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Portables (Games)

Next-gen Game Boy to Hit Stores This Year? 77

Posted by Zonk from the could-be dept.
Jason writes "CNN's always enjoyable Game Over column has an interesting story up about Nintendo's plans to launch its next generation Game Boy in 2005, as opposed to the expected 2006 release. The column predicts official word on the new GBA will come during Satoru Iwata's keynote at GDC. As yet, no features are known, but author Chris Morris speculates this could just be an incremental step, rather than a full-fledged generational leap."
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Next-gen Game Boy to Hit Stores This Year? More

Next-gen Game Boy to Hit Stores This Year?

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  • Risky.. (Score:5, Interesting)

    by WhatAmIDoingHere ( 742870 ) * <sexwithanimals@gmail.com> on Monday February 28, 2005 @04:30PM (#11806819) Homepage
    Nintendo is flooding the portable gaming market with their Original GBA, the flip GBA, and the DS.. The DS is a strong unit, but lacks games. The GBA has like 5 different flavors. There are only so many people who are willing to upgrade their game libraries for a new Gameboy unit every year or two.

    • Re:Risky.. (Score:3, Funny)

      by Babbster ( 107076 )
      Um, yeah, no. The GBA has exactly TWO flavors: GBA and GBA SP. And, since the SP has no additional gameplay benefits apart from the screen lighting (no big deal if you play the GBA without trouble), it's nowhere close being a forced upgrade situation. It would be like getting all over Nintendo for releasing the Gameboy Pocket whose only advantage over the original Gameboy was a smaller form factor.
      • The only Game Boy I have is a Game Boy Color. The atomic purple one. My cousin got the original GBA, and a few months later there was an upgrade. My friend got the upgraded one, and a few months later the DS came out. They're releasing them too fast. Pick one, develop it. Get some good games. How long was the original Game Boy out (including the thin one and the Game Boy Color) before the GBA came out? Compare the time between releases.
        • Gameboy Advance: 2001
          Gameboy Advance SP: 2003
          Nintendo DS: 2004

          A lot more than "a few months" and, again, there was nothing "forcing" an upgrade between the GBA's release and the release of the DS since the SP was only a change in form factor and screen lighting. Even the DS is optional since the GBA/SP is going strong with new releases all the time.

          • Re:Risky.. (Score:2, Insightful)

            by Mooga ( 789849 )
            Still, it normaly takes YEARS for new systems to come out. Making the new GB come out a less then a year after their past new GB is pushing it. It takes a good year or two for good games to come out. Do they really want to "replace" the DS before the good games come out. It looks like a bad idea too me and that they will probably end up lossing money.

            Unless this new GB is the DS-SP, which everyone knows is going to come out since the DS is HUGE (I know it's the same size as the GBA but that's HUGE too

            • Remember that Nintendo is adamantly insisting that the DS and the GBA lines are different - the DS is supposed to be the "third pillar" of Nintendo's system sales.

              I think this is not smart, myself, as most people perceive the DS to be a new GBA, and having to compete against a next-Gen Game Boy could easily kill both systems. But the "third pillar" line is Nintendo's official philosophy and is clearly guiding their decisions as a company

              .

            • Making the new GB come out a less then a year after their past new GB is pushing it. It takes a good year or two for good games to come out.

              At the risk of sounding redundant, what you said makes no sense. "It takes a good year or two for good games to come out" -- The SP already launched with HUNDREDS of games -- it was just a GBA in a different box. The SP does not count as a "new system." The SP is just a tweak to an existing system. So, in reality, it was four years between GBA and the DS. That is

              • To be fair, he was referring to the time period between the release of the DS and the next handheld, the latter of which is what the story was about.

        • Re:Risky.. (Score:2, Interesting)

          by drxray ( 839725 )
          The GBA and GBA SP take the same cartridges, and are the exact same hardware in different packages. The launch of the SP did not make an original GBA out of date, they play the same games.
          They are still releasing new GBA games even though the DS is out. The GBA has an absolutely huge game library, there are nearly 2000 games for it (I base this on the ROM numbering system used by warez groups, this counts each localised version seperately so you should really divide by 3), you can't complain that it hasn't
          • By counting Game Tab's list [gametab.com] (I did it a primitive way; just counted the number of games that fit on a screen and counted the number of screens I had to scroll down), I got approx 388.

