New Game Boy Advance hardware may emerge at E3 - analyst report...

[Zim Hosein]

A third version of Nintendo's Game Boy Advance may be shown off at this year's E3, according to a report from American Technology Research analyst P.J. McNealy, with an "SP" style revision of the existing hardware on the cards.

Meanwhile, Nintendo has distanced itself from a frenzied wave of Internet speculation claiming that the Japanese giant will be launching a next generation Game Boy later this year, saying that the rumours were "pulled out of the air".

A spokesman for Nintendo of Europe told GamesIndustry.biz this morning: "There is always speculation on what the next Game Boy will be, however, at this time there are no announcements about a new Game Boy SP product."

However, unofficially the Kyoto-based firm is expected to unveil a remodelled Game Boy Advance based on the existing technology at its traditional pre-E3 event.

At this stage no concrete details exist on what enhancements Nintendo will be making to the GBA, but it's expected that some of the add-ons released over the past year or so will be integrated into the remodelled console; namely the PlayYan multimedia capabilities that enable users to watch movies and listen to music on their GBA, as well as other obvious improvements such as the much missed headphone jack and, of course, wireless connectivity.

And it's on the latter point where things get potentially interesting, with the potential for Nintendo to extend its wireless download plans to the GBA, as well as include the GBA in its long-mooted online gaming plans. All of this remains in the realms of speculation, but the way is clear for Nintendo to truly extend the GBA lifespan well beyond what it otherwise might have been had it chosen to focus solely on the DS going forward.

New GBA hardware may emerge at E3 - analyst report...

 

[Kev]

1) Why does nintendo release a new gameboy every 4 weeks?

2) Why does everyone get excited over it? Its a friggin gameboy.

 

[Buickbeast]

Originally posted by: Kev
1) Why does nintendo release a new gameboy every 4 weeks?

Because it's just another platform for them to release all of the same old games

 

[fs5]

Originally posted by: Kev
1) Why does nintendo release a new gameboy every 4 weeks?

2) Why does everyone get excited over it? Its a friggin gameboy.

1) to make more money
2) because it's the #1 selling handheld out

 

[SnipeMasterJ13]

Sad attempt to not get completely blown out by the PSP?

 

[AMDZen]

If Nintendo does this, they will lose even more respect from me. I didn't even think that was possible. Mess up the GBA once and make consumers pay for a second? Fine. Do it again and expect people to buy a third? Then you just plain suck Nintendo.

"Hmmm should we incorporate a backlit display considering games will be impossible to play without one?"

"Or maybe charge extra for a POS add-on display that makes the experience even worse, but get extra $$$"

"Ya I think we'll go the extra cash route."

Later

"Consumers seem to be really unhappy with the GBA and the absense of its backlit display, but they are still buying them modded from other places." "We must capitilize, we must do this now, and this time we won't include a headphone jack so that later, we can sell them a third GBA."

MuwahhahAHAHWHWAHAHWAHAHAHA!!!!!1111111111111!11222222

 

[Ikonomi]

So does that mean Sony is the Devil for renovating the PS1 and PS2, also?

 

[spaceman]

Nintendo rules.

 

[Dragnov]

From ign...

"Fret not. I seriously doubt that Nintendo has any plans to launch the true successor to Game Boy this year. Yes, rumors circulated that it might show the device at the forthcoming Electronics Entertainment Expo, but all of them have been based purely on hope and not fact.

The latest bit is from CNN -- and I call it a bit because this isn't news, but conjecture. It stems from an analyst report that suggested Nintendo could launch its new Game Boy as early as this holiday. The same report indicated that the new handheld, which is sure to be significantly more powerful than either GBA or DS, will magically launch below the current price point of the latter. The report also said that while GBA would see a further price drop, the cost of the DS should remain the same. Which makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

Forget that Nintendo just launched DS and has barely given the portable a chance to exist. Forget that launching a new system already would seriously confuse and probably piss off the fanbase. We're to believe that the successor to Game Boy is going to debut later this year to compete technologically with PSP and somehow ship with a cheaper price than DS? Is this a new Nintendo strategy to kill DS? Of course, some people will undoubtedly say, "Well, these are two different product lines and you can't really compare them. Remember, third pillar, and everything?" And to this, I say, I just don't buy it. You can't sell a technically inferior product for a higher price. It just doesn't work that way.

I've no doubt that the successor to Game Boy is deep in development. I also believe that if Nintendo wanted to it could show the device at E3 this May. It might even be able to ship it before the end of the year. But even if that's true, I don't believe a single word from this analyst or from the CNN report. The information is too illogical and too inconsistent. "

 

[AMDZen]

Originally posted by: Ikonomi
So does that mean Sony is the Devil for renovating the PS1 and PS2, also?

The difference is that those were just made smaller. More portable.

