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Portables (Games) Businesses Nintendo

GBA SP Updated with Brighter Backlit Screen 237

Posted by samzenpus from the brighter-than-ever dept.
PSXer writes "Nintendo has quietly included a much brighter backlit screen into the new Game Boy Advance SP Graphite and Pearl Blue colors. From the article: "Though all that's changed between the classic GBA SP system and the updated ones is the screen technology, the difference is night and day. The new system kicks on with incredible brightness and clarity in its display right from the start, and the improvement becomes even more obvious with each game you stick in the system.""
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GBA SP Updated with Brighter Backlit Screen More

GBA SP Updated with Brighter Backlit Screen

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  • That's nice... (Score:5, Funny)

    by caryw ( 131578 ) <carywiedemann&gmail,com> on Thursday September 22, 2005 @04:43AM (#13620067) Homepage
    But where's the incredible Gameboy Revolution that you can throw like a dart or kick like a soccer ball?
    --
    Fairfax Underground: Where Fairfax County comes out to play [fairfaxunderground.com]

    • Re:That's nice... (Score:5, Informative)

      by ciroknight ( 601098 ) on Thursday September 22, 2005 @04:54AM (#13620085)
      You can do that already with a GBA SP..

      Just don't expect it to continue working afterwards..

      • Re:That's nice... (Score:5, Informative)

        by Soul-Burn666 ( 574119 ) on Thursday September 22, 2005 @08:56AM (#13621047) Journal
        Actually you should.
        Nintendo devices are known to be virtually indestructable.

        My friend's DS fell from a sitting height onto a hard tiled floor, while running. Result? Not even a stratch and the game kept on running.

        A recent slashdot post was about someone who threw his GC Wavebird controller in anger. It flew two rooms until it landed in a kitchen shelf. Result? a few scratchs, and the controller kept working, controlling the game two rooms away!

        Moreover, I don't remember if it was for the GBA or one of the older GBs, but there was a game which had a tilt sensor inside the game catridge and allowed you to control some of the features by tilting. iirc it had a maze with a ball that you could tilt the device to make it roll to one side or the other.
        • Nintendo devices are known to be virtually indestructable.

          I wish. My son was fooling around with his on a counter at a UPS place. It hit the floor and the screen was no longer functional.

        • Re:That's nice... (Score:2, Interesting)

          by Goose42 ( 88624 )
          Of course, anyone who subscribed to Nintendo Power during the original Gulf War will remember the story of the US soldier who had his barracks shelled while he was out on assignment. He sifted through the rubble, pulled out his Game Boy, and although the case was somewhat melted, the bloody thing still worked.
        • It was a Kirby game for the gameboy color. The "ball" was Kirby.
        • The GBA SP screen breaks from just being looked at funny. The original GBA seems a lot tougher.
      • But where's the incredible Gameboy Revolution that you can throw like a dart or kick like a soccer ball?

        You can do that already with a GBA SP..

        Just don't expect it to continue working afterwards..

        Well, considering that I've dropped, thrown, ran over, dunked in water, punched, taken apart, etc, and it still works like the day I bought it, I don't think that would be a problem.

  • psss who need a brigher blacklight (Score:4, Funny)

    by Kuku_monroe ( 753761 ) on Thursday September 22, 2005 @04:47AM (#13620070) Homepage
    I have no problems playing with a flashlight in my mouth (and a candle if i need to take the flashlight batteries for my GB)

  • Similar to the new Game Boy Micro (Score:5, Insightful)

    by meatflower ( 830472 ) on Thursday September 22, 2005 @04:47AM (#13620072)
    The new Game Boy Micro (think GBA SP meets iPod Nano) has been noted for its much brighter display.
    http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000990043834/ [engadget.com]
    I suppose Nintendo has decided to move the technology to the standard size SP as well...all of this development on what is basically a GBA I find puzzling. With the DS having been out for some time now I would think most people looking to buy a Game Boy device would look to the DS, especially considering it can be had for as little as $129 now.

  • 3 IGN (Score:3, Funny)

    by beckett ( 27524 ) on Thursday September 22, 2005 @04:51AM (#13620079) Homepage Journal
    dear slashdot editors,

    hey i think you made a mistake in the article posting. i was expecting an article on the new GBA but all i got was an ad. what's up?