            Game Tab might miss some games, I'm not sure.
            • Yeah, gametab misses some, on a quick scroll of the list there's no Iridion 1 or Snood. I also spotted a game that isn't out yet in English (AFAIK) - Fire Emblem 2. But, assuming those two effects cancel out then we're still taking 400-650 games (I wouldn't be surprised if it was at the lower end of that scale since of the ~2000 released I'd expect Japan to get a larger share than the other territories). Anyway, that's a lot of games, in the same league as the Xbox though not as many as the PS2...

            • At E3, when they unveiled the DS, Nintendo claimed over 500 GBA titles. I'm not sure what the precise number is, though.

              • P..Please! Nintendo is seeing major handheld competition for the first time ever. 500 GBA titles is not going to compete with PSP. 500 DS titles might.

                Mario Kart is not going to out do Gran Turismo. All it takes is a 2D castlevania SOTN wannabe, a Metal Gear Acid, Tekken, Final Fantasy... and Sony will start winning the market.

                Atari lynx was a joke given the size. Sega GameGear released when Sega was already on a downhill. This is the 1st time Nintendo is up against a company in its peak with a winni

        • Re:Risky.. (Score:5, Insightful)

          by supersuckers ( 841107 ) on Monday February 28, 2005 @04:59PM (#11807142) Homepage
          I agree with the grandparent. Let's go through a timeline of nintendo's handhelds starting with the gameboy (ignoring before that):

          1989: gameboy launched
          1996: gameboy pocked launched (better screen, smaller, but same game system)
          1998: gameboy color launched. This is nine years after the original gameboy, and it still played gameboy games.
          2001: gameboy advance launched.
          2003: gameboy advance sp launched. Mostly cosmetic changes to the original gameboy advance.
          2004: nintendo DS launched. Backwards compatible with gameboy advance.

          What on earth are you crying about? We've basically got 3 systems since 1989, and each "new" one has been backwards compatible. The original gameboy advance game out in 2001. The DS was the next major change, in late 2004. Actually, can you name many other markets that have moved that SLOW???

          • Re:Risky.. (Score:3, Insightful)

            by I(rispee_I(reme ( 310391 )
            2004: nintendo DS launched. Backwards compatible with gameboy advance.

            For purposes of clarity: the DS will play GBA games, but not Gameboy games. Still, I agree with your sentiment that Nintendo has behaved well regarding backwards compatibility.
            • I actually called Nintendo to ask about how far back the backwards compatibility went... Hey it was a free call.

              Basically, the GBA has two procs in it. One for emulating GBC and older the other is the GBA proc.

              For the DS to go back 2 generations, you'd need three procs in that bad boy. From a production stand-point I could see why they would drop support for anythign older than GBC. At least it offered the ability to interface DS and GBA games on the same system.

              Granted this would only be good for unl
          • 2001: gameboy advance launched.
            2003: gameboy advance sp launched. Mostly cosmetic changes to the original gameboy advance.

            The big deal about the GBA SP was not the cosmetic changes. The big deal was that the GBA had an unusable screen, while the SP had a usable screen. It should not have taken two years and a redesign to fix the glare and lighting problems.
            • the GBA did not have an unusable screen, have you played a GBA or are you just parroting what you have read online?
              • the GBA did not have an unusable screen, have you played a GBA or are you just parroting what you have read online?

                Of course I played it! The placement of the shoulder buttons was especially unfortunate, because you tend to tilt the GBA away to reach them, which exacerbates the glare. I eventually installed an Afterburner kit on my GBA, but it didn't really work that well. If Nintendo buys back my GBA, I'll get an SP, but until then, I'm boycotting them.
      • Sure, why not jump all over Nintendo? We do it to the movie studios for releasing 5 or 6 different versions of a DVD (can someone say LOTR?), and that's for a $20-$50 piece of media.

        When you're talking about a $80-$120 piece of hardware, isn't it worse?

    • Re: TWO WORDS. (Score:3, Interesting)

      by blahplusplus ( 757119 )
      Backwars compatability. The DS had it and its most likely the next Gameboy will have it. Nintendo has already started the trend of backwards compatable on handhelds and I dont see it going away because this is their biggest market in which they can't afford to fail.

