The big news for Nintendo’s other handheld is that it’s getting even smaller, as the Game Boy Micro. But if you already own a Game Boy of the Advance or SP variety, the other big news is that, aside from Mario Tennis Advance and Donkey Kong Country 3, there really aren’t any upcoming games worth getting excited about—unless you get excited about licensed schlock like Herbie Fully Loaded or Trollz Hair Affair, in which case you should get very, very excited indeed.
Though GBA is far from dead saleswise (which at last count is 128 million units sold across the globe), most third-parties are putting all of their upcoming triple-A titles onto DS and Sony’s PlayStation Portable. No tears—it sure had a great run, for a little guy.
Notable Games
A quick look at the major titles heading to Game Boy Advance in the months to come.
August
Dynasty Warriors Advance
September
Donkey Kong: King of Swing
October
Mario Tennis Advance
Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas: The Pumpkin King
November
Donkey Kong Country 3
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Need for Speed: Most Wanted
Peter Jackson’s King Kong
Fall 2005
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion,
the Witch, and the Wardrobe
Gunstar Super Heroes
Mega Man Zero 4
Metal Slug 1: Super Vehicle
Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland
Top Spin 2
Ultimate Spider-Man
2006
Screw Breaker
Game Boy as Fashion Accessory
Little, yellow (with an optional faceplate, that is), not very different—that’s the Game Boy Micro, the newest incarnation of a handheld you probably already own more than one of. At about the size of a small cell phone, it’s tiny and light—so light that it also feels a little cheap. And though we have trouble mustering up much enthusiasm for yet another riff on the GBA, we aren’t the target audience; Nintendo VP Reggie Fils-Aime thinks it’ll go over big with the 11- to 15-year-old crowd. “It is sleeker, it is more ‘image,’ it is more fashionable than the current GBA SP,” he says. “The belief [from retailers] is that it’s going to be the hot Christmas item this year—especially when we announce the pricing.” (We’re hearing around $79 to $99.)
Nintendo is also considering bringing its currently Japan-only Play-Yan adapter here, which would allow GBA and DS owners to play MPEG-4 video and MP3 music files stored on an SD memory card. Don’t be surprised if it gets a name change and a simultaneous launch with the Micro this fall.
Report Card: D
Strengths:
+ Micro is tiny and should be fairly inexpensive
+ GBA’s huge game library: still huge, with occasional flashes of awesome
Weaknesses:
- Almost no triple-A games coming down the pike
- DS and PSP graphics make GBA’s look very archaic
Overall:
As a platform for new, good games, GBA is almost dead. Bad ones will be coming out for a long time yet, though.
Copyright © 2005 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Originally appearing in Electronic Gaming Monthly.
