GameBoy Micro on September 19th

[Sol]

Yeah baby, the GameBoy Micro will be available on September the 19th!

http://nintendonow.e-mpire.com/index.php?categoryid=4&m_articles_articleid=2924&PHPSESSID=9aa9c0d73eb7318826370f2482641493

I own both the GBA SP and the Nintendo DS but I am definitely getting the Micro too. First of all I want to see my GBA games look better than ever and the Micro's screen is supposed to be Nintendo's best yet. Second, the Micro will fit in my tight jeans ;) so I could take it with me everywhere. I just hope the price is mini too.

[DeSnousa]

So will this only play game boy advance games. Weird that they still create for that platform.

[DrNeroCF]

Considering I use my DS to mostly play GBA games, I wouldn't say it's altogether a bad idea. Hell, Advanced Wars 2 will keep you busy for years... literally... I think the thing is in response to the lack of wired GBA multiplayer in the DS, actually. And I'm pretty sure it'll cost about 70 bucks, maybe less.

[JDOG_]

"The company also said its upcoming Game Boy Micro, a cell phone-size handheld, will ship at the end of September and sell for $99 in the United States. It will also be released in Japan and Europe in time for the holiday season."

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticleSearch.aspx?storyID=248757+16-Aug-2005+RTRS&srch=nintendo+ds

Who does Nintendo think they're kidding? An aged peice of hardware like that selling for anything beyond what the SP currently costs is stupid. I'd much rather have an SP at this point...better battery life, larger (protected) screen and still very pocket-sized.

[kalisphoenix]

What the @#$%? Another gameboy? This makes like forty, right? God@#$%, what the hell are they thinking? Can't they come up with anything new?

[GFLPraxis]

What the @#$%? Another gameboy? This makes like forty, right? God@#$%, what the hell are they thinking? Can't they come up with anything new?

Um, this makes six...



GameBoy, and GameBoy Pocket (miniature of the predecessor).

Then GameBoy Color.

Then GameBoy Advance, and GameBoy Advance SP (added a backlight), then GameBoy Micro (miniature of the predecessor).

What's so bad?




Also, Reuters is incorrect. Nintendo NEVER gave a price on the GameBoy Micro, some other magazines did. While it could be $99, I find this EXTREMELY unrealistic because Reggie specificly stated it would be the cheapest GameBoy ever produced.

Nintendo themselves have not announced a price point.

[faintember]

Um, this makes six...



GameBoy, and GameBoy Pocket (miniature of the predecessor).

Then GameBoy Color.

Then GameBoy Advance, and GameBoy Advance SP (added a backlight), then GameBoy Micro (miniature of the predecessor).

What's so bad?




Also, Reuters is incorrect. Nintendo NEVER gave a price on the GameBoy Micro, some other magazines did. While it could be $99, I find this EXTREMELY unrealistic because Reggie specificly stated it would be the cheapest GameBoy ever produced.

Nintendo themselves have not announced a price point.
Didn't ya forget the DS? :p
I think the hand-helds are one of the few things keeping Nintendo going, and now the PSP is invading that market, hince, the new device? Ehh just speculation on my part.

[JW8725]

Just imagine if this thing could store music too? I know there are recordable GBA ROMS out there. I've seen them touch 2 gigs now! Stupid nintendo! Why couldnt they have added mp3 functionality? BTW I will be buying one of these as you can now have Mac emulation for the games you own already on the GBA! :D

[.Andy]

Didn't ya forget the DS? :p
Ahh but the DS isn't officially a gameboy :p.

Anyway for some reason I'd love to get one of these. I have an advance and a DS but it just reminds me of the old game-and-watches in a nostalgic kind of way.

Far too whipped to even try to convince the SO though :(.

[GFLPraxis]

Didn't ya forget the DS? :p
I think the hand-helds are one of the few things keeping Nintendo going, and now the PSP is invading that market, hince, the new device? Ehh just speculation on my part.