      But I do agree flooding the market with hardware is not the answer, this is exactly how Sega DIED. Sega CD, 32X, Saturn, etc.

  • Why would this be a surprise? (Score:3, Informative)

    by Babbster ( 107076 ) <aaronbabb@NOspaM.gmail.com> on Monday February 28, 2005 @04:31PM (#11806831) Homepage
    It was announced very early on that the DS was NOT meant to be a replacement for the GBA - reading between the lines indicates that it was intended almost solely to be a way for Nintendo to maintain their handheld hegemony in the face of the imminent release of the PSP. That being the case, it should be no surprise to anyone that Nintendo has another handheld in the pipeline. Again, they as much as said so when the DS was announced.
    • The new system as described is supposed to be a "next generation" type system, meaning a good jump beyond the GBA. At least that's what they were saying only a month ago. Moving in with another high-end system only a year after releasing the DS would be suicidally insane. I think it's probably going to be another year and a half MINIMUM before we see a new GB design so as to not cannibalize the DS sales or injure the still-strong GBA sales.
    • If the DS is not a replacement for the GBA it shouldn't run GBA games. By making it backwards compatible they position it as a direct upgrade path. Which is also known as a replacement.

      I'm confused as to why Nintendo thinks they need two seperate handhelds on the market. They're only fracturing the market, which does not do them any good at all. For one thing they'll have smaller libraries for each unit than they would without fracturing the market.

      Personally I think this is a stupid decision.

      I think tha
      • So we're now calling backward compatibility a deficiency? Nintendo should have left it out so that they would sell fewer DS units? THAT sounds like a good idea.

        It's odd to me that so many videogame geeks consider the release of new products some kind of assault on them, as if suddenly their GBA or Xbox will stop working the day Nintendo puts out DS or Microsoft puts out their new console. In most industries, putting out new products is a GOOD thing.

        I, for one, am looking forward to all the new consol

        • When did I ever say that? I was just pointing out that they claim that it's not a replacement, but then make it the direct upgrade path by making it backwards compatible.
          • It's not fully backwards compatible; it's can only run GBA games.

            I know, it may not seem like a big deal, but running at the very least Gameboy Color games would be a nice thing for the next real Gameboy to do.

            Also, Nintendo was pretty clear on this strategy way before the DS was released. I don't know if it was stupid or not, but they have at least been consistent.

            • Nintendo has been good about backwards compatibility. The Gameboy Colour ran old GB games, the GBA ran GB and GBC games, and the DS runs GBA games.

              I'm going to make a prediction right now though. If the new gameboy uses an ARM-7 processor, it will be backwards compatible with old gameboy (GB, GBC) games. If it uses another processor (ARM-9 such as the DS, or another), it will NOT be backwards compatible all the way back.

              The reason for this is that the original gameboy, and Gameboy Colour, used a Z80 proce
              • ...I don't think you realize how Nintendo handles this in their systems; the various processors - ARM7's and 9's, and the Z80 - they're all on the same die.

                If you open up a GBA, you won't see a separate Z80, and likewise for a DS and the ARM7/9.

                Essentially, there would be no size impact (and no real complexity impact). Additionally, Z80's are practically trivial to make - they've been around for 20 years.

                Nintendo's decision to break compatability was just that - a decision to do so. The DS's main proc

      • DS to me seems to be an attempt to separate themselves from the "game boy" name in order to appeal to a more adult (not as in porn) market.

        If you walk into your office with a game boy your boss may complain, but if you just have a Nintendo DS with wireless IM, PDA like functions, PDA like stylus pad, ect... he would not have as much reason to call you on it.

        I firmly believe that the next step for the DS is as a poor man's PDA. All they need is a few software packages being released on NDS media which can
  • ...but I wonder what the point is exactly. They should be targeting the DS to new customers (more market share for their new handheld is important vs. the PSP, especially with regard to attracting developers), and I don't think that they're selling this device to DS-owners.

  • Must control wallet of death (Score:5, Funny)

    by Aerion ( 705544 ) on Monday February 28, 2005 @04:56PM (#11807097)
    I already have a SP and DS. If Nintendo expects me to buy their next system, too, they're going to have to give it some really nice features, and a really promising game lineup.

