Game Boy Advance
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Play GBA games (badly) on the Wii
While Nintendo is quick to tout the Wii's extensive backward-compatibility with all GameCube software, the sleek white system is a pretty bad fit for the Cube's Game Boy Player hardware add-on. Rather than leaving that clunky old Cube out in the entertainment center, Wii News recommends the Datel Advance Game Port, a sleek-looking accessory that plugs into the GameCube/Wii memory card slot and lets you play Game Boy Advance games on the big screen. What Wii News doesn't tell you is that the Datel Advance Game Port is a buggy mess. In our reviews of the discontinued hardware, games ran with inconsistent slowdown, laggy controls and audio problems. What's more, the port only plays Game Boy Advance games, unlike the official Game Boy Player, which works with games dating all the way back to the black-and-white classic portable. If you're really desperate for Game Boy games on your TV, spring for the Nintendo-approved solution and not this third-party knock-off. Or just sit around and wait for the oft-rumored addition of Game Boy support for the Virtual Console.
Today's tiniest game video: Wii played on Game Boy Advance
Okay, before y'all fall over yourselves telling us that he's using a special cartridge allowing him to pipe in a video signal to his Game Boy Advance, let us beat you to the punch -- we know that. It still looks pretty cool playing the Wii on a GBA screen. Though why you would even want to do this is an entirely different matter. Also, just forget about that sucker being portable. For now, it's just a nifty little "Gee whiz!" feature that'll make you pine for a Wii Boy Portable one day. We can dream.Peep the vid after the jump and imagine everything else you can play on that tiny screen, thus destroying your eyesight and/or going blind. You've been warned.
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Nintendo responds to Game Boy accident that killed UK boy
Nintendo of Europe has offered its condolences to the family of Connor O'Keefe, the seven-year-old UK boy who was electrocuted and tragically killed last Saturday when unplugging his Game Boy power supply. Connor was vacationing with his family in Thailand when the fatal accident occurred. The UK (230V/50Hz) and Thailand (220V/50Hz) use similar voltage standards.Nintendo did not issue any further comments, claiming that details of the incident were still unclear. Police have declared the tragedy an accident. "No blame has been attached," said Lt. Colonel Sopol Borirok.
Kid arrested for stealing Xmas present from under tree
What ever happened to the ol' lump of coal punishment? A South Carolina woman decided her son was so out of line when he stole the Game Boy Advance she had purchased as his Christmas present that she had the 12 year-old arrested. He was charged, as a juvenile, with petty larceny.The GBA theft follows an alleged string of offenses carried out by the boy, including shoplifting, stealing from mom's wallet, and punching a cop. At his court appearance, the mother will seek to turn her son over to the state Department of Juvenile Justice.
A financial look at the "console war"... how each is faring
The third calendar quarter has come to a close and with it, some financial statements from Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft. What does this matter, you ask? Looking at the earnings can really cut through the internet hype, jargon, rumors, and walls of flame and really show you whether or not a company is in trouble (financially). Let's start with the company that's in trouble: Sony.Sony has reported earnings that have "plummeted 94 percent to $14.4 million because of costs related to its laptop battery recall. But it also reported a $369 million operating loss in its video game business because of start-up costs for the PlayStation 3. Sony's game revenues decreased 20 percent to $1.4 billion from a year ago because of a decline in PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 2 sales, as well as a price cut on the PS2." Ouch! There's also a ton of spare PS3 inventory in Japan (save the blue laser diodes, we imagine) and $3 billion short term and long term debt. They've got $4.7 billion in cash, though, so they're not "under" yet. Should the PS3 fail, Sony will have one hell of a time coming back.Microsoft, naturally, has a war chest of cash -- $31.4 billion (in gold bullions, too!). Let's talk sales: "sales rose 70 percent in the Entertainment and Devices division, which includes games, to $1.03 billion in the quarter. The division cut its loss from $173 million a year ago to $96 million. Microsoft says it is on target to hit profitability by the fiscal year that ends June 30, 2008." On XBL, there are over 4 million subscribers. Even more good news (for Microsoft, they're probably throwing a $2.3 million party for this) is that the 360 consoles in Japan that come bundled with Blue Dragon have sold out. Yep, all 20 of them (joking, joking).What of Nintendo? "Nintendo reported sales of $2.5 billion, up 69 percent from a year earlier. Net income was $458.6 million, up from a loss a year ago. Nintendo has $6.6 billion in cash. Nintendo is forecasting sales of $6.2 billion and profits of $843 million for the year ended March 31, 2007." Everything else is pudding -- of course they're selling tons of DS's and GBA's... Nintendo's doing well, as usual (GameCube aside).
