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Mini Space Invaders arcade cabinet big on nostalgia, small in size
Always wanted an 80's arcade cabinet for your living room, but the square footage in your studio apartment won't cooperate with your gaming plans? Well, a master mini craftsman has created a seven-inch replica of Space Invaders that can fit on your desktop, coffee table, or bedside stand. It was cobbled together using the guts of a Game Boy Advance, some lilliputian controls, and a custom cabinet coated in shrunken decals that's made of medium density fiberboard. Best of all, thanks to those Nintendo internals, there's an entire arcade's worth of games at your tiny fingertips. Between this and its diminutive Donkey Kong cousin, perhaps mini arcade cabinets are the future of gaming. Video of the little gem in action is after the break.
Free DSiWare Four Swords is the GBA version
Last week during E3, Nintendo generously announced a free release of The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords for DSiWare, playable on both DSi/XL and 3DS. The company didn't clarify, however, whether the game would be the original Four Swords multiplayer game that was packed in with A Link to the Past on GameBoy Advance, the GameCube Four Swords Adventures, or some combination of both. Nintendo confirmed to Joystiq today that the game will in fact be the GBA multiplayer game that was included with LTTP. Clarifying further, we were told "This is separate from the GameCube version," though it's still unclear what updates, if any, will be made to the DSiWare version of Four Swords -- we'd be shocked not to see some redone graphics, and how about some online multiplayer for good measure? It remains to be seen. The free download will be here in September, according to Nintendo's E3 presentation.
Game Boy Camcorder mod is a lot of work (and looks totally worth it)
At first glance, the Game Boy Camcorder mod seen above may seem like too much work for too little payoff -- but, for us, the effort is totally validated. It may not fit in your front pocket, but it's a way more interesting camcorder than your pal's boring old Flip.
Gamestop to stop buying GBA systems and games in April
If you've been waiting to snag that copy of Final Fantasy VI Advance from your local Gamestop until its price gets cut, you might want to stop putting off your purchase, as that price is about to go down from $22.99 to "We don't have any copies anymore." According to a number of our tipsters and a handful of retail locations, the store is set to stop accepting Game Boy Advance games and systems as soon as April 2. As Gamestop doesn't really get new copies of Game Boy Advance games in anymore, it seems this measure is the first step in phasing out the handheld. We've got our fingers crossed that this new policy will come with a fire sale on some of our favorite GBA titles, which we've lost while sailing the unforgiving seas of time. By which, of course, we mean we left them in our jeans, and sent them through the washing machine.
Nintendo's Game Boy Advance SP once had an autostereoscopic screen
It may seem like 3D sprung from the ashes of discontentment -- not to mention red / blue glasses -- but Nintendo never stopped believing. It's been secretly refining stereoscopic tech for years in the likes of the Game Boy Advance and GameCube. And while president Satoru Iwata already mentioned early last year that the GameCube had hidden 3D circuits, he recently revealed that the 3DS's autostereoscopic panel actually dates back to the clamshell Game Boy Advance SP. Which, as you might recall, also once sported a touchscreen. At the time, his story goes, LCD resolution was too low to generate a sharp image, but the optometrist-friendly glasses-free tech was already in place. Of course, if you truly want to consult the history books, you can consider Nintendo's entry into the market to be the Famicom 3D System shutter glasses pictured above... which hit stores in Japan way back in 1986. Yeah, we know.
Scan this footage of Super Mario Advance 4's e-Reader content
Why would anyone put their money into a GBA e-Reader and a remake of Super Mario Bros. 3, a game that everyone on Earth already has? The video after the break makes a pretty good case for why people did so, and for why you'll be headed to eBay momentarily.