DS ain't a GameBoy ;)

It should also be noted that Nintendo reported more profits on the GameCube than either Microsoft or Sony (BARELY more than Sony). Before anyone says this is ridiculous, Nintendo had a higher marketshare for most of the lifespan as Microsoft and stayed tied at 15% each for the last year. Throw in the fact that both Microsoft and Sony sell their systems at a loss (especially Microsoft, who had NEGATIVE profits; very easy to get higher profits than that ;) ), and that Nintendo sells more first party games than third party and companies make more on first party...

Remember, Nintendo always sold the GameCube at a profit. So while it didn't sell too well in the U.S., the GameCube trounced the XBox in Japan and made a TON of money everywhere. Profitwise, Nintendo did great this generation.




Also, I don't feel they have too many handhelds. Overall, we've had:


1) Their first handheld system.
2) Their first color handheld system.
3) Their first 16-bit color system.


Then they had miniatures of #1 and #3 (just like Sony released the PSOne and PSTwo), and the only abnormality is the GBA SP which was a model to add a lit screen.

[GFLPraxis]

Just imagine if this thing could store music too? I know there are recordable GBA ROMS out there. I've seen them touch 2 gigs now! Stupid nintendo! Why couldnt they have added mp3 functionality? BTW I will be buying one of these as you can now have Mac emulation for the games you own already on the GBA! :D


You can.


http://movieadvance.com/

A $25 CF card adapter for the GBA, plays videos, music, ebooks, NES and GBA games under 250k in size, and images on the GBA.

The conversion software supports a TON of formats. You can buy it right now off Lik-sang, too.


Alternatively, supposedly to be released on the 30th, is the M3 Adapter, the third generation Movie Player (the above one is the 2nd gen).

It's basicly the same thing, except it includes a bunch of onboard RAM (the previous one was limited to 250k for NES games, GBA games, and homebrew because CompactFlash cards do not support XIP to run apps directly from the card and the GBA had very little RAM) to remove the limitations on the Movie Player for running apps, plus support for saveram and some other stuff.

AND...if you use a PassMe, or their clone called PassKey, and put it in the DS (PassMe is a DS cartridge that you boot with, which tells the DS to run whatevers on the GBA slot in DS mode) it has DS support, with the bigger screen, and capability of running SNES and Game Gear and GameBoy Color games as well. Plus commercial DS and GBA roms and a multibooter so you could put several DS apps, for example, DSLinux, WinS, and Mario 64, on one CF card and choose which to boot.

The conversion software supports:
Dobly AC3 audio frequency file (*. AC3)
target's file of DVD video (*. VOB)
wave form sound file of Microsoft (*. WAV)
MPEG-1 Audio Layer-2 file (*. MP2)
MPEG-1 Audio Layer-3 file (*. MP3)
Real media file (*. RA, *. RM, *. RAM, *. RMVB)
MPEG-1 media file (*. Mpeg, *. Mpg)
MPEG-2 media file (*. M2V)
Windows media file (*. AVI, *. ASF, *. WMA, *. WMV)
VCD video file (*. DAT)
QuickTime media file (*. MOV)
MPEG-4 media file (*. AVI)
DivX media file (*. AVI)


The only problem I see is that it sounds too awesome to be true :D


There's some pretty dang cool homebrew stuff out there :D

[crachoar]

...Profitwise, Nintendo did great this generation.

...Overall, we've had:


1) Their first handheld system.
2) Their first color handheld system.
3) Their first 16-bit color system.

Seriously, do you work for Nintendo? Who cares what company is making the most money? This is a gaming forum - not a shareholders meeting.

Also, Nintendo has never produced a 16-bit handheld - ever.

The Virtual Boy and the GBA were both 32-bit devices. All they've made besides those systems were the 8-bit Gameboys.

As for the guy asking about the 'Micro' - it will only play GBA games. No backwards compatibility. Pretty stupid huh?

They're milking the Gameboy line for ever penny - and in that process - making it necessary to