Handheld history reveals PSP's slim figure [Update 1]
Joystiq, the attention-craving parent site to PSP Fanboy, recently compared the sizes of history's greatest handhelds. When looking at the handhelds in size order, one can see that the PSP sits smack in the middle. Game Boy micro: 5.6 cubic inches Game Boy Advance SP: 9.81 cubic inches DS Lite: 12.96 cubic inches Wonderswan: 13.33 cubic inches Wonderswan Color: 14.1 cubic inches Wonderswan Crystals: 14.68 cubic inches Neo Geo Pocket Color: 17.35 cubic inches Sony PSP: 17.52 cubic inches Game Boy Advance: 17.64 cubic inches GP2X: 19.61 cubic inches DS Phat: 22.01 cubic inches Game Boy: 26.39 cubic inches Gamepark 32: 26.83 cubic inches Sega Nomad: 49.36 cubic inches Game Gear: 50.86 cubic inches Atari Lynx: 68.53 cubic inches We should be thankful that the PSP is no monstrosity like the Game Gear... Then again, I did love my Game Gear (pictured).[Thanks, Zebulunite!][Update 1: Whoa, how did that HTML glitch happen? It totally wasn't like that when I typed it. Anyways, fixed.]
Nintendo MP3 player for DS coming this fall?
Music-hungry Nintendo fanboys in Japan have already been able to get their fix in the form of the Play-Yan adapter for the DS and Game Boy Advance/Micro, but it looks like the rest of us might soon be able to rock some beats between bouts of New Super Mario Bros as well if this latest bit of info pans out. According to a brochure that reportedly surfaced at the Leipzig Games Convention, Nintendo is set to release an MP3 player adapter for the DS and Game Boy Advance this fall -- October 6th to be specific (in Europe, at least) -- and like the Play-Yan, the add-on will use SD cards (up to 2GB) for storage and have its own headphone port, although it apparently lacks the Play-Yan's video capabilities. Price is reported to be €30, or just under forty bucks, although there's still no official word from Nintendo, which we'd guess would be coming fairly soon if that release date is solid.[Via Joystiq]
Creator of GBA emulator speaks out
Many of you seem very interested in homebrew lately. With the release of a super-easy way to downgrade firmware, it seems like many of you are ready to experiment with homebrew. While I prefer to support original endeavors, it's pretty obvious that the greatest lure for homebrew is piracy emulation. Exophase is a relatively new coder to the PSP homebrew scene, but he's already come out with a full speed Game Boy Advance emulator for the system. In an interview with DCEmu, he reveales some interesting info about his work.DCEmu: The release of this emulator has been compared to the shock of Ultrahle and Bleem, emulators that werent thought possible until they were released, are you proud that your the first to get a decentplayable GBA Emulator out there ? Exophase: Heh, well, I'm just glad that at least some people can play some games well. I know it was nice being able to play Castlevania: Circle of the Moon for a while when I had nothing else to do.You can check out the rest of the interview at DCEmu.See also:More interviews with more homebrewersCommodore64 emulator for PSPWonderswan emulator for PSP
Golden Sun creator parting ways with Nintendo [update 1]
DSmeet.com reports that Camelot Software, best known for the Golden Sun series on GBA, has announced plans to stop developing titles for Nintendo. Joining forces with Eleven-Up Inc., Camelot will now work exclusively on the PC platform.Besides both Golden Sun titles, Camelot is responsible for Mario Tennis: Power Tour (GBA), as well as Mario Power Tennis and Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour on GameCube. Camelot's departure from the Nintendo scene officially puts to rest rumors that the studio will release a new Golden Sun installment for Wii.Update: Looks like we jumped the gun. Most sources, including Camelot's official website, seem to indicate that the studio is merely branching out onto the PC platform with 'I LOVE GOLF!' A Wii RPG should still be in the works.
