stereo?) speaker(s).
While this GB has a better screen than the SP, I still think the DS is better for playing GBA titles due to the better screen size and speaker setup. Not to mention it folds to protect the screen, which I like.
Nintendo, Nintendo, Nintendo... so close, yet so far. It's really too bad they didn't learn what they did right with the GBA SP and improved upon it.
This looks like it got a whole half hour of R&D time before it was rushed to production.
so this is just a re-modelled GBA SP, without the flip?
the one thing that's cool is it's prolly going to hit the market at a dirt-cheap price, and given the huge collection of GBA games, it can't hurt Nintendo at all
I don't know, it seems cool, but I think they shoudl have come out with this earlier.
I am liking the Revolution so far, but what is the revoltion part?
#13 Scotty: The GBA SP is *not* perfect, check out a DS playing GBA games sometimes, the screen is so much higher contrast it isn't funny. I love the GBA SP formfactor and design, but I just can't use mine anymore after seeing how much better GBA games look on the DS's screen. It's night and day. Literally.
just insert cell-phone tech and ...
Hey this kinda reminds me of the Nintendo Game & Watch devices from 1981 or so. I still have my multi-screen Donkey Kong... which is going for more on EBay than what I wrangled my Mom to pay for way back then (if you ignore inflation).
This is pretty sad. I love my SP and won't even bother with this one. Clearly this is meant for little kids and Nintendo fanboys who'll buy anything with Nintendo stamped on it. Way to shake that kiddie image Nintendo!
"Is it possible to give a company a delay of game penalty? Because I feel that's what this day was for Nintendo."
Best comment all day.
I was a huge fan of the old Nintendo Game & Watches (they're literally what got me into handheld gaming), and this sorta brings back those memories, but it just seems kind of pointless when the GBA SP is perfectly good as it is. Even if the screen on this is better, it's smaller, and it's exposed. I wouldn't carry this around in my pocket, which is, according to Nintendo, the whole purpose of it (they said it'll "fit in any pocket").
It seems like they got sidetracked on making this when they should have been focused on bigger, better things. Unless they really did just slap this together really quick just to have *some* sort of hardware to show today, and to release at the end of the year.
Let the games begin! This is PSP's competition, not DS.
Hmmm....I guess I'm Nintendo's demographic. I don't have an SP or a DS mainly due to size(yes I know it isn't that big, but big enough for me), but this looks pocketable enough that it wouldn't be too much of an issue. As far as those concerned about it being exposed.....I'm sure there will be plenty of aftermarket cases available. Vaja anyone?
They should have added a phone, 4 gig harddisk, camera and all other things in my pocket would have been obsolete.
Only way I'll buy this is if it's under fifty bucks.
this thing looks like poo. the current GBA SP rocks hard compared to it. yawn...back to my PSP
screen may be too small on this. can you play Advance Wars on this w/o squinting?
Image conscious? Pfeh! These people obviously have not seen my NES-styled GBA SP. The thing is downright sexy with its mixture of old-school and modern.
And the GBA SP is a fantastic gaming platform. It's almost the only place left you can even GET an RPG with turn based battles!
Yeah, I guess I'm just the person Nintendo is going after. From the expanded photos that thing is hardly any bigger then the GBA cartridges themselves. Something that just slips in a regular pocket means I'll be much more likely to carry it, which is a requirement for me to ever PLAY it. If I want fancy 3d graphics I'll stay at home, just give me something to play some quick games, and put it in a real person form-factor and you've got me sold.
Nostalgia can only sell game systems for a limited time.
Nintendo used to be the innovator, now this throwback to the Game and Watch that plays only existing games is coming on the market and next year the Revolution will let everyone play Mario and Dragon Warrior again.
Will that be enough to tempt people away from the new stuff? I'm inclined to say no.
Hey, Nintendo, while you're looking back into the past see if you can find yourself there.
Liked if it doesn't look like a toy! If it's made in Aluminum or titanium; it's a must have...
please Nintendo add flash card and mp3/audio functions that would be a machine i would definitely buy, instead of the "huge" (in size, reminds me of the Sega Lynx) and bloated PSP (still like the id?and functions of PSP), but this is sweet.
