Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10957 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: Nintendo
• Model: AGB-001
• Released on: 2001-06-22
• ESRB Rating: Everyone
• Platform: Game Boy Advance
• Subtitled in: German
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: .20 pounds

Amazon.co.uk Review
The Game Boy Advance features power that would have been unthinkable back when the original Game Boy was launched. Its 32-bit RISC CPU runs circles around the former machine's 8-bit workhorse, allowing it to process program instructions much faster. What that means to everyday gamers is more intricate visuals, more simultaneous movement on the screen, and better sound. In fact, the often-annoying bleeps and bloops of old-school Game Boy titles are being replaced with digitised stereo sound. When you first pick up the system, you'll notice how lightweight it is. It's a little less than 150 grams, but a little larger than a deck of playing cards. The GBA's wider shape fits better into a wider range of hands, and the screen is fitted with antiglare technology--you need pretty good light to play by, but you won't be craning your neck and tilting the unit to see around the reflection of the light bulb in your screen.

You'll also notice the graphics. Essentially sporting redesigned SNES technology, you'll see things on the GBA that the big consoles do, such as scaling (making objects larger or smaller) and rotation effects--technological advances that will affect the look of everything from crossing a finish line to scoring a goal to crawling through a dungeon. The extra processing muscle also means you can network up to four Game Boy Advance units together, via the communication cable, for multiplayer fun from one shared cartridge. Because the Game Boy Advance system is backward-compatible, it will play not only its own line of colourful games--including such launch titles as Super Mario Advance, F-Zero: Maximum Velocity, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, and Kuru Kuru Kurin--but also almost all of the monochrome and colour games that have already been released for the previous Game Boy systems. It seems that Nintendo have wisely struck a balance between size, price, and power consumption. And considering how well the old 8-bit system weathered the decade's technological storms, the Game Boy Advance seems here to stay. --Porter B Hall

Manufacturer's Description
The Game Boy Advance is the next step in portable gaming. If you thought Game Boy Color made a radical leap in hand-held entertainment, just wait until you feel the power of Game Boy Advance's 32-bit color graphics and intense new horizontal design. The screen is bigger, but it's just as compact as Game Boy Color. The addition of L and R Buttons add increased control, taking your gameplay experience to the next level. There's virtually nothing that Game Boy Advance can't do. It is fully compatible with all pre-existing Game Boy and Game Boy Color games. Four, not two, FOUR Game Boy Advances can link up for incredible multiplayer action. Game Boy Advance represents the future of hand-held gaming, and that future is almost here.

Customer Reviews

Design perfection
The Game Boy Advance is a marvel of design from Nintendo. And a quick glance at the revolving animation overload of gameboyadvance.com shows you just how proud they are of it. With good reason, too. What makes it far, far superior to anything nearby, WonderSwan, Neo Geo Color and such, is the presence of a 'super-reflective' screen as as opposed to the back lit and battery hungry screens of the aforementioned systems. As a result, you can get 25 hours and more out of 2 AA batteries. And thats a definate plus. Looking at the first batch of games, it is very promoising. Mario Kart Advance, boasting 40 tracks (more than it's snes counterpart) gives us a glimpse of the mode 7 capabilities, and super mario advance shows exactly how snes games can be ported over with no fuss. And they even throw in a nes game on that, too, with the graphics of the updated snes counterpart. The only `fault` visible right now is hardly a fault, it`s simply a system limitation. The absence of `z buffering` means games like Starwing are highly unlikely. Hardly a fault, but a slight shame. So we can look forward to classic snes games being ported over for the paltry sum of 30 pounds. And with the growing interest in the game cube, and the future compatibility of the gba and gc, we can look forward to some very intersting tie ins from mainstream game developers like square and sony. Excellent little machine, and with astounding power. A return to form for Nintendo!

Brill!
This is a brilliant console and came in at just the right time!I was thinking if I found my Game Boy Colour(which I have) I would lose it on purpose to get a new GBA.The colour looks great and the graphics are wonderful.

Superb
This is the most impressive console on the market. PS2 eat ya heart out! Nintendo have finally got the price and supply right. With games like F-Zero, Kuru Kuru Kurin, Rayman and Mario out now and games like Zelda advance on the way, splash the cash and get the greatest console on earth!!