    • Re:3 IGN (Score:5, Informative)

      by makomk ( 752139 ) on Thursday September 22, 2005 @05:24AM (#13620143) Journal
      The website does have one interesting property. If you've got cookies disabled, you can't read the article - it just displays ad after ad, in some sort of loop. Damn annoying. Of course, that's not to say the article itself isn't an ad of sorts - but it's more relevant (and interesting).

      Anyway, I wonder if retailers are going to have to discount the older, dimmer version in order to sell off old stock - and by how much?

  • Much Better (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 22, 2005 @05:05AM (#13620111)
    I love the photos with the slightly adjusted 'previous version' gameboy that has just a tad bit more angle on it to increase the viewing angle and thus the increased light effect they are trying to show *cough*buybuysatan*cough*

  • Brighter light=shorter battery life (Score:5, Funny)

    by jurt1235 ( 834677 ) on Thursday September 22, 2005 @05:10AM (#13620120) Homepage
    Plan to win a head to head game:
    1. Take your original GBA with dim light
    2. Play a game against a person with a new brightly lid GBA.
    3. At a certain moment the other one just stops because he ran out of battery power. You will still have some minutes left. => Victory!

  • Yeah! (Score:5, Insightful)

    by ShaolinTiger ( 798138 ) on Thursday September 22, 2005 @05:28AM (#13620152) Homepage
    1. Change something minor on your product
    2. Get loads more free publicity
    3. PROFIT!

  • Gameboy Micro is sweet! (Score:5, Interesting)

    by los furtive ( 232491 ) <ChrisLamothe@gma ... minus physicist> on Thursday September 22, 2005 @05:38AM (#13620164) Homepage
    To hell with the SP. I just got a Gameboy Micro and it is sweet! It's the same size as my Nokia phone, and way smaller than my Mario Cement Factory Nintendo Game & Watch. The screen, while small is just brilliantly gorgeous. For those of you who have SPs you'll find the screen lacking in size, but for a guy like me who skipped the whole Advance series and was using the original Gameboy as my last portable (we'll ignore the fact I also owned a GameGear and Lynx) the screen size is just fine. It's a real classy device.

  • Battery Usage (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Bad to the Ben ( 871357 ) on Thursday September 22, 2005 @05:42AM (#13620170)
    What sort of effect does the new screen have on battery usage? Has battery capacity been increased to compensate?

    It can be frustrating when new energy-draining features are added without a corresponding increase in power supply. I now a lot of this is due to battery chemistry restrictions, but isn't the Gameboy battery system rather old? Perhaps some new advances have come out that Nintendo could use to offset the extra drain.

    • Re:Battery Usage (Score:5, Interesting)

      by ultranova ( 717540 ) on Thursday September 22, 2005 @06:29AM (#13620257)

      It can be frustrating when new energy-draining features are added without a corresponding increase in power supply. I now a lot of this is due to battery chemistry restrictions, but isn't the Gameboy battery system rather old? Perhaps some new advances have come out that Nintendo could use to offset the extra drain.

      Perhaps one could connect the buttons (especially the directional controller) into generators ? It wouldn't neccessarily give them much more resistance, but together with some of those funky generators that turn acceleration and shaking into power, it might be just enough to supply the device.

      • Now that is a damn good idea!

        And by funky generators, you mean like this shake torch [gadgets.co.uk], right? Cause that would kick ass. I mean, it's a portable gaming device, of course it's going to move, might as well get some current out of it.
    • I think the backlight technology is probably different, so it is more efficient. My guess is maybe they switched to white LEDs.
      • The backlight in the original SP wasn't very well designed. Have a look at the SP's screen at odd angles (especially from the top) and note how much light is being thrown off at those angles. That's light that isn't being used to illuminate the screen when you're looking at it from the front. Nintendo could of simply made the new SP brighter by putting in a better mirror for the backlight.

  • DS Comparison? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by falkryn ( 715775 ) on Thursday September 22, 2005 @06:21AM (#13620235)
    So I guess my question would be, which is brighter, this or the DS? Or are they the same now?

    Personally what I wish they release would be a GB with this type of screen, however with the shape and such of the original GBA (which I have and enjoy). The SP form factor while better for protecting the screen I guess, just feels more cramped to me. I've considered getting a DS for this reason. The dual-screen and pen don't mean a whole bunch to me. I just want a brighter screen and be able to comfortably keep my hands apart.
    • "Personally what I wish they release would be a GB with this type of screen, however with the shape and such of the original GBA"
      It's already here, more or less, as the PSP ;)
      But seriously, the PSP is probably just the thing the GBA would have been if Nintendo had decided to upgrade it's hardware. But with the small difference it only get crappy games of course ;)

      (I didn't wanted to say anything good about THEIR side :D)
    • Apparently this is brighter than the DS.
  • So is the new SP screen brighter than the PSP screen?
    • I think not, since I've earlier read that:
      GBA (no light) http://www.ign.com/, http://www.1up.com/ [1up.com] and http://www.gamespot.com/ [gamespot.com] for screenshots and movies.
    • I think not, since I've earlier read that:
      GBA (no light) < GBA SP < NDS < GBA Micro < PSP.