    Or make it shiny.
    • "Or make it shiny."

      They could make it chrome, or stainless steel. mmmmmmm.

      Maybe they could make a higher end model out of Carbon Steel.
      That way you can drop it in the gravel, and not worry about the case getting scratched up. :)

  • It's an analyst. (Score:5, Interesting)

    by mcc ( 14761 ) <amcclure@purdue.edu> on Monday February 28, 2005 @05:07PM (#11807222) Homepage
    It's an analyst.

    This is based on nothing but an analyst making stuff up. This should be given as much credence as "some guy on the internet thinks there will be a next-gen game boy this year". Only less, because at this point, given the previous track records of video game industry analysts, when they say something I for one consider it automatically less likely. If analysts were to be taken seriously, Nintendo by now would have gone bankrupt, become a third party publisher, began selling internet-playable games, and been selling VoIP software for the Nintendo DS.

    But anyhow. Even by itself this is incredibly unlikely. Nintendo tends to have a really really strong bond between its handhelds, both functionally-- the Gamecube was practically a peripheral for the GBA-- and from a marketing perspective. The Gamecube and GBA were released at nearly the same time, were they not? I am told developers got the dev kits for both at about the same time. But jumping the GBA2 way ahead of the Revolution, as this analyst predicts, would make it hard to establish "synergy" between the two, or whatever. Nintendo will probably be pushing the Revolution (their new console, which will be unveiled at E3 and probably ship sometime next year) and the GBA2 at the same time.

    The prediction then becomes even less likely because Nintendo is still right now smack dab in the middle of a major promotional push for the DS, and will be continuing this push for most of the year. They've still barely begun building that brand, and the games they originally promised would be out by the end of Q1 won't be all out until like the end of the summer. Developers still aren't all the way on board, and I don't think consumers will consider the DS fully "here" until all that originally-promised stuff, plus Mario Kart are out. So putting out a new GBA before this process is done would totally undermine any attempt for the DS to truly take root. "Pillars" or no, Nintendo doesn't have the PR resources to sell the public on two new handhelds at the same time. They'll need to get the DS established before they can start pitching the GBA2.

    Finally the specific plan this article is speculating on is way, way less likely than even the idea itself, since they claim the GBA will remain in stores after the GBA2 hits. Selling the GBA and GBA2 simultaneously would make no sense whatsoever. Among other things that would mean totally abandoning the "three pillars" whatsit they keep babbling about; they'd have four pillars.

    What would not surprise me is Nintendo announcing the GBA2 at E3 this year. But I think we'll see it at earliest simultaneous with the Revolution, and probably a little afterward.

    I think we might see it a little later than the Revolution for two reasons: first off, there's been vague and shadowy rumors about developers being shown the Revolution. Nothing about the GBA2. Second off, the GBA2 has a problem the DS doesn't. It has to justify itself. It's obvious why people with a GBA would buy a DS; it's got all this stuff, it's got the touchscreen and the 3D and it's just generally fucked up. It's obvious why someone buying a new handheld might choose a GBA rather than a DS; it's smaller and cheaper. What isn't obvious why anyone with a GBA or a DS would buy a GBA2. Nintendo is going to have to pull out a serious graphical update, something at least better than the PSP, while retaining both the small size and the position of best battery life, in order for the GBA2 to really make any sense (unless Nintendo's satisfied with just it being the GBA 1.1 and it almost entirely appealing to new purchasers rather than upgraders). I don't know how long it will take the technology to get where it needs to be for that to be possible.
    • Minor typo: When I say "Nintendo tends to have a really really strong bond between its handhelds" above I meant "Nintendo tends to have a really really strong bond between its handhelds and its consoles". Meh.

    • Re:It's an analyst. (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Macgrrl ( 762836 )

      What isn't obvious why anyone with a GBA or a DS would buy a GBA2.

      It's unlikely this would be the case, but one excellent reason to buy a GBA2 would be if it could act as a comfortable and fully functional wireless controller for the Revolution AS WELL AS a standalone portable gaming device.

      • This has been a very poorly adopted and somewhat unpopular feature of the GBA; in fact one of Nintendo's big pitches with the DS is along the lines of "connectivity without all that hassle". The GBA2/Revolution offers Nintendo a great chance to salvage the connectivity concept so that it is no longer a source of active complaint, but I doubt it could become a selling point of the system...