It might be okay, I might get it as I sold my GBA to get my DS. But only if it's cheap and can play tetris
can someone explain to me the market for the psp/gameboy advance or gameboy micro. i had a gameboy pocket in middle school but i doubt that nerdy middle school boys who take long car trips is the only market for these things. does any self respecting adult have a portable game device? besides someone who rides the trains to and from work, are these things only for teenagers and younger? maybe im just missing something. saying all that, i still think its cool but i dont know when i would need or use a portable game player. portable game player/mp3 player, now thats something. give me a 60 gb gmini and im set.
"Nintendo used to be the innovator, now this throwback....... "
*cough DS Online *cough
Again, we see that Nintendo tries to repeat history with its Game Boy Micro. In the past, Nintendo has experienced tremedous success when it introduced the Game Boy Pocket, a smaller version of the huge, dated original Game Boy. Now we have Game Boy Micro, which is a smaller, simpler, and "better" version of the GBA.
But time changes; Nintendo no longer rules the handheld land. With the emerges of cell phones, PDAs, and the Sony's PSP, Nintendo will lose the handheld war if they can't come up with the wow factors that can exceed the standards set by its rival Sony's PSP.
Do we really want to spend money for a smaller, plainer N64 or GameCube? Not likely. So it is less likely that we would buy another portable GBA that has only 2" LCD screen, even if it costs less than $50.
It's time for Nintendo to stop reminiscening the "good old time" and come up with fresh ideas if they want to survive. No, Pokemon 2 won't do it.
um, if the gmini is a apple thing i think it was an april fools joke. sorry
I think some of you read into it FAR too much. Some of you really think this is a life line Nintendo is betting on? They know full well it's just a bizarre addition to their line up.
Incidiently, I think younger generation won't quite understand what the hell they're up to with this one. They're targetting mid 20s upward, I should think.
Gahd...
PSP :: Micro
Apples :: Oranges
Not everything smaller than a breadbox should be compared to the PSP.
This is garbage!! I cant believe this is supposed to compete against my psp.. Obviously psp is going to continue to take market share from nintendo until they come out with a next generation device. Why would I buy this, I don't care is there is a million old 8bit games for this thing! The graphics suck. Im not going to buy any device that plays games that are worse than super nintendo! It doesn't matter how small it is, this is a cheap marketing trick for nintendo! SHAME on YOU nintendo ~!
brian potopowicz (40), until you realize that there's more than graphics to games you're part of the problem, not the solution. Also, the Micro is surely not intended to threaten your PeniSP superiority.
Bryan (38),
There is another market there in kids that can't afford a PSP or are too young for one. I think the target demo for PSP is def. on the older, both warranted by content, price, and device longevity/durability.
Younger and older, with PSP getting gobled up by angst ridden teens :-)
Also, I love the PSP; just loathe non-sensical assclown fanboys.
#34:
I cannot understand why everyone wants hardware that does 4502 different things and not one of them well. Just for once, accept the fact that this will play games, and will do it well.
If you already have a GBA:SP or a DS, there probably isnt much reason to buy the Micro. If you dont, this might be a good place to start, seeing as though I cant see it selling for more than $50, and the size factor is much better than either of their other options.
as an older, more casual gamer who hasn't had a portable gaming device since the GBC, the micro looks very appealing to me (depending on the price). i'm more likely to get this than either the DS or the PSP.
I don't think you guys understand just how well the GBA and the SP still sell. These figures are for Japan as of May 1st but its just an example.
Total hardware sales Jan 1st to May 1st Japan:
PS2 - 828,824
PSP - 796,654
DS - 739,557
SP - 280,128
GC - 99,574
GBA - 9,594
xbox - 6,360
(Yes thats right the old GBA is outselling the xbox in Japan)
You might find this odd but just like the MTV launch of the xbox 360 this product is pretty much not designed for most of the people who post or even visit sites like this. I think your going to find it have a very low price point and is going to be the last and final version of the GBA before the new gameboy which I expect to hear about next E3. I would like to point out Sony did something similar with the original playstation it was called the PSone. Then you have the slim PS2 that just came out.
