GameBoy Advance(Review)
The Game Boy is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China on June 8, 2004 (excluding Hong Kong). In 1996, magazines including issues 53 and 54 of Total! and the July 1996 issue of Game Informer featured reports of a new Game Boy, codenamed Project Atlantis. Although the expected release date of "early 1997" would make that machine seem to be the Game Boy Color, it was described as having "a 32-bit RISC processor" and "allowing similar to Super Nintendo Entertainment System standard games-playing to be played in the palm of your hand"—a description that more closely matches the Game Boy Advance. It also may have referred to the unnamed, unreleased Game Boy Color successor prototype that was revealed at 2009's Game Developers Conference.
Technical specifications
The technical specifications of the original Game Boy Advance are, as provided by Nintendo:
Length: approximately 19.45 cm (7.66 in)
Width: approximately 2.45 cm (0.96 in)
Height: approximately 8.2 cm (3.2 in)
Mass: approximately 140 g (4.9 oz)
Screen: 2.9 inches reflective thin-film transistor (TFT) color LCD
Power: 2,4 AA batteries
Battery life: approximately 15 hours on average while playing Game Boy Advance games (also dependent on the Game Pak being played and the volume setting)
CPU: 16.8 MHz 32-bit ARM7TDMI with embedded memory
Memory: 32 kilobyte + 96 kilobyte VRAM (internal to the CPU), 256 kilobyte WRAM (outside the CPU).
Resolution: 240 × 160 pixels
Color support: 15-bit RGB (16-bit color space using 5 bits depth per channel), capable of displaying 512 simultaneous colors in "character mode" and 32,768 (215) simultaneous colors in "bitmap mode"
Backward compatibility for Game Boy and Game Boy Color games is provided by an 4/8 MHz Z80 coprocessor (which 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 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. The Game Boy Advance is also capable of hot swapping by pressing START and SELECT simultaneously on the start up screen. The Nintendo logo will vanish, and you can then safely remove a Game Pak and put another one in the slot. Press A and the Nintendo logo will reappear, and the Game Pak in the slot will load. Every Nintendo handheld system following the release of the original Game Boy Advance (SP and Micro versions of the Game Boy Advance, as well as the Nintendo DS, DS Lite, and DSi) has included a built-in light and rechargeable battery.
Sales
On December 1, 2006, Nintendo of America released launch-to-date information indicating that the Game Boy Advance series had sold 33.6 million units in the United States. In a Kotaku article published on January 18, 2008, Nintendo revealed that the Game Boy Advance series has sold 36.2 million units in the United States, as of January 1, 2008. As of December 31, 2009, the Game Boy Advance series has sold 81.51 million units worldwide, of which 43.57 million are Game Boy Advance SP units and 2.42 million are Game Boy Micro units.
After the Game Boy Advance's support lessened, the most popular software became mostly games oriented to younger gamers.
Unit colors
The Game Boy Advance, SP, and Micro had numerous colors and limited editions.
The Game Boy Advance was initially available in Arctic, Black, Orange, Fuchsia, Glacier (translucent blue/purple) and Indigo. Later in the system's availability, additional colours and special editions were released. These editions include: Red, Clear Orange/Black, Platinum, White, Gold, Hello Kitty edition (pink with Hello Kitty and logo on bezel), King of Fighters edition (black with images on bezel and buttons), Chobits edition (translucent light blue, with images on bezel and buttons), Battle Network Rockman EXE 2 (light blue with images on bezel), Mario Bros. edition (Glacier with Mario and Luigi on bezel) and Yumiuri Giant edition (Glacier with images on bezel). A number of Pokémon-themed limited-edition systems were made available in Pokémon Center stores in Japan. These editions include: Gold Pokémon edition (Gold with Pikachu and Pichu on bezel), Suicune edition (blue/grey with greyscale Pikachu and Pichu on bezel, and a Pokémon Center sticker on the back), Celebi edition (olive green with Celebi images on bezel), and Latias/Latios edition (pink/red and purple, with images of Latias and Latios on bezel).