        • That's because the GBA sucks as a controller - hence the specifications that the GBA2 be a comfortable and fully functional as a replacement controller. :)

    • To be fair, the analyst is not talking about the GBA2, but the GBA SP 2. To me a GBA SP 2 would likely have a better screen, more comfortable shoulder buttons, a built-in headphone jack (DAMN YOU NINTENDO!), and a lower price point. Remember, the SP was 100% compatible with the GBA, and a SP2 would probably keep that tradition.

      Of course, he'd be foolish to think that the NESGBASP2 would ship at 100, with the DS crunching down from 150. But it is possible that an update to Nintendo's cheaper handheld sys
      • Hey, just give it 6 buttons (4 face, 2 shoulder, not counting start & select) like the DS, and at least a 320*240 rez and I'm happy.

        All the best old systems will fit into that spec, especially the SNES.
        That was my biggest disappointment with the GP32, that they chose to only give it two front buttons instead of 4, so even if anyone does ever get a SNES emulator up to full speed on it, only the simpler games will actually be playable without using silly button combos.
  • The posibilities for getting a good lineup for the DS will sink like a rock the minute the gba 2 gets announced. If they actually release it this year the DS pretty much would have finished before starting, No decent third party developer would even think to launch a title in a device that has competition by a newer one from the same company. (launch a psx title? when theres a ps2 available no way) the GBA however has a good shot because it has a huge market penetration world wide (unlike the DS)

    That woul

  • Read the Full GBA Report Here (Score:3, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 28, 2005 @06:37PM (#11808036)
    Kotaku [kotaku.com] has the analyst's entire report. Check it out for all the nitty-gritty.
  • Needing an adapter to plug in a headset is really stupid. It's double-stupid that you can't do it while it's plugged into a gamecube because that goofy plastic crap covers up the whole back of the unit.
  • The article claims that Nintendo will make their new game boy to compete with the PSP, but that's the DS's job. And while Nintendo doesn't exactly push out titles like Sony does, a new system would make the DS's life incredibly short. The DS sold extremely well, Nintendo has every reason to support their system (and I wish they would hurry up and do it), and if they just push out enough titles, they should be able to. The article's idea that the DS is aimed for an older crowd is the same song we've been he
    • Sorry about the big block of text. Never use the preview button as much as I should
    • For gamers, you can't generalize age to anything. Either people play games, or they don't. Which and how many systems they buy is equal to their pocket book and what games are out for it they like. The GB has just as good titles as the PC.
      • It's not what gamers will play and what they won't. We're talking about the people that aren't gamers. The gamers will play whatever is fun, the casual players (who are still the majority), are what decides the system wars.

  • Not likely. (Score:3, Interesting)

    by RyoShin ( 610051 ) <tukaro@[ ]il.com ['gma' in gap]> on Tuesday March 01, 2005 @02:49AM (#11810619) Homepage Journal
    There's a better chance that I'll win a million dollar lottery. Please please please...

    The DS just came out, and while Nintendo is 'all about' the third pillar, throwing up the next-gen GB this year would really be disasterous. The DS is selling strong, partly because it can play the GBA games, so it's limited DS software offerings aren't as big of a hold back.

    Plus, the GBA is still selling strong. Nintendo has no real reason to pop out the sixth itineration of the GB line this soon.

    Regardless of what happens, where exactly can they go with the next GameBoy? Better graphics is an obvious answer, but then what happens to backwards compatability?

    Will the next GameBoy have three chips to play next-gen, Advance, Color, and regular games? Or will Nintendo just say "No one plays color or below, so no more support for that!" After all, with the re-releasing of a lot of Gameboy games on the Advance system (such as FireRed/LeafGreen), the use of the regular carts has dwindled. Plus, if you can't use the regular carts, that will give Nintendo extra incentive to release anthology carts (similar to Super Mario All Stars for the SNES, or the Zelda bundle for the Gamecube) for the new system.

    Aside from graphics, what else can be expected? We already have our 'backlight'. The chances of Nintendo going with a true backlight (ala PSP or GameGear) seem nill to me, as it eats up batteries fairly quickly. What they devised for the SP will stick around for some time.