Visual Boy Zune brings Game Boy emulation to Zune HD (video)
Once hacked, the Zune HD's rabid fanbase wasted no time in ensuring the device could play Doom. Now, the ZuneBoards want to give it Zelda, too. User BackAtIt has taken the wrappings off the first working emulator for Zune, which is currently capable of playing Game Boy and Game Boy Color ROMs, but little else -- though this "Visual Boy Zune" app is ported from the same VisualBoyAdvance code that's enabled handheld emulation since 2004, it's in early alpha with quite a bit of work left to do. A recent update enabled state save emulation and a ROM selector, but there's no audio output, let alone Game Boy Advance support; BackAtIt says he'll need to rewrite much of the codebase to take advantage of the Zune HD's Tegra architecture. Still, it's never too early for a proof of concept video, and you'll find two blurry ones after the break -- unless you'd rather try it out for yourself at the source link. [Thanks, MK1000]
Game Boy modded to play GBA, GBC games
Do you find yourself pining for the portable Nintendo gaming of days past, but not pining for its pea green hues? If so, then this modded Game Boy -- as in the large, boxy "released in 1989" Game Boy -- should really fit the bill. Flickr user CRTdrone has modded an original Game Boy to play every flavor of Game Boy title, including Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance and, of course, original Game Boy. According to the description, the mod relies on the guts of a Game Boy Advance SP and all the buttons, the rechargeable battery and even the headphone jack are in working order. The shoulder buttons, if you're wondering, have been relegated to tiny buttons on either side of unit. The creator will be making "a couple more" and possibly documenting the process. So stay tuned if you want to make one of these bad boys for yourself. [Via Tiny Cartridge]
Original Game Boy gets the Advance treatment courtesy of retro-loving modder
The original Game Boy will forever hold a special place in our hearts, but spend a few minutes squinting at an original model and you'll quickly realize that even nostalgia can't make up for that horrible green screen. That's been banished in this custom version, courtesy of modder CRTdrone, which features GBA SP internals housed in an original GB chassis. This gives it compatibility with Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and of course GBA games, along with a rechargeable battery and even working shoulder buttons inserted into the sides. All we have to go on at the moment is this picture plus a few comments from the man himself, but CRTdrone is promising full details of the mod are to come, which entails "just removing parts and re-wiring basically." They always make it sound so simple.
Nintendo DSi XL review
Since Nintendo first asserted sole domination over the handheld gaming market with the release of the paperback-sized Game Boy in 1989, the company has striven time and again to make its pocket systems smaller, meeting fantastic financial success along the way. Nintendo did it with the Game Boy Pocket, the Advance SP, the Micro, the DS Lite and again ever so slightly with the DSi -- the last even at the expense of backwards compatibility and battery life. Now, for the first time in the company's history, it's made an existing platform bigger, with questionable reasons as to why. Does the Nintendo DSi XL squash its predecessors flat? Or is Nintendo compensating for something? Find out inside. %Gallery-89058%
Collect some Mega Man Zero Collection screens and art
Capcom passed along some screens and artwork of its upcoming Mega Man Zero Collection for DS, though the screens look suspiciously singular. Essentially, these are screenshots of the Game Boy Advance originals, without the DS's second screen. But since the screens focus on the important bit (the actual games), and because many people interested in this collection probably haven't been exposed to the original games, we're posting them anyway. As a nice bonus, Capcom also sent out artwork featuring Zero looking pretty freaking cool. Mega Man Zero Collection arrives in stores early this summer. %Gallery-86228%
We heart these USB drives made from GBA carts
8Bit Memory, the Etsy merchant who first caught our attention with its external hard drives disguised as NES cartridges, has rolled out another re-use for a proprietary Nintendo storage medium: Game Boy Advance cartridges retrofitted as USB flash drives. They're not cheap -- an 8GB drive is $49.99 -- but they're undeniably cool. The standard-issue drive comes housed in a Super Mario Advance cart with a key ring and (unfortunately) non-retractable USB connector. 8Bit Memory says it has other games in stock (with more to come) so you can, for instance, request a Metroid Fusion cart instead. We're not sure what it'll do with GameCube and Wii discs, But we'd imagine a Wind Waker desk clock would look mighty nice. [Via GoNintendo]
Video: iPhone crammed into Game Boy Advance
At first glance, this iPhone / GBA mod by Goteking seems pretty novel. It has the classic charm of the Game Boy Advance coupled with the technical wizardry of the iPhone. And, as many Joystiq staffers noticed, it handily conjures up hilarious memories of the Nokia n-gage. However, upon realizing that the mod is literally just an iPhone crammed into an empty GBA shell, the cruel joke is revealed. You see, despite the lovely, responsive physical buttons surrounding the display, you'll still be forced to use the awful, unintuitive virtual buttons to control your games. Ah well, we're sure it's still good for at least a few sidetalking jokes. See a video of the mod in action after the break. [Via TinyCartridge]
iPhone 3GS PlayStation, Game Boy Advance emulators demoed on video
A final iPhone 3GS jailbreak hasn't been released yet, but that isn't stopping enterprising hackers from trying to get at all that extra horsepower, and some of the first notable hacks we've seen are these updated PlayStation 1 and Game Boy Advance emulator ports, which run way faster than the versions for the original and 3G. The revved up hardware in Apple's latest is apparently capable of running either of these at 150 - 225fps with zero frameskipping, which is pretty impressive. Of course, we'll be way more impressed when the Dev Team releases a 3GS jailbreak and we can hit these up ourselves, but in the meantime there are plenty of videos to with which to while away the time at the read links.Read - Emulator videosRead - ZoTTD blog post with more info
DSi project leader reveals unreleased Nintendo handhelds
Man, the folks over at this year's Game Developer's Conference are having all the fun -- and now the Joystiq crew just got a rare look at two Game Boy models that never made it to production, unveiled during a talk by the project leader for the development of the DSi, Masato Kuwahara. The first, developed around 1995, was labeled "Game Boy Advance Predecessor," and was based on a 32-bit ARM RISC processor. The project stalled in development due to poor graphics performance. The second device was essentially a touch-screen Game Boy Advance SP, with a clamshell case thrown in for good measure. Apparently, this one didn't make the cut due to its lack of a backlit display. We've got a picture of that one for you too -- and it does look somewhat familiar. Check it after the break.
