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Portables (Games) Entertainment Games

Game Boy Advance Designer Talks Handhelds 44

Posted by simoniker from the after-burner-there-was-sp dept.
Thanks to Gamepro for posting an in-depth interview with the man behind the Game Boy Advance SP, Kenichi Sugino. Interestingly, he mentions that seeing the Afterburner third-party backlight for the GBA "..reminded us of exactly how many users really wanted to see some kind of light in their Game Boy Advances. It was an impetus for us to devote the time to figuring out how to finally just do it." Also, asked about Sony's new PSP handheld, he offers: "As I mentioned before, a portable system isn't about features as much as it is about balance - the balance between capability and price."
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Game Boy Advance Designer Talks Handhelds More

Game Boy Advance Designer Talks Handhelds

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  • Yes, the SP finally gives us what people have wanted since the original Game Boy- a backlit screen. So Why, oh WHY did they leave out the HEADPHONE JACK this time?
    Leave it to Nintendo to take a potentially perfect system and give it a near fatal flaw. :-P
    • Yes, the SP finally gives us what people have wanted since the original Game Boy- a backlit screen. So Why, oh WHY did they leave out the HEADPHONE JACK this time?

      Like the man said, there was no room left for the headphone jack.
      • Thats ridiculous. You increase the cabinet size to give people something that is regularly used. The only reason I haven't bought one is because of that. Now I have to wait for the next version (SP2, I think), and I wonder how many people who bought the SP are also going to fork over more cash just for that specific feature?
        • If you want to wait, that is your prerogative. Or you can just shell out the few extra clams for the headphone adaptor. Trust me, as a happy owner of the SP, I promise the pros outweigh that single negative.
          • Oh what a crock. If they couldn't use a 3.5 headphone jack because of a genuine lack of space in the
            machine they should have included an adaptor in the box.

            It's a cynical attempt to wrench a few more bucks out of your wallet,
            nothing more nothing less.
            • Oh what a crock. If they couldn't use a 3.5 headphone jack because of a genuine lack of space in the machine they should have included an adaptor in the box.

              If they included the adaptor, that extra value would have just been passed on to the consumer. Personally, I'd never us the thing. So I'd rather not have to pay for something I wouldn't use.

              And besides, for those few who do buy the headphone adaptor can sleep better knowing that this small investment will be more than made up by not having to r
        • Just order a friggin' adapter. It's $4.25 on Nintendo's site [nintendo.com]. If you can afford the $99.95 for a GBA SP, you can surely afford the adapter.

          --Jeremy
          • Why should I pay an extra $4.25 plus shipping for something that should have been included in the design? There was no reason it should have been taken out in the first place. (Don't give me the "There was no room for it" quote, I read the article.)
    • Supposedly, an adapter is available for $5 that restores the headphone jack. I've yet to see one in stores, though. The SP is great, I agree. I was finally able to see Metroid Fusion well enough to finish it. Great game.
      • Supposedly, an adapter is available for $5 that restores the headphone jack.

        Over lunch today I picked up a pack with the headphone adapter, a pair of earphones, a metal GBA SP case, and a car adapter for $15 (made by MadCatz I believe, and while I don't normally care for their stuff, I don't think it'll be much of a problem in this case). There was another package there with the adapter, a nylon GBA SP case, and a couple of other things (a few cases for games, a GBA link cable, and a magnifier iirc) for
      • Try here [nintendo.com]

        --Jeremy
    • Leave it to Nintendo to take a potentially perfect system and give it a near fatal flaw.

      Look, if you really need it, there's at least one company manufacturing headphones with an integrated convertor thingy so all you need is the SP and those headphones.

      Yes, it's stupid and annoying, and they should have caught it, but it's a small price to pay for actually being able to see something when playing the castlevania games.
    • It's not a backlit screen, it's a front lighted screen which means the light is in front of the LCD display. And who cares about the friggin headphone jack. Not even once have i actually thought of using it.
  • I suppose it would be damaging to Slashdot's reputation to write Game Boy Advance properly.

  • GBA SP And The PSP (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Iammadmak ( 460794 ) on Thursday June 05, 2003 @07:14PM (#6127984) Homepage
    I don't own a GBA but it does look appealing, with some games I would love to play, while the PSP seems to have only its hardware specifications to go on right now. I see no games yet, battery life, and launch titles. The N Gage looks awful to me because of how it loads games and the potential for 18 buttons for all games. Though I think the PSP doesn't have much to go on regarding software, I do believe that Nintendo shouldn't be complacent and be ready for the PSP.

    • Re:GBA SP And The PSP (Score:3, Informative)

      by Kris_J ( 10111 )
      I've got a GBA and a GBAsp. The former is modified with a TV-out. On the whole, they're cool devices, but I haven't found a game for the GBA that pulls me away from Diablo2:LoD yet. That said, I have a friend who had to finish Golden Sun, then Golden Sun 2.

      As a side note, much as I typically say that I enjoy 2D over 3D, I've been enjoying the simpler flat-shaded, minimal texture mapping 3D of such games as Super Monkey Ball Jr and Robot Wars: Extreme something...

    • I would be rather suprised if Sony came up with a great portable at the start. Nintendo has a long standing reputation with handhelds and many years of expertise.

      Anyway, you are right, what will the PSP be able to handle? We will have to see in the future. Frankly I don't really feel like playing any 3D games on a handheld, unless they will be operated with just 2 or 3 buttons.

