!HOT! Gameboy Advance SP @ KMart 5 days early!

[MJGunn]

Maybe the fact that the batteries lasted 2 1/2 hours on a good day had something to do with it 😛

The lynx was cool though. Never played a turbografx express.

 

[brian_riendeau]

"Hey... The Gameboy finally has a backlight! I guess they have finally caught up with the Atari Lynx from 10-15 years ago, which is still IMHO a *much* better machine than any of the GB's ever have been... "

the two previously lit portables (lynx and gamegear) ate up batteries like crazy though 🙂

 

[Sanjoelo]

It's actually a frontlight..

 

[vetteguy]

Originally posted by: jbtech
It's actually a frontlight..

I think it was meant more to say that finally we have a color GameBoy with A light, other than a crappy worm light or add-on. I know that Game Gear, Lynx, etc. ate through batteries, but then again that was battery technology nearly 10 years ago. And, having only used my SP for about 20 minutes, I can't comment on how long it actually is going to last. I hope the 8-10 is accurate.

 

[sxr7171]

Originally posted by: vetteguy

Originally posted by: aperry Hey... The Gameboy finally has a backlight! I guess they have finally caught up with the Atari Lynx from 10-15 years ago, which is still IMHO a *much* better machine than any of the GB's ever have been... 😀

Yeah, or the TubroGrafix 16 TurboExpress, which was nothing less than the ACTUAL console in portable form, which meant it played all of the regular games! I can't believe that was so overlooked.

Then there was the Sega Nomad which was the actual Genesis in portable form. It played the same cartridges and could be connected to your TV like an actual Genesis. Another overlooked system. That whole generation of consoles and handhelds just proved that the videogame market cannot support high cost hi-tech stuff.

The GBA is actually targetted at kids who can't afford console systems and the $30 pricetag on games is designed to get kids to buy games with allowance money. If they released a $200 handheld today very few people would actually buy it. The people who can afford it are usually working all day or bombarded with (college) classes, and most of that group would rather be playing video games at home on their TV when they have the time.

Hence today no company will release a console system for more than $300, and it seems that even that price will quickly hit $200 which is the sweet spot for console sytems.

BTW, I'm not knocking the GBA in any way. It actually turns out that since I got Phantasy Star Collection for my GBA that I am playing it more than my Xbox, GC, Dreamcast combined.

 

[mplogic]

Originally posted by: vetteguy

Originally posted by: aperry
Hey... The Gameboy finally has a backlight! I guess they have finally caught up with the Atari Lynx from 10-15 years ago, which is still IMHO a *much* better machine than any of the GB's ever have been... 😀

Yeah, or the TubroGrafix 16 TurboExpress, which was nothing less than the ACTUAL console in portable form, which meant it played all of the regular games! I can't believe that was so overlooked.

I kind of collect portable systems, I don't why as I hardly ever play them, but I've got just about one of each. All of the backlit models ate batteries like crazy and were all huge which hardly made them portable. The Turbo Express' screen is also so tiny and low-rez that you can't read most game text. My favorite has to be the Nomad which is a "portable" genesis. They had a nice bright screen and the best game selection, but the thing was the size of a brick in addition to the battery pack which clipped on the back and wasn't even included with the system. Also, all of those systems were incredibly expensive ($200-400 when released) which kept them out of most kids hands at the time. If you compare to any of those, the SP is a bargain. You get a lit display that is actually very clear (compared to the others) and can be played in total darkness. You also get a rechargeable Li-Ion battery that is supposed to last longer than a non-lit GBA on AAs. It's small enough to be truely portable, you can actually carry it in a pocket. And being backward compatible with most all old GB games in addition to all the new releases, SNES ports and now the downloadable NES emulator/roms (with use of a linker) make it pretty nice deal. I'm surprised that they released it at the $99 price point, they've got to be taking a hit on it at that rate. Looks like the game companies are finially realizing that all the money is in the software, hopefully next they'll be giving the systems away for free. 🙂

 

[DealMonkey]

The GBA SP is neither backlit or frontlit, it's actually sidelit. It plays really well in the dark, or anywhere really. Makes a lot of the older games I had for the GBA more fun to play, since I can actually see what the hell is going on. I am a little worried tho, when using it in a darkened room, I can see a little piece of dust which appears to be trapped under the top layer of the screen. I know that's a real issue with the Afterburner kits, but I sorta expected Nintendo would build 'em in a clean room or something.

Otherwise, I'm really happy with it. Battery life seems really good. The manual says the lith-ion battery pack is good for 500 charges. I wonder what you're supposed to do after that? Replace it? God, I hope not...

- dm

 

[mplogic]

Actually they say that after 500 charges it will only be operating at approx 70% of it's capacity which sounds about equal to any other Li-Ion battery (laptops, cell phones, etc.).

I'm counting my charges though, so far it's still on #1 and going strong. 🙂

 

[MJGunn]

Originally posted by: DealMonkey
Check your local Toys R' Us if you're hot for the SP - that's where I picked up mine today. It was actually there as of Friday. Not sure if this is nation-wide, so YMMV.

Bought my SP at toys r us the other day. Theres a piece of dust under the screen, doesn't really bother me as it is. A few people are saying though that they're noticing dust under the screen that wasn't there when they got the SP. Now THAT would bother me (I owned an original Ipaq....I'm not going through that again).

Anyway, the point of my post is that you shouldn't buy from toys r us. I found out AFTER I got the thing home that no matter whats wrong with it (sayyyy, screens getting overridden with dust), you cannot return it, exchange only :|

 

[Noirish]

there doesn't seem to be any deals on sp.
does anyone know one?

 

[Fant]

There was a deal this past week but not anymore. Best buy was giving a free carrying case with purchase of a GBA and thurs-sat they had a 10% off anything in store coupon so theoretically you could have gotten a GBA SP and carrying case for like $90 + tax however most best buys ran out of them quickly. Circuit city had a promo going on where you get a free game (defender or something else) after rebate. However I just ran to toysrus where i picked mine up for the $99 retail price cause i didnt feel like waiting to save $10.

 

[Kipper]

Anyway, the point of my post is that you shouldn't buy from toys r us. I found out AFTER I got the thing home that no matter whats wrong with it (sayyyy, screens getting overridden with dust), you cannot return it, exchange only

You're lucky you even got an exchange. Virtually any retailer will not accept opened merchandise.

 

[MJGunn]

Originally posted by: madcowdisease

Anyway, the point of my post is that you shouldn't buy from toys r us. I found out AFTER I got the thing home that no matter whats wrong with it (sayyyy, screens getting overridden with dust), you cannot return it, exchange only

You're lucky you even got an exchange. Virtually any retailer will not accept opened merchandise.

??? The only other major retailer I know that won'tdo a return is comp usa, and even they'll do it, just take a restocking fee......toys r us doesn't even give you that option