I really think of it this way. Nintendo is a business its job is to make money. Really I think they do a better job of it then even Sony does (Nintendo's profits are higher then the game division of Sony's (not that the rest of the company is doing so great)). Nintendo views this as one more way to make money off an old console.
I want to see a new gameboy but really I don't think its going to happen til next year. I think its going to be launched a few months after the Revolution and I bet its going to be designed to hook up to the revolution and will be capable of playing the games you download off the revolution online service.
For those afraid of screen scratching...
The face plates are removable and replacable.
(And hopefully will come in a "NES Controller" skin ;)
I don't get it.
I agree, I like the simplistic monolithic design of the Revo over the ps3 and 360. Kind of hope they keep it, but a small design feature here and there could liven it up a bit. But i prefer the sleekness of the ps3 over the cheap looking pasty whiteness of the 360. it does remind you of a dell optiplex (shudders)...
another big thing that microsoft has against them that sony and ninten have is something that will a bigger issue later on: portability. Both sony and nintend have the capability of continuing the entertainment experience outside the living room, with the PSP and the DS. The 360 is limited to the moment u turn it on, and the moment you turn it off. In this world of fast-paced society, not everyone has time to f' around for hours configuring a character. It'd be awesome to start a configuration or something, then go to Panera bread with a hot spot, whip out your DS or PSP and connect Wi-Fi to your Revo or your your PS3, and finish your character. The
I saw a GBA at a yard sale last weekend (for $10). This is garbage. I rather buy a joystick with old-school games then this piece of junk. PSP is the way to go, bar none.
to #49
Well it's defietly cheaper than the PSP, And I find the DS hard to carry around. And the GBA SP is hard to play during class :P A thing that small would be nice, Take it anytime anywhere without even noticing it's there. Heck! take a freakin' string strap it around you neck and poof! it's the geek's BLING!!(it's a neclace). I would definetly buy that to play me fire emblem and other crap, as long as it's under $100(it should be).
Got bored of class? whip it out! easily fits behind any book! Oh! and New feature! Headphone jack! spiff!(Stupid Ninty, you had to rip that off the SP!!)
Although one of me friends was daring enough to play his DS in class, but the DS has that cool feature where you flip down the screen and it auto-saves, love that feature.
Hope they still make that GBE/Portable GC thing,I would like some Metroid or Zelda on the go!
Actually, it's not geared towards American kids, it's geared towards the very different Japanese market. Japan being a place where gaming is the norm and the public is incredibly image-conscious. So, yeah, maybe it will flop and fail in the states, but I'm suspecting it will do fine in the Japanese market.
Um... how do you press the start and select buttons? It looks really inconvenient.
Calih
Calih
I'm pretty sure that 1/2 inch traverse between the d-pad/a&b buttons wont be a huge problem for any normal persons thumbs.
Wow, this is the beginning of the end for Nintendo. I don't see anyone over the age of 12 buying that thing.
Sigh...
For anyone who says "I refuse to buy it", "I don't get why..", etc, just read #45. It's dead on. If you still don't understand, then it means you're too young (or your mind is too young) to understand business.
You realize Nintendo probably spends more money than you'll ever see in your lifetimes doing research on market conditions, test groups, etc. right? So while it probably feels great to inflate your egos and claim that anything you don't understand is a terrible idea, well... I really hope none of you become CEOs or acquire any sort of meaningful power.
Nintendo knows the PSP has much better hardware than the DS. But launching a new system now would be suicidal. Do you have any idea how much money they pumped into the DS? On top fo that, the DS is currently outselling PSP in Japan by THREE times (thanks to Nintendogs). Yes, they're losing market share, but they're still pushing out more units than the GBA originally was. Could that mean PSP and DS can co-exist? Wouldn't it be better if they did co-exist? ATI/Nvidia or Intel/AMD anyone?
