New GBA to be shown off at E3

By Kristan Reed Published 1 March, 2005

But it won't be a next-generation model.

The third version of Nintendo's Game Boy Advance will be shown off at this year's E3, it has emerged.

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

A spokesman for Nintendo of Europe told Eurogamer 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 the various 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.

To put the wild speculation about a next-gen Game Boy console into context, the story was initially based upon a report released yesterday by American Technology Research analyst P.J. McNealy which pontificated on the likelihood of a new GBA SP being released in time for Christmas.

The report looked at the share performance of THQ and Activision, and the likely effect on trading a new GBA SP would have on them.

In turn, the report went on to list four bullet points why - in McNealy's opinion - Nintendo is likely to launch a new GBA SP, reasoning that Nintendo has averaged a new version of the GBA every two years, that the DS has not cannibalised GBA sales, that piracy concerns in Asia Pacific required a more secure version of GBA, and, somewhat curiously, that a new GBA SP would be a "fun, new device while Sony focuses on the PSP and the expected launch of the Xbox 2".

McNealy guessed that the new GBA would be priced at around $99, fitting snugly between the DS at $149 and the old GBA SP at $49.

But nowhere in the report does McNealy suggest that Nintendo was readying a next-gen Game Boy, and indeed why would they? Launching a next-gen Game Boy having just enjoyed a successful DS launch worldwide would truly be one of the most bizarre business decisions ever.

Reports elsewhere talk of a "PR nightmare" for Nintendo, but it appears in this case that the only nightmare for Nintendo right now is having to deal with spurious stories "pulled out of the air" and the resulting deluge of phone calls as fellow journalists frantically try and get some clarity on the issue. The spokesman for Nintendo told Eurogamer today: "It's a case of looking at this McNealy report and someone putting two and two together and coming up with five. McNealy's report is him putting two and two together and coming up with four. It's just his opinion, and not endorsed by Nintendo in any way."

An official Nintendo statement reacting to the ballyhoo also emerged this morning: "Game Boy Advance continues to be a shining star in the video game industry with more than 65.7 million units sold worldwide.

"In 2004 alone we sold 4 million Game Boy Advance SPs in Europe.

"Our newest hand-held game system, the Nintendo DS, has done extremely well since it launched in Japan and the US and similar success is expected when it launches on 11th March in Europe. Nintendo DS is on target to ship 6 million worldwide by March 31," the spokesman added.

If you were Nintendo, would you release a next-generation Game Boy and single-handedly confuse the market and cannibalise sales of your extremely successful handheld consoles?

Picture of Kristan.

About Kristan Reed

Kristan is a former editor of Eurogamer, dad, Stone Roses bore and Norwich City supporter who sometimes mutters optimistically about Team Silent getting back together.

Read more articles from Kristan by visiting the Kristan Reed archive page.

You may also like...

Comments (35) Latest comment 7 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Blerk #1 7 years ago

    Nintendo have lost the plot.

  • ChrisOTR #2 7 years ago

    I don't think they have, I think McNealy's lost the plot.

    But I could be wrong!

  • andrewfromdoncaster #3 7 years ago

    So are they or not? It looks like its just some bloke who's hypothesising.

    And launching an inferior product to the DS would be the most bizarre decision ever, considering that the DS plays GBA games. Launching a new Gameboy entirely would be more sensible as there would be no overlap in games, as it would not be able to play DS games

  • flp #4 7 years ago

    I'd be glad of a new GBA/SP - I picked up my GBA SP recently, after abandoning my DS until some good games come out - it's so much BETTER currently. It's small, simple, nowhere near as fiddly to play with, and I can hold it for a good amount of time without my arms dropping off.

  • Blerk #5 7 years ago

    I'd be surprised if it's not a 'Gameboy 3' that we see. A new version of the existing GBA would be pointless - the SP is good enough as it is.