I think Nintendo is doing this deliberately. They most definetely should have known that the original GBA was impossible to play on. A backlit display was a must and they just chose to ignore it?? No. They simply wanted more money. They had to know that everyone would have to buy an aftermarket light for it. And everyone of them sucked REALLY bad. I take it you never owned the original GBA? Or you would know what I'm talking about.

Then they simply forget a headphone jack? Haaa. Not that that was as big a deal as the first thing.

The absense of a backlit on the original GBA royally pissed me off as a loyal Nintendo customer.

So maybe you can enlighten me as to what Sony left out in the original PS that they needed to "fix" in the PSone?? Oh, wait. Thats right, they left out the ROM drive and needed to fix that. Seriosly, leaving out a backlit display made it as impossible to play games on as a PS sans a ROM drive would.

 

[Baked]

PS bitch slapped SNES, PS2 bitch slapped GC, and PSP will bitch slap DS. /thread

 

[BigToque]

I don't understand why nintendo released the DS, which is supposed to be a dead-end system and was never designed to compete with the PSP.

I thought they were releasing a new gameboy and the DS is just another virtual boy.

 

[suse920]

nintendo is milking all their fans before they get out of the console market. This reminds me of sega before they got out of the market. Nintendo seems to be going the way of sega. This is just going to confuse all the kiddies that buy their products. All the nintendo fanboys make fun of the psp because it isnt revolutionary. Now the gba2 is shaping up to be like the psp. Oh noes1111oneoneshift!

 

[Murphy Durphy]

Uh.. let me get this straight.. I'm not exactly a handheld fan.

To me, it seems like the Gameboy Advance just came out.

Now they have the DS, only a year or so after that.

And now, with people just getting DS's, they are releasing ANOTHER system?

I don't see how any of that makes sense.

 

[acemcmac]

another???

 

[MetalMat]

I never bought a gameboy after the original.

 

[HamSupLo]

does not look good for the DS....anyone remember the Virtuaboy?

 

[Koing]

WHY?

Why release another GBA? They released the DS a few months ago.

Oh well if people want to buy it go ahead. I haven't bought a GB since the origional. My little bro has a GB color, GBA (2 in fact as one was a good 2nd hand deal) and a GBA. They don't get much of a playing but he is happy with his GBA with back light.

Koing

 

[Koing]

Originally posted by: HamSupLo
does not look good for the DS....anyone remember the Virtuaboy?

No. The DS has sold a few million already.

Virtuaboy sold about 15

Koing

 

[liquidblue]

Originally posted by: MetalMat
I never bought a gameboy after the original.

PSP looks promising... :saves monies;

 

[MetalMat]

Originally posted by: HamSupLo
does not look good for the DS....anyone remember the Virtuaboy?

I have a virtual boy with 10 games :Q

I bought all of it together for like 50-60 bucks back in the late 90's. Some games are really cool; Mario Tennis, Wario Land, Teleroboxer and the pinball game were the best ones. Red Alarm was cool but too hard.

I should just sell it off though, it is sitting in my apartment living room not being used. It is cool whenever I have people over and they go "WTF is that?" or "I can't believe you own one of those!?"

 

[AMDZen]

Originally posted by: MetalMat

Originally posted by: HamSupLo
does not look good for the DS....anyone remember the Virtuaboy?

I have a virtual boy with 10 games :Q

I bought all of it together for like 50-60 bucks back in the late 90's. Some games are really cool; Mario Tennis, Wario Land, Teleroboxer and the pinball game were the best ones. Red Alarm was cool but too hard.

I should just sell it off though, it is sitting in my apartment living room not being used. It is cool whenever I have people over and they go "WTF is that?" or "I can't believe you own one of those!?"

Keep it. Might be worth something. I know the old Nintendo Robot fetches quite a fee to the right people.

 

[royaldank]

Do they still make DS games? What a joke of a system. Oh wait, it's Nintendo...there should be at least 2 or 3 more games coming this year.

 

[Zim Hosein]

Originally posted by: MetalMat

Originally posted by: HamSupLo
does not look good for the DS....anyone remember the Virtuaboy?

I have a virtual boy with 10 games :Q

I bought all of it together for like 50-60 bucks back in the late 90's. Some games are really cool; Mario Tennis, Wario Land, Teleroboxer and the pinball game were the best ones. Red Alarm was cool but too hard.

I should just sell it off though, it is sitting in my apartment living room not being used. It is cool whenever I have people over and they go "WTF is that?" or "I can't believe you own one of those!?"

:camera:'s please

 

[DragonMasterAlex]

Originally posted by: SnipeMasterJ13
Sad attempt to not get completely blown out by the PSP?

Are you kidding? DS has *still* outsold PSP by roughly 6 to 1 worldwide I don't think they're terribly afraid at all.

Jason