      Anyway a bit competition won't hurt anyone, as long as Nintendo will still be able to continue to make great games, and hopeful
      • I would be rather suprised if Sony came up with a great portable at the start. Nintendo has a long standing reputation with handhelds and many years of expertise.

        Oddly enough, this is EXACTLY what I, and many others, said when the playstation concept was publicized. Hmmm, think about that.
        • Little do we know that Nintendo was collaborating with Sony on a way to make a handheld capable of using DVD disks so GameCube games could be played on it. Nintendo decided the idea wasn't feasible and dropped it though, leaving Sony with the prototype hardware...
  • Since I'm too lazy to google up a qualify this, take it with a grain of salt.

    I read somewhere that the SP was in development before the advance hit the market. So if they had planned on the light beforehand, it would be pretty hard to see the afterburner and 'get inspired.'

    That, and Nintendo knew they were juking all of us (myself included, I bought an advance the first week, and an SP the first week. However I love my SP so damn much I never leave home without it).

    • Re:Bull (Score:3, Informative)

      by Babbster ( 107076 )
      The interview reveals that the SP started official development three months after they were done designing the GBA. However, he only mentioned that they were looking at doing a smaller GBA with the folding case. It seems that the light wasn't originally a part of the SP project but became so once Triton (a tiny company by any estimate) made it clear that people wanted it badly.
  • As someone who works in the computer industry doing product management / marketing (which, while it may not be self evident from the title is as much about funneling in customer requirements to the engineering team) and as someone who spent the money on the Afterburner kit for his and his wife's GBAs ... all I have to say it TTHTHthththtptpttltlthhthtTTHTHTPtT!

    Someone in Nintendo needs a clue that they are losing on the adult audience (and we have quite a bit of cash to spend). If I had to guess, the perso
    • So you're saying your flights are so cramped that having one of these [lik-sang.com] 80 gram adaptors on the end of your headphone cable is just out of the question?
      • No, he's saying for $99 he shouldn't have to spend another $8 to get a feature that was removed by Nintendo from the 'spec' of their previous Game Boys, all of which had headphone jacks.

        This is just mindnumbing consumerism, but yeah.
      • That and I'd imagine that those 80 gram adapters get lost fairly easily.
      • Close ... I don't mind it when it is connected, I mind having to haul it with me and keep track of it. Generally speaking I can get a GBA, MP3 player, headphones, ticket stub, ID and wallet into my pants pockets, plus a magazine or two in my hands. Any more than that and I have to keep a bag with me under the seat (and it is not just a size/weight issue, it is a keeping track of it issue ... hell, it might be better if the adapter was -bigger- in this case), which means I don't have room to stretch much on
        • Leave the adapter attached to the headphones. Problem solved. If you must, keep it taped/zip-tied to the end of the headphone cord so that you can unplug it and plug the headphones into a CD player or whatever.

          And most I've met who want a GBA SP have similar issues with the headphone jack.

          That's because everyone without issues with the headphone jack has already bought one, and you don't hear from them.

          I think the GBA SP is the perfect example of "you can't please everyone." However, the un-please
          • Wrong on both counts.

            1) My headphone have a convenient case to wrap them up and stow them so that they don't get tangled in my pockets. The adapter will not fit.

            2) Most of the games I heard complaining about the headphone jack already have one. Same as most bought a GBA even though it didn't have a backlight. The number of SPs sold is not a good indication of how good or bad this decision was.

            My main point is thus: The GBA SP was supposed to be a high-end system, and include those features that the GBA w

  • Game & Watch (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Traderdot ( 677425 ) on Thursday June 05, 2003 @11:27PM (#6129327) Homepage
    The designer says:
    That was where the basic flip-top design came from. It's something that's never been done with game machines before, so I liked the idea right off.

    Anybody remember the Game & Watch [gameandwatch.com]?

  • Headphone Jack (Score:3, Informative)

    by Traderdot ( 677425 ) on Thursday June 05, 2003 @11:33PM (#6129359) Homepage
    Many have complained about the lack of a headphone jack. Here's his answer from the interview:

    Q: One of the main complaints people have about the SP is its lack of built-in headphone jack. What was the reason behind removing it?

    KS: Well, you can use headphones with the SP if you plug in an adapter, of course. In the beginning we planned to include the jack, but from a purely physical standpoint, we just couldn't get it in. (laughs) If we put the port in, then that's that much cubic volume we can't use for other parts of the GBA. We were worried, of course, how people would respond to that, but when we looked at our research, we found that the percentage of people that use headphones with their GBA is actually pretty low. It's low, but there are people that use them, so we decided to build the system with the majority of users in mind and, at the same time, also accommodate the rest of the people that play it with the adapter. It was a compromise, you could say.

    • I think they should have just included the adapter with the GBASP. From what I've seen it's quite inexpensive. They knew before releasing the system that people were going to be pissed off about no headphones, and they knew they'd have to make a small, cheap add-on. Sounds like their decision was purely based on making more money, not on being worried about adding more volume and angering customers.
      • I guess if their research was correct, then people would be paying for something they didn't use.

        They should have at least had a bundle with it. Here in australia you can only get a first party adapter if you send away to nintendo for it. Major PITA. I haven't bought my SP yet, but when I do I'll probably just settle for the thrustmaster 3rd party one.

        I hardly ever use my GBA without headphones...
  • I think the only thing missing from that system is the XYAB button configuration found on the SNES. That would have really made it a COMPLETE system.

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