The Micro is just simply another option for a different target market. Think ipod. Get it? If you have an SP, look away! Micro will probably be cheaper/more portable. It's the same reason why the Shuffle sells so well. The shuffle (save memory size) was like a first-gen flash player in a world of 4-5th gen flash players. Also, for those of you who own an SP, Nintendo doesn't expect you to buy a Micro if you have a SP. You are not their market segment.
Sadly, the only people who understand what I'm trying to say probably already knew this in the first place.
WHY WHY WHY WHY?!?!!!
Why does Nintendo keep releasing handhelds with the A button higher than the B button????? The natural way to hold a controller/gameboy is with your thumb-tip on the leftmost button (B on Gameboy/NES, Y on SNES) and with the other part of your thumb on the other one (A on Gameboy/NES, B on SNES. Go ahead. Hold this MIcro thing with your right elbow all jerked out like that. HOW is that ergonomic in ANY way??? The SP has the same problem, but it's close enough to aligned that it's no big deal, but this Micro looks like it's even more offset. Can someone explain to me what the thinking is?
This thing looks like a piece of junk, at least in the shape its in here. I see what they are going for here: a sort of rip of the ipod mini meets the original NES controller, but this just isn't cutting the mustard.
The buttons and especially the d-pad need to change to make this thing look cool at all. And even if it does look "cool" there is still a tremendous uphill battle to compete with the PSP. Nintendo is going to need more than this.
This probably the best strategy Big N has to offer now. and maybe smart too.
They know they've captured a huge portion of the portable gaming market. It looks like they're trying to use their portable gaming knowledge to fill in the cracks before their next release. And the DS is looking better and better with each quarter. It looks like classic brand management to me. They did this with GB Pocket, then GB Color. Why upset their business model just because some big bada** PSP came to town?
As for the GBM itself, it looks like something someone besides some of the geeks posting here would actually be attracted too, like some cute g/f. if it had a flip cover and a clock, it'll be perfect. Got it Nintendo? FLIP COVER AND CLOCK!
To me, Big N seems to have to things going for them - lots of portable games, and customer loyalty. Everyone else just seems to be some tech geek looking for big numbers.
I really think this looks very cool, think I'll get one when it comes.
The size and the simple clean design of it :) it looks beautiful.
They dont even have to put a nintendo logo on it, that d-pad just screams oldschool nes controller :) Beautiful.
can't relate to ppl that compare this device with the psp, it makes no sense at all.
I'll stick with my NES version GBA thank you.
I bought one about a year ago, only because it looked like an old school NES controller...absolutely zero reason to guy this one, besides the clam shell is way better!
I have a PSP, 2 N-Gages, and 4 GameBoys, but I will probably buy this as well...depending on price...
Here are some variations of the Gameboy Mini i would like to see!
http://www.180-media.com/gb/index.html
I do like the way it looks. Very clean and simple lines that showcase the screen, rather than distract from it.
But I'm never even going to buy one.
Nintendo obviously has spent a considerable amount of money and time into researching and developing before they introduce any new systems. A successful video game company (you can't argue that Nintendo is not successful because I know you have a Nintendo system of somekind in your home), they know the minds of gamers.
Now, the Micro is not for everyone. It is impossible to design a video game system exact to everyone's liking. But what the Micro is targeted at lies in the market of true Nintendo fans. They are the ones who own GBA, DS, and GB. If you are not a Nintendo fan, chances are you wouldn't pay for any of their systems, thus not for the Micro.
Keep in mind that the Micro wasn't design to compete with the PSP, but rather as a retro, hip look for the Ipod generation who are more likely to concern with accessorizing their electronic devices with cool looks. The DS, not the Micro, is Nintendo's dull weapon against the PSP.
Will the Nintendo Micro withstand in the brutal battles between the consoles war? Let it know that the force with it!
Having a DS, but no SP, I'd buy one if it happens to play the old B&W and color carts.