Tour Nintendo.co.jp's bit Generations site
The good news: the website for Nintendo's retro, budget bit Generations (née Digistylish) series has gone live, featuring mini-pages for each of the three games contained in the series 1 package, Dotstream, Boundish, and Dialhex. The bad news: it's in Japanese. What we can extract from the site: the series 1 package, which includes the aforementioned three titles, will launch on July 13th in Japan for 2000 ¥ (about $17); the series 2 package, which includes Coloris, Digidrive, Orbital, and Soundvoyager, launches two weeks later for the same price. More good news: we've embeddded a trailer after the break, so if you're unable (or unwilling) to navigate the Japanese page, keep reading to get a glimpse of some GBA-goodness. [Via 4cr]
Nintendo says goodbye to GBA
And it's all the fault of that sleek system you see to the right. Eurogamer reports that in an interview with Reuters, Satoru Iwata shot down the idea of creating new versions of the hugely popular GBA, stating that it would be pouring cold water on the DS and the DS Lite's unfathomably hot success. He says that he "would have a second thought about using our resources on what would be the next generation of Game Boy Advance considering the strong support DS is now enjoying." So is that the end for our beloved GBA? Not by a long shot. Many developers are still churning out games for the system--given how many people have one stashed inside their pockets, it's still very much a viable and even lucrative market. Besides, you'll want to keep one around if you simply can't handle the sight of a GBA cart sticking out of a DS Lite.
GBA Super Robot Taisen titles coming to North America
Atlus is bringing two Super Robot Taisen titles to North America for the GBA this year.According to the official press release linked, "Super Robot Taisen: Original Generation is scheduled for release in the summer of 2006, followed by Original Generation 2 in the fall of 2006." The original Original Generation was released in Japan in 2002, while the Original follow-up arrived in early 2005.While the super-deformed strategy RPGs will feature Banpresto's original pilots and mechs, the Original Generation titles unfortunately leave out SRT's traditional mash-up of Japanese anime robot warriors from Mazinger Z to Neon Genesis Evangelion. At least GBA and DS owners with a love for SRPGs will have something extra to look forward to later this year.[Via GameSpot; image taken from AdvancedMN]See also: More PS3 and Xbox 360 third-party titles confirmed GameSpot's preview of SRT titles back in 2004 IGN's profile of Super Robot Wars: Original Generation 2
Nintendo cements Amazon's record Xmas
Gone are the days when "Amazon" referred to a lush South American stretch of land, brimming with exotic animals, untouched rivers and impenetrable jungles. No, that Amazon has long since been uprooted, trampled and burnt to the ground to make way for computer servers to power the modern and decidedly more well-stocked Amazon. That's progress for you.Amazon has made quite some progress this year, with their Christmas sales reaching epic proportions. They've reportedly sold more than 108 million items with virtual carts being filled at a rate of 41 orders per second. It was a blue Christmas for them, as the top-selling items in video game hardware were, of course, the Pearl Blue GBA SP and the Electric Blue DS. Oh, and that PSP thingamabob. Jeff Bezos, Amazon CEO was also kind enough to impart some holiday well-wishing. "We are grateful to our customers for shopping with us this holiday season and we wish everyone a happy new year."In other words, thanks for giving us your money and we hope you're still alive next year so you can do it again.
Hudson classics coming back
Re-releasing old classics on portable gaming systems? What a novel and hitherto unexplored idea! Those crazy guys at Hudson have plumbed their archives of goodness and yanked out a few classics they thought you might enjoy again and then promptly squeezed them into tiny little GBA carts. You know, those things that go into that bottom slot thingy in your DS.The "Hudson Best Collection" label will see the release of several great NES games, including Lode Runner, Nuts & Milk, Star Soldier, Adventure Island, Bomberman and, er, Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom. Hmm, sounds like that last one should be tossed. Dreadful puns aside, I fondly remember my time with Lode Runner. I loved that game - the tension, the satisfaction of stealing a pile of gold and the realization that....you just dug yourself into a freakin' hole. Again! Man, I hated that game.
