History

 

The Game Boy Advance is a 32-bit Nintendo portable system initially released in Japan on March 21, 2001. A part of the sixth generation of video games, the Game Boy Advance was noted as the final Game Boy iteration. A couple of redesigns were released including the Game Boy Advance SP and the Game Boy Micro. It was succeeded by the Nintendo DS line. The Game Boy Advance systems quickly became Nintendo's best selling system of all time within a few years, accumulating a total of 81.41 million sales worldwide, including 43.49 million SP units and 2.42 million Micro units. In 2008, the Nintendo DS surpassed this and continued on its path of domination by managing to move a total of 130 million units worldwide.

 

The Game Boy Advance was initially known as Project Atlantis according to reports released years before the handheld was even formally announced. Early reports made claims of a system capable of producing graphics on par with those the Super Nintendo Entertainment System could produce. Indeed those reports proved to be correct, as the GBA managed to not only meet these claims but surpass them as well. In 2007, its production has ended, but the people still play it. Actually, the models just discontinued at different times. The old model was discontinued in 2005, and the SP and Micro were discontinued in 2007.

 

Backward compatibility for Game Boy and Game Boy Color games is provided by an 4/8 MHz Z80 coprocessor (Game Boy Advance software can use the audio tone generators to supplement the primary sound system), while a link port at the top of the unit allows it to be connected to other devices via use of a Nintendo Game Link cable or GameCube link cable. When playing Game Boy or Game Boy Color games on the Game Boy Advance, the L and R buttons can be used to toggle between a stretched widescreen format (240×144) and the original screen ratio of the Game Boy (160×144). Game Boy games can be played using the same selectable color palettes as on the Game Boy Color. Every Nintendo handheld system following the release of the Game Boy Advance SP has included a built-in light and rechargeable battery.

 

 

Game Boy Advance SP

 

In early 2003, Nintendo introduced a new form-factor for the handheld, known as the Game Boy Advance SP (model AGS-001). The redesigned unit resembles a pocket-size laptop computer, including a folding case approximately one-half the size of the original unit. It also supports a rechargeable lithium ion battery, a significantly brighter LCD screen, and an internal front-light that can be toggled on and off. The redesign was intended to address some common complaints about the original Game Boy Advance, which had been criticized for being somewhat uncomfortable to use, especially due to an overly dark screen.

 

Around the same time as the release of the Game Boy Micro, Nintendo released a new backlit version of the SP (model AGS-101) in North America (commonly referred to as the "GBA SP+", SPII, or SP2). The switch that controls the light now toggles between "normal" (which itself is already brighter than the original Game Boy Advance SP's screen), and "bright", an intense brightness level similar to an LCD television set.

 

Game Boy Micro

 

Game Boy MicroIn September 2005, Nintendo released a second redesign of the Game Boy Advance. This model, dubbed the Game Boy Micro, is similar in style to the original Game Boy Advance's horizontal orientation, but is much smaller and sleeker. The Game Boy Micro also allows the user to switch between several colored faceplates to allow customization, a feature which Nintendo advertised heavily around the Game Boy Micro's launch. Nintendo also hoped that this "fashion" feature would help target audiences outside of typical video game players. Unlike the previous Game Boy Advance models, Game Boy Micro is unable to support Game Boy and Game Boy Color titles. The Game Boy Micro did not make much of an impact in the video game market as it was overshadowed by Nintendo's other portable, the Nintendo DS.

 

Nintendo did not initially release GBA games for the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console, but later made ten titles available to the platform as part of the Nintendo 3DS Ambassador Program. Despite this, no plans have been made to release the games to the general public. Satoru Iwata stated Game Boy Advance games will be available on the Wii U Virtual Console during April 2014. On April 3, 2014, the first of the announced GBA games (Advance Wars, Metroid Fusion and Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga) were released for the Wii U Virtual Console.