Re: #57 (Button layout)
Many people hold it so that if you draw a line connecting the A and B buttons, yout thumb is roughly perpendicular to that line. That means that rolling your thumb to one side or the other is a perfectly natural motion for them. It's what I do, and given the amount of testing their designs tend to get, I'm betting it's what Nintendo sees as the most common way to hold the system.
All that said, if you want fancy graphics, a convergence device, or if you're already happy with your GBA compatible system, the micro isn't for you. It's for the people who want the fastest-booting, fastest-access, most durable handheld, and yet haven't bought one already. No existing GBA owner needs the micro, although I can imagine that some will get it just for the backlight.
Yes, the PSP is a more powerful system. Heck, so is the DS. But honestly, with the marketshare that Nintendo has, you either have a GBA, want a GBA, or don't care about a GBA. They're not too concerned about converting the PSP fanboys, as the "want" market is still huge.
The same people who think that the GBM is a disaster probably thought the iPod Mini would be a disaster. Just because it is handheld does not mean that it will compete with the PSP.
Nintendo is working to diversify its' customer base by leveraging the huge library of GBA games. Sounds pretty smart to me.
Behold followers, meet your new king,
Oh no, not Browsers, 'cuz he stinks,
He will rule all of the near and far land,
The fantasy land you can play with your hands.
No you perverts, use your hands with Micro,
Bow to him, 'cuz I say so,
The new king fits in your pocket,
With anywhatever else you stuck in it.
King needs his knights, followers,
This great battle against PSPers.
So pick up your kitchen knifes, knights!
Support your king through the night.
Your king is tiny, I know, I know,
Good things come in small package, it showed.
Protect the great land of Nindento,
Go out and spend your dough!
I might get this, but only because the only Game Boy I own now is the Gameboy Pocket.
I like the form factor, and the styling is much better than that of the DS.
The biggest problem with the Nintendo game systems is that they have too many repackaged Super NES and N64 titles. I've played most of the games I'd want to buy. I played them ten years, even fifteen years ago.
How about a new Mario game that puts the Super Mario 64 gameplay in completely new levels? That would make me buy a DS.
How about some games that borrow the play mechanics from Super Mario World or Paper Mario, but create completely different games?
If Nintendo has a good price on this when it comes out, and if I can find some games that aren't re-releases or remakes of games I'm already bored with, I'll buy this in the fall.
Wow...Nintendo really likes making different versions of the same thing. How is this better than SP? How can it even pray to compete with PSP? Fewer and fewer good GBA games are coming out...what's the point?
#55
I'm in ninth grade (15 years old) and I'm gonna get it the first time I see it in a store. I've asked a couple of my friends and showed a picture of it to em' and 7/9 people I showed this to is gonna buy, maybe not the second it's gonna come out, but it will be bought.
I think this will increase GBA game sales alot. Y? Well I, have over the years lost most of me GBA games. And now that this things out I think I'll go re-buy the big titles, like me favs. fire emblem, acvance wars, pokemon ruby/saphire, goldensun, ect.
I actually have a hard time playing any 3D game on the bus, the bus rocks around too much, hard to coordinate in a 3D game enviroment. I think the old pixelated graphics are much more suitable in a car ride because you don't get nausiated after a while.
Well whatever, I'll gonna go get one, and they better have a metroid prime 2 face plates!
When it comes out, video game stores will probably have them set up as demo stations for games, (gamestop, Electronics Boutique, et cetera...) so that we can test them out. If I like it, I'll prob'ly get it (and a covering sleeve :P ) if I have the money on hand.
Or I'll just trade in my SP. (STANDARD HEADPHONE JACK.)
In response to #59, for there to be a clock, they'd have to add it onto the corner of the GBM, or write it into the GBA BIOS.
I personally like it. It would, however be AWESOME if Nintendo decided to add a HD or even an SD slot for MP3's and pics. I'm on the buy list if they add some real features(i.e- clock, calculator..etc.) to it.
The headphone jack is what I love. I'm trying to save up for a PSP, so if, for some reason, I can sell my GBA SP for more than this costs, or maybe the same price, I'll buy it. This thing looks like it'll be pretty cheap anyway.
