GBA isn't dead yet - Fils-Aime Comments by Tom Bramwell

Baby steps Reggie...
He's right about it being a transitional console for younger gamers, parents get a simpler, cheaper option than the DS "phat"

Of course it's dead, Reggie - you killed it with the DS! Almost immediately after you said you wouldn't.

Two quote Metallica: Shoot me again I ain't dead yet.

Perhaps with a DS Lite Advanced??

That's right, the DS was a 'third way'. Not meant to get in the way of the cherished GBA lineage. But oh, the sound of ringing tills...

Yes reggie it's not as dead as the gamecube is it?

aye.. The DS was suppsoed to be a mini experimental almost type of project and play second fiddle to the GBA - not replace it. I thought they were going to make a GBA2 and the DS was just a small project to see what would happen..

Drill Dozer and Rhythm Tengoku still MIA in Europe, not to forget Bit Generations... :(

The GBA had to die sometime. It has been around for a while and it could never have gone up against the PSP.

Systems die, it happens.

I keep thinking that the GBA was somehow a disappointment sales wise, because it seems to be going out now without having been around for that long...then I remember it's been out five years, and has been hugely successful. I guess I'm just comparing it to the ludicrous longevity of the original Game Boy. It'll be a shame when it does go, though...end of the Game Boy era, sniff. :( Nintendo need to hang on to that name, it's one of the most iconic in gaming...

On one hand you have Sony having to support their platform because it was a giant success but on the other hand you have Nintendo and Microsoft focusing on their new ones making sure they are supplied with great new titles.

In the end it means that Sony will lag behind even further.

It is very sad and yes they simply must keep hold of "Game boy" as a brand name it is iconic and probably the only thing that kept Nintendos bank accounts looking healthy for quite a few years.

The money they make on the Wii should be used for nextgen handheld... keep the GC arcitecture for ease of development again but make it all tiny and fit in a SP sized package... could you imagine! Swoon.

Its a shame Nintendo gave up making games for it, infact they never really supported the GBA as much as id have liked them too. Most of the games they put out were ports, all those mario games sold seperatly - that were on one snes cart (mario allstars), pokemon was just the old gameboy version with pretty graphics etc
There wernt enough new great games on it

i love my gb sp and micro famicom edition is the sexiest portable EVER. it just oozes pure sex.

"aye.. The DS was suppsoed to be a mini experimental almost type of project and play second fiddle to the GBA - not replace it. I thought they were going to make a GBA2 and the DS was just a small project to see what would happen.."

Nintendo only spun it like that before the DS launched because they were terrified of having another Virtual Boy on their hands.

When they saw the DS was a huge success, the plans for a GBA2 were quietly dropped because it'd be crazy to split their market by releasing two incompatible handhelds.

It's been a long time since a bought a GBA game. When they launched the DS, Nintendo said that it was their "third pillar". Well, it wasn't. The DS have been the first pillar since it launched. And I don't think that we will ever see a GBA 2.

But who knows, Nintendo may suprise us all.

If the DS had flopped, they would have quickly abandoned it and done a more conventional new Game Boy, but it didn't...

It's easy to forget how sceptical the gaming world was about the DS before it launched, but everyone was proved wrong, I think even Nintendo were surprised.

The console was flawed anyway. I bought one and soon regretted it as the screen was too dark.

I'm much happier with the DS.

It's sad to see the Game Boy line go. It's been with us for 17 years now. I bet they'll resurrect it in 2009 when it's 20th anniversary of the Game Boy.

It was bound to happen, seeing the DS' success. It wouldnt make sense to support both markets and split your resources. I'd rather have one speedy horse than two average horses.

GBA isn't dead. In Japan its still going strong. Theres some great games coming out for it and the back catalogue of games for it dwarfs even playstations. It'll be a few more years before the GBA officially dies. I still regularly play GBA games even though I have a DS. Mainly because I'm trying to keep up with all the great games I missed.

There will be another Gameboy. Without a doubt. The DS is an extra product to sit inbetween the Wii and the next Gameboy. The simple fact is that the Gameboy name is just too big to drop. It would be like Sony abandonning the Playstation brand name for something new.

I don't think the GBA is dead yet either. FFVI and FFV look a lot more appealing than anything on DS..

Now that I think about it, I'm sure the Game Boy name will be back. To be honest, the DS is the new Game Boy in all but name...my guess is that Nintendo felt they got dangerously close to devaluing the Game Boy brand name with the Virtual Boy, so they held off bestowing the name on the potentially risky DS, and sent up a smokescreen with that "third pillar" gibberish. If Nintendo had known then what it knows now, the DS would be called the Game Boy DS (or something similar), no doubt about it, and I'm willing to put money on their next handheld being a successor to the DS, but with the Game Boy name. Mark my words...

In addition to the FF* games, there are other new releases like the Pokémon dungeon title and some of the movie/cartoon tie-ins released for it. And the Micro is the definition of portable gaming - better suited even than the DS Lite.

It ain't over 'til it's over.

It costs so little to make games for (look at the latest PS3 news!) that I'm sure devlopers including Nintendo should consider releasing some more games for it. The Bit Generation games, Wario Ware Twisted and Mother 3 haven't came out yet. As to has FFV and FFVI. So theres still a decent line-up.

In the long term though, it's looking bleak. But I still think the GBA can do well. Consumers haven't dropped it yet, as I consistently see Gameboy Micro's in Christmas catalogues regularly. Maybe some more "packs", Sonic Advance 4 and another Metroid wouldn't go amiss. And putting all the Game Boy/Game Boy Color games into the Wii's Virtual Console would be nice to. Bring out Play-Yan and a cable to connect the GBM to the Wii, and then, hey presto, you've sopied Sony! and you'll also have some retro GB/GBC titles on yer Micro!

GBM could do with another price cut as well, £40 on it's own, or £50 with a game and I can't say no. Or, Nintendo could always give the GB a redesign, I'm sure that'll shift alot of units!!!

The worldwide install base for the GBA is close to 80 million, if it's not already gone beyond that point.

It's still a big name and a huge market. I suppose that Nintendo might very well combine the might of the Game Boy and DS in the future for a new handheld that would be compatible with GBA games, DS cards and whatever new format will become the next standard.

Whatever the case, Nintendo will have to think long and hard on what they want to create next. There's honestly not a lot of features that needs to be added, except widescreen.

Reggie in "please go and buy the Micro, it's really cheap" non-shocker.