    But even if it is an all-new Gameboy, they've still lost the plot. Way to kill the DS before it's even gotten started, Nintendo! I'm sure everyone who's bought one will want to shake you by the hand.
    Edited by 1 at 01/03/05 @ 11:35

  • ralphwolfenstein #6 7 years ago

    god bless spong, and all who sail in her

  • krudster #7 7 years ago

    I think some people are missing the point here...this is just likely to be a remodelled GBA at a tempting price with added value features. No big deal; they do this all the time.

  • Blerk #8 7 years ago

    If Nintendo plan on continuing with the standard model GBA they'd better start releasing some more bloody games, then. I'm using mine for playing emulated Spectrum games at the minute because there's nothing worth buying.

  • Royal Fool #9 7 years ago

    Okay. People paid good money for a DS, which functions perfectly as a GBA. Prior to that, some people saw it alright to pay for the GBA SP. And before that people bought the good old classic GBA.

    How long does Nintendo expect people to pay through the nose for their existing hardware that will be 4 years old this March? I suppose the wireless function will only work with this new GBA and not the DS...

  • Shinji #10 7 years ago

    Royal Fool - they paid for the original GameBoy for around a decade. Go figure.

  • Blerk #11 7 years ago

    That's not quite true is it, though? I bought my Gameboy in about 1990. And yes, you could still buy one right up until the release of the Gameboy Color. But what would you play? There were years in the middle there where you could count the number of Gameboy game releases on the fingers of one hand. They vanished from the shops almost entirely. Only the GBC brought the Gameboy market back to life, I can't imagine they were flogging many of them in the last three or four years before the revised hardware appeared.

  • krudster #12 7 years ago

    Blerk: Warioware Twisted and Yoshi's Universal Gravitation not interesting enough? If anything the recent GBA games I've played are better than most DS games I've encountered.

  • Eldritch #13 7 years ago

    The problem is, that producing GBA games is still bloody expensive, hence the vast amount of pointless, generic license titles (e.g. "SpongeBob vs. Bob the Builder: Bob of the Tops";) from anybody but Nintendo.

  • cybersoga #14 7 years ago

    I like the GBA SP design, but wish it had a better (backlit) screen and headphone socket would be nice. I don't really like the DS design. Perhaps i'm the market they are after, but it will still be difficult getting the money out of me now i've got a PSP.

  • Blerk #15 7 years ago

    Warioware, yes... but it's not out for ages, is it?

  • ruttyboy #16 7 years ago

    Hmmm, I think the new GBA will be released alongside (if not part of) the Revolution as a compulsory wireless controller. Revolution won't get to Europe till late 2006 at the earliest, meaning that the DS will have had nearly 2 years to develop. At the end of that time, it will fit snugly into the market position the GBA will adopt once the DS is released.
    Edited by 1 at 01/03/05 @ 12:31

  • The-Bodybuilder #17 7 years ago

    Why is spong reporting on this being the "game boy evolution"? Stating it will use GC technolgoy and actually play GC games?

    They also say nint are planning to turn the DS into a pda.

    On one hand, we are talking about spong here.
    But on the other, they have been right a few times recently.

  • StixxUK #18 7 years ago

    I pretty much agree with Blerk.

    If it is just a SP with headphone socket and improved screen, who's really going to care? I can't really afford to buy games for my (original) GBA at the moment anyway - it's cheaper for me to buy GC games so that's what I'm playing.

  • Galvanizer #19 7 years ago

    Good Idea Ninty!

    Play-Yan, Wireless adaptor, Headphone jack all built in!

  • Tweakmonkey #20 7 years ago

    If it is just a SP with headphone socket and improved screen, who's really going to care?

    I'll buy one for an improved screen alone. If they can make a wireless link with the DS that would also be another reason to own one.

  • L0cky #21 7 years ago

    'On one hand, we are talking about spong here.
    But on the other, they have been right a few times recently.'

    Even a stopped clock tells the right time twice a day.

  • krudster #22 7 years ago

    The whole idea about a Gameboy able to play Cube discs is utter journo pipe dream speculation. Good idea though.