The Micro is obviously not meant to compete with the PSP. It's just a tiny GBA. If you want graphics get a PSP. If you want portability get a Micro.
btw@engadget: did you ever notice that, instead of "80 paperclips", you can also say 80 grams?
Metric units are really nice ;)
confucious says:
no gaming device worth the common man's day's worth of wages should be small enough to be flushable.
Ok, for all the people who hate nintendo... to solve all the problems out there...
to mainly break it down for you, all the people who made the gba, and the people who made the ds should be slapped, no offense....
ok to get to the point, the ds sucks, its like four to six decks of cards in your pocket... seriously, and my cell phone is enough for me...
and the phone i have is a Sidekick II... now the people that made that cell phone knew what the hell they were doing...
oh and i've dropped my phone numerous amounts of times and scratches dont bother me..., oh i love the scratches... just reminds me of how good of a product it is so i dont have to worry when i do drop it.... wahhhhhhhhh consumers...
oh yeah, the guys who made the Sidekick II should get together with nintendo and pimp out the Nintendo DS... Bling Bling there for ya Paris Hilton.. "That's Hot!"... oh yeah...
and the DS is a flop, i got it, it sucked, so i gave it to my bro... it wasn't even worth trading in... so i bought a psp...
But i am looking forward to the Revolution, way to kick Sony's ass... because the ps3 sucks my big exploited deleted.
Nintendo rules so quit your dissin' Pizout!!!!
whats up
ps. the micro is awesome, way to go nintendo,... if nintendo gives me one to free, ill put a big nintendo sticker on my back windshield...
also, that's hot, thanks Paris Hilton... ur awesome.
Over the years I have purchased 4 GBs, 2 GBC, 4 GBSP and one DS. (I also own all the consoles and have 5 computers networked for network/online gaming) Console/computer gaming and portable gaming are 2 different animals for me. I enjoy them for differnet experiences. I will buy the new micro because it hits a sweet spot in portable gaming with a great size and form factor, improved screen, good battery life (I hope) and great catalogue of quick/easy and fun games. And I am one of the growing number of over 50 gamers (been playing since before many of you were born, hehe)
I like how your "Think Faster! with Natrol brainSpeed" advertisement has nothing to do with the Gameboy micro but you guys will not acknowledge any promos or ads we have to offer. Your rules suck!
I'll buy it if it has a Link Port. Otherwise, it's in my "Crap If You Buy" list.
I sold my SP long ago, even though I was an early adopter (I actually imported a few months before US release!) and enjoyed it immensely for a short time. The problem was that the SP was a bit bulky, and I was getting frustrated with the sub-par releases at the time. I don't like Zelda. I don't like anime. I don't like platformers. Really, all I played was Advance Wars and Fire Pro Wrestling. The GBA Micro is a great idea. It lets me keep a game system on me at all times without taking up space. I love my PSP, but it is something that I wouldn't carry everywhere due to size. The Micro is going in my back pocket and staying there!
I got to play one of these at E3. It was pretty cool, they had them tethered to like 4 hot women. Each woman had 4 of them attached to cables on their belts.
Beleive it or not, the 2" screen is not bad at all. It comes across as a mini PSP screen more than a mini SP screen. It is comfortable to hold as well(for the 4 minutes I played it).
Pop in your flash card with about 50 old school NES games on it, and you're set to go. Playing this thing in public just looks like you are playing a cell phone game. I own a PSP, and I would never take it out in public. Do you know what a tool you would look like playing a PSP in public? Not to mention if you dropped a PSP. Then again I'm 30 years old so I'm sure I look like a tool playing any game in public.
The only change that I would make would be putting a metal tab on it so you can hook it to your keychain.
Peace
this just seems pointless to me...retire the GB already, Nintendo!
Whoosh, the fanboys are out today. Never trust anyone who can make either: A. Sure-thing predictions about the future. B. Who can make firmly unshakeable opinions about nothing and with no relevant knowledge or experience.