      And this one seem to be said to have the same brightness as the Micro.

      I've also understood that the PSP and the new GBA SP got slower screens, and the NDS and GBA Micro got faster ones (don't know which one is fastest.)

      Some people have complained the GBA SP got a blueish color, and on the example photos it looks like the GBA Micro also got a tint of blue. The new GBA SP seems to have better colors.
  • Great. Just bought a 2nd GBA SP 8 weeks ago. With the small one coming up and this new one ... guess I'll wait a while before shelling out money again. But I'm going o at look at it. Always thought the SP screen could be a little brighter.

  • Fixing problems that don't exist? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by KeiserSoze ( 657078 ) on Thursday September 22, 2005 @06:34AM (#13620267) Homepage
    Interestingly enough, the main gripe users had with the backlight was the discolouration it had on the screen, tinting everything slightly blue. If this fixes that problem I could see merit in it - but if it not only is just brighter, but uses x amount of battery life to power that, what is the benefit? Personally, what the SP needed was a brightness adjustment, as anybody who has used it late at night will no doubt agree.

  • Missing the point? (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Sockatume ( 732728 )
    Those maligning the system as pointless because they already have a GBA SP or a Micro are perhaps missing the point. While I'm sure a few existing GBA or SP users will buy the thing, they're not the target market: like the quieter, DVD-R-able PS2, this is a refinement of the product line aimed at people who haven't got the system yet.
    • Heh, I still own and use the Lame Boy. Actually, my girlfriend picked it up the other day to play Zelda, and...

      GF: "Where's the backlight?"
      Me: "There is no backlight."
      GF: "Don't be a prick. Seriously, where's the button?"
      Me: "I'm totally serious. That's as bright as it gets."

      I was in trouble until a trusted source could verify that yes, Nintendo did something incredibly stupid when they made that console.

      On the bright side, I can charge up a couple of Ni-MH batteries and run it for about a year. As long as
  • It is really surprising to me that this device is still on the market. I'm used to seeing a current system phased out rather quickly once the new one hits the shelves. Doesn't Nintendo worry about this gameboy cannibalizing the sales of the Nintendo DS? With higher volume, Nintendo could lower the price of the DS but for most of the SP sales they're getting, they're missing that DS sale. It just seems a little odd to me to have various gameboys (albeit different features) on the market at the same time.
    • Not really.
      Since the DS can play GBA games, they don't mind keeping the GBA still alive. Every game that comes out for the GBA is another DS game aswell.
      They also want to give you choise. Some people might say: "The DS is too big and expensive.. is there any cool portable which is smaller and cheaper?" The answer is yes, the GBA, GBA SP and GBM. These people would have not bought a DS but might just buy a GBA.
      And again, every game that is published for the GBA can be played on the DS.
      It's not like Nintendo
    • Someone hasn't seen a pack of gamers sitting around playing Nintendogs, have they?

    • Despite the claims about GB/DS sales, I suspect the price is high enough that people aren't willing to buy them for their 8 year olds. The SP, on the other hand, seems to fall under that line.

      Caveat: In my own case, I make the kids work for their toys: In late 2004, my (then) 7 year old saved her allowance and traded in her GB/Color for a GBA SP. This year, after saving her allowance for 6-8 months, she traded from the SP up to the DS. She had actually accumulated enough birthday money and trade ins to pay
  • I just bought a GBA SP about 3 weeks ago. I wonder how much credit I would get from EBGames as a trade-in for this newer version. The GBA SP LCD is a little too dim. The manual recommends having the light off for better battery time. Though I have never been able to really see the screen with it off, even if I am standing outside down here in Sunny Florida.

  • The goggles, they do nothing!

  • I'm an older gamer with increasingly bad eyes. The drawback of the SP for me has relatively dim screen. When they announced the Micro, I was intersted in the brighter screen, but ticked off at the smaller screen. A new brighter screened SP is just what I need.

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