    What about buttons? D-pad is a given, and maybe we'll get a third (or four!) regular buttons. I doubt the shoulder buttons will change at all (well, maybe they'll stick on two extra ones, but don't bet on it.)

    I think the big hurdle they'll have to work on for the next GameBoy is 3D games. The GBA can emulate 3D systems to an extent, and as '3D realistic' games become more and more popular, it would be good to have it on the next GameBoy as well. However, to do 3D well, they would definately have to have more buttons, as you have to worry about a z-axis now. If they could come up with one pad that accounts for all three axes, though, that would be very keen (and would likely be copied by many people.)
  • It's more likely that we'll see an upgraded DS than a GBA2. something like a GBA SP equivalent.
  • ... a big screen, better graphics than the PSP and an analogue stick Sony are going to walk away with the handheld market. If as TFA suggests the next GB is just be a hardware bump then Nintendo are making a big mistake.
  • According to some analysis [spong.com] of the GBA2 rumours, combined with Nintendo licensing Palm OS software [slashdot.org] it looks bad for touch screen gaming.

    If the GBA2 launches this year, what are the chances of publishes launching games for both the DS and the GBA2? Slim to none, and Nintendo knows this, so license Palm OS, turn the DS into a PDA and throw your weight behind the GBA2 as the gaming platform.

    Paranoid? The DS launches in Europe next Friday and there has been no public advertising in the UK yet.
  • I don't think that the lessons that Sega learned when you fill the channel with too many different kinds of hardware will be lost on Nintendo. If Nintendo does release a new GBA, it will most likely be an update along the lines of Sony's redesigned PS2. They add some things that people have wanted, like a standard headphone jack and take away things that no one uses or that cause problems. If a new GBA comes out, expect it to be harder or impossible to play pirated games and don't be surprised if GB Color c

  • New Game Boy should use DS chipset (Score:3, Insightful)

    by drwiii ( 434 ) on Tuesday March 01, 2005 @09:35AM (#11812094) Homepage
    Nintendo would be suicidal to play it any other way. The new Game Boy should use the DS chipset without the frills (touch screen, microphone, wireless, second display) with the same cartridge form factor. That way, existing DS owners will have "forward" compatibility with the new Game Boy offerings and Nintendo doesn't end up segmenting their market.
    • What would be the point of using the DS chipset if you're going to rape it's "features". Is that just to be able to watch the DS games with almost no form of interaction?

      I know some DS games hardly use the touchscreen for any real purposes but making the new Gameboy have the same chipset for backwards compatibility sake and NOT having any of the actual inputs seems like business suicide.

      I would like the next Gameboy to have a wide touchscreen. Emulating the DS wouldn't be too hard since the widescreen sh
      • No, the point of using a scaled back DS chipset would be to ensure that "New Game Boy" games would be compatible with the DS. Nothing stops a DS executable from only initializing one screen, only using the D-Pad and buttons for input, etc. Existing DS games wouldn't be compatible with the "New Game Boy", obviously.

        I wouldn't be surprised if Nintendo's goal is to get a "stripped-down DS" out there as "the New Game Boy" for $75 or less. That way, they get their classic Nintendo price beachhead against Sony

  • I have a diverse collection of GBA games. After having a DS since launch, I think it needs to be really clear: Nintendo DS is not completely downward compatible with GBA. It is disappointing that it can't play GB games, but many of the GBA games, past and present, simply don't work with DS. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean the bug will prevent the game from playing. I spent about an hour playing Phantasy Star before realizing that it cannot save games. My GBA SP could, though. There are sound problem
    • Granted I don't have a huge library of GBA games, but I've never had any problems using the DS to play any of them. In fact, I liked playing the Minish Cap better on the DS than SP because the start button was placed where I could reach it easy to switch weapons. Not saying I don't believe you, just haven't seen any of those issues myself.
  • All this talk about GBA2 and backwards compatability started me thinking. What if instead of making a completely new system, they took there current console, the GameCube, and made it a handheld? The disks are already the right size, so conceiveably they could be played on a handheld no bigger than a PSP. And it would more than compete with a PSP. The system would have an enormous lineup of games at launch and this would therefore boost its compatabilty. Also it would help the Revolution's sales as people w

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