Remember, PSP fanboys the DS it outselling the PSP by a factor of more than 5-to-1 in worldwide and US sales (NPD Data, among others). The PSP is no slouch, but it's hardly going to "destroy" Nintendo, which as far as I can tell might as well been the advertising moniker for you ridiculous fanboys.
Get over yourselves and stop using corporations as some twisted and silly penis extension.
i thought the ds was the new gameboy can u plz write if u r bringing any pokemon games out for the ds and gameboy micro and can u tell me when the gameboy micro will be released in england
Why are you comparing PSP to the micro. I wouldn't even place PSP in the portable catagory if it can barely fit into a common pair of jeans! The Micro will be more space efficient and cost efficient. I'm not paying 250 for a game system that needs another bag to be placed in
Is this the 8th Gameboy iteration? Why do people keep buying Nintendo's crap? As long as they will, Nintendo's going to keep re-packaging the same system for all the fools out there who keep buying them.
Does anybody have any information on the projected MSRP? I've heard from an unreliable source that it will run about $60
This is a good signe that Nintendo will continue developing games for GBA!
I've gotta respond to the idiot that said "Is this the 8th Gameboy iteration? Why do people keep buying Nintendo's crap? As long as they will, Nintendo's going to keep re-packaging the same system for all the fools out there who keep buying them."
It's not an iteration, dumbass. It's what every company should now be doing. Sure, it only took the Game Boy (or even the Atari 7800, or possibly earlier, Stella Artois is to blame for this rant..) to promote backwards compatability, but raise the bar technology wise....
Bottom line chump, if you don't like don't buy.
(Don't take this as a fanboy comment, despite me buying an immmaculate NES with Mario Bros with Zapper (with no Duck Hunt? - Soon Corrected) and two pads for - dun dun DUUUUN... 2 sterling = about $5 + GBA + GC + My love for Nintendo, astounding hate for $ony but a strange perverse affection for Microsoft.... Oh well..)
When commenting:
1. We're very interested in what you decide not to buy. Make sure you tell us that you aren't going to buy it, because you have an SP, or a PSP. How dare a company release a product you don't plan to buy.
2. Speaking of PSP's, be sure to compare this to that. Nintendo specifically released this to compete with the PSP, so we'd like to hear your thoughts on that.
3. Brag about all your consoles/handheld devices/mp3 players/etc. Or you could cut to the chase and tell us how long your penis is.
Man, my DVD player sucks. It doesn't even play games!
What the hell is wrong with Nintendo? Do they not realize they're digging a hole for themselves with such a dumb idea? I use to be an avid gamer when I was younger but even though I don't play games it's obvious to me the executive idiots at Nintendo are living in the past - Sony is controlling the whole industry and they refuse to take note and fight back with logical and practical gaming machines - if those idiots and Nintendo don't stop thinking about kids as their only market, their gonna get as much profit as the allowance the kids their selling to.
I can't really understand nintendo anymore. What's the point of this new gba design? They have put in it a smaller lcd, ehi, they want us to be all blind? C'mon nintendo, I like the form factor of this new gba but I won't buy it, I can't stand anymore on the original gba due to its small screen and this have one even smaller. Give us a new gba with bigger screen on a smaller case, that's something smarter... not for nintendo anyway...
I can't understand all the comparison between gameboy and psp, wtf? I mean honestly we all know that the psp trounces it in terms of tech but at 150 more it should. Duh. think of this new design as a color instead of a new design, instead of a silver sp we now have blue etc. it's not that hard to figure out it's plainly for looks. and as it stands it looks good, anybody who can't grasp the design asthetic is clearly not the person they are marketing to. some people get it some don't, it serves it's purpose and I think it does it well. As far as I'm concerned it looks great and I might get one based soley on that...
This feels like the same thing that happened when the SP was released. Everyone was all "I'm not buying that, Nintendo should come out with NEW hardware not redone, etc." This thing will fit in my pocket easily, looks good, has a bright screen, and I'll buy it based on that alone.
This is just for the casual gamer that doesnt care if their portable system can do everything. Its just something small to carry with you so when you want to play you just play nothing else!