  • Royal Fool #23 7 years ago

    I suppose you're right, Shinji. But back then the only competition for Game Boy was the Game Gear which Nintendo managed to totally outsell (The Atari Lynx never got off the ground). Now we have the PlayStation Portable which obviously has way more features than the average GBA.

    Would you buy a DS that can play nearly all the GBA games as well as the next-generation DS games with better graphics or would you settle for a system that can only play GBA games and adds some wireless features (If it's multiplayer you'd have to find someone with the same system as you) and the not extremely appealing video playback? Or would you pick the third option (Which many consumers will most likely pick in the end): A PSP?

  • ssuellid #24 7 years ago

    From Spong :)

    "The new Game Boy will be based around existing Nintendo GameCube hardware and will be, when it launches in the US and Japan towards the end of this year, the most powerful handheld console on the planet. SPOnG also believes it likely that the machine will make use of GameCube software. Revolution connectivity was confirmed."

  • Natalio #25 7 years ago

    There are plenty of great games for GBA available: New Bubble Bobble, Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo, Pokemon, Gradius Advance, Puyo Pop Fever (got this on import though), Metal Slug, Astroboy... stop complaining.

  • tiddles #26 7 years ago

    Nintendo's last G(B)A SP?

  • Eldritch #27 7 years ago

    "The new Game Boy will be based around existing Nintendo GameCube hardware and will be, when it launches in the US and Japan towards the end of this year, the most powerful handheld console on the planet. SPOnG also believes it likely that the machine will make use of GameCube software. Revolution connectivity was confirmed."

    What a pathetic load of t**s that is, mate!

  • Tweakmonkey #28 7 years ago

    Everybody loves new improved hardware even if it doesn't add much extra value - just look at PSTwo. I was nearly tempted to buy one myself just to replace my old PS2, and I'm sure a lot of other people did just that.

  • oceanmotion #29 7 years ago

    I thought the DS was the new gameboy. Shows you how much I know.

  • The-Bodybuilder #30 7 years ago

    >"Even a stopped clock tells the right time twice a day."

    My point exactly. That goes both ways. For all we know, this could be spongs second time of telling the clock.

    >"The whole idea about a Gameboy able to play Cube discs is utter journo pipe dream speculation. Good idea though."

    In all fairness though, I do remember Yamachuki(sp?) talking about the posiibilities of the GCs media (the small disks) on hanhelds.
    I also remember ninty talking about the advancements of the GC technology making it much smaller.

    Thier might be truth to spongs constant madness. But lets wait and see.
    If spong are wrong, then they can expect a bashing much bigger than "halo 1.5".

  • Kami #31 7 years ago

    As said, Sony released the PSOne and it continued to sell even though the PS2 was also on the market. The new thinner PS2 sells even though the original chunkier designs work perfectly well. And for Nintendo, we had the Game Boy, Game Boy Pocket and Game Boy Color - the latter still sold quite a while after the release of the GBA.

    ... exactly what is it that Nintendo are doing here that's new? Newsflash people, it's been done before, so lets drop with the excuses for Anti-Nintendo rubbish. Jeez, talk about burying someone alive...

    Personally, for me, I doubt I'll get one, but there is still a market for the GBA. The DS was NOT a Game Boy replacement, Nintendo said that quite a few times. Seems Nintendo are just enhancing their OTHER product for a market which is rapidly getting a lot more advanced than it has been for bloody years. Which is no bad thing, Nintendo are enhancing the GBA for a market which is just demanding more...

  • gamesb*tch #32 7 years ago

    10$ says it's a posh bundle

    any takers?

  • RobTheBuilder #33 7 years ago

    If Nintendo could release a profit making Play Yan enhanced GBA for under $100, I cant see why it wouldnt sell well.

  • Genji #34 7 years ago

    If the DS wasn't backwards-compatible, I might've been tempted. This is going to have to be one fancy GBA if I'm going to consider buying it.

  • dkim #35 7 years ago

    Shafted, I think that $50 price was a possible suggested retail price, not the current price.