Technical specifications
The technical specifications of the original Game Boy Advance are, as provided by Nintendo:
Length: approximately 19.45 cm (7.66 in)
Width: approximately 2.45 cm (0.96 in)
Height: approximately 8.2 cm (3.2 in)
Mass: approximately 140 g (4.9 oz)
Screen: 2.9 inches reflective thin-film transistor (TFT) color LCD
Power: 2,4 AA batteries
Battery life: approximately 15 hours on average while playing Game Boy Advance games (also dependent on the Game Pak being played and the volume setting)
CPU: 16.8 MHz 32-bit ARM7TDMI with embedded memory
Memory: 32 kilobyte + 96 kilobyte VRAM (internal to the CPU), 256 kilobyte WRAM (outside the CPU).
Resolution: 240 × 160 pixels
Color support: 15-bit RGB (16-bit color space using 5 bits depth per channel), capable of displaying 512 simultaneous colors in "character mode" and 32,768 (215) simultaneous colors in "bitmap mode"
Backward compatibility for Game Boy and Game Boy Color games is provided by an 4/8 MHz Z80 coprocessor (which 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 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. The Game Boy Advance is also capable of hot swapping by pressing START and SELECT simultaneously on the start up screen. The Nintendo logo will vanish, and you can then safely remove a Game Pak and put another one in the slot. Press A and the Nintendo logo will reappear, and the Game Pak in the slot will load. Every Nintendo handheld system following the release of the original Game Boy Advance (SP and Micro versions of the Game Boy Advance, as well as the Nintendo DS, DS Lite, and DSi) has included a built-in light and rechargeable battery.
Sales
On December 1, 2006, Nintendo of America released launch-to-date information indicating that the Game Boy Advance series had sold 33.6 million units in the United States. In a Kotaku article published on January 18, 2008, Nintendo revealed that the Game Boy Advance series has sold 36.2 million units in the United States, as of January 1, 2008. As of December 31, 2009, the Game Boy Advance series has sold 81.51 million units worldwide, of which 43.57 million are Game Boy Advance SP units and 2.42 million are Game Boy Micro units.
After the Game Boy Advance's support lessened, the most popular software became mostly games oriented to younger gamers.
Unit colors
The Game Boy Advance, SP, and Micro had numerous colors and limited editions.
The Game Boy Advance was initially available in Arctic, Black, Orange, Fuchsia, Glacier (translucent blue/purple) and Indigo. Later in the system's availability, additional colours and special editions were released. These editions include: Red, Clear Orange/Black, Platinum, White, Gold, Hello Kitty edition (pink with Hello Kitty and logo on bezel), King of Fighters edition (black with images on bezel and buttons), Chobits edition (translucent light blue, with images on bezel and buttons), Battle Network Rockman EXE 2 (light blue with images on bezel), Mario Bros. edition (Glacier with Mario and Luigi on bezel) and Yumiuri Giant edition (Glacier with images on bezel). A number of Pokémon-themed limited-edition systems were made available in Pokémon Center stores in Japan. These editions include: Gold Pokémon edition (Gold with Pikachu and Pichu on bezel), Suicune edition (blue/grey with greyscale Pikachu and Pichu on bezel, and a Pokémon Center sticker on the back), Celebi edition (olive green with Celebi images on bezel), and Latias/Latios edition (pink/red and purple, with images of Latias and Latios on bezel).
General
Generation Sixth generation era
Retail availability JP March 21, 2001
NA June 11, 2001
PAL June 22, 2001
Units sold Worldwide: 81.51 million, all versions combined (as of September 30, 2010).
Japan: 16.96 million
Americas: 41.64 million
Other: 22.91 million
CPU ARM7TDMI, 16.78 MHz
Graphics Custom 2D core
Best-selling game Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, 13 million combined (as of November 25, 2004)
Pokémon Emerald, 6.32 million (as of March 31, 2007)
Backward compatibility Game Boy, Game Boy Color
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