DSiWare to include Game Boy and Game Boy Advance downloads?
We really would like to think this is inevitable, but it's just been sourced from Nintendo itself (albeit at a GameStop meetup) that the DSi might be getting Game Boy and Game Boy Advance titles as downloadable DSiWare -- in addition to previously announced apps like browsers and calculators. This was heard second-hand from a Club Nintendo member, and Nintendo has pointed out to the folks at Kombo that reported it that so far such functionality has only been announced for Japan, but didn't go on the deny it outright. If it does come true we're supposed to expect some first party titles out of the gate, with all games being region locked and ranging from $5 to $8. There were also mumblings of playing downloaded titles off of SD cards, which Nintendo shot down as well, but hopefully we'll at least be able to make backups -- we're still waiting on similar functionality for the Wii.[Via Joystiq]
Rumor: Downloadable Game Boy and GBA games as DSiWare
According to a secondhand report from one of last night's GameStop Club Nintendo DSi preview events, Nintendo is planning to release Game Boy and Game Boy Advance games as downloads in the DSi Shop. According to Kombo's "man on the scene," only first-party Nintendo titles will be offered at first.Other details from the event: Apparently, North American DSiWare includes three pricing levels: free, 500 Points, and 800 Points, which differs from the Japanese model in that there's no 200 Point category. The event seemingly confirms the Mario and Animal Crossing calculators for North America as well, though both of those are in the 200 Point category in Japan.Of course, like all news that comes from something heard at GameStop, take this with as much salt as you can find.%Gallery-33263%
DS shipments surpass Game Boy Advance
The DS has been quite the success for Nintendo since it released. So successful, in fact, that shipments for the handheld worldwide have bested that of Nintendo's Game Boy Advance, as the DS has shipped 84.33 million units by the end of September 2008 (GBA lifetime shipments come in at 81.36 million units). Impressive, sure, but there's still higher places the handheld can climb on Mt. Awesome Accomplishments. While besting the GBA record is noteworthy, the record still goes to the original Game Boy, which has done 118.69 million units. This figure includes the Game Boy Color, as well.
What is Art Style: Orbient? Watch and find out
The Nintendo Channel updated with fresh videos today, most important of which is a gameplay video showing off Nintendo's new WiiWare title, Art Style: Orbient. Our own JC noted that the title looked a lot like Orbital, a Bit Generations game for the GBA. Sure enough, it is! Head past the break for some gameplay footage of Nintendo's new game.
Bacteria's "Mini-Platform" gets GBA'd
British modder Bacteria really likes cartridges. The bigger the better. He turned an entire N64 console into a gigantic, beige cart, then took a slew of cheap plug 'n play games and did the same -- though smaller and minus the neutral tones. He dubbed that latest creation the Mini-Platform Plug'n'Play Console System, and promised that Game Boy Advance integration was coming soon. Two weeks later it's here courtesy of a little solder and hot glue, opening up the massive library of Game Boy and Advance titles. Yeah, the system isn't much to look at, and with an entire GBA hanging off the back it's pushing the limits of the word "mini." But, it is an intrepid hack and, like his others, he's more than happy to tell you how he did it. Video of this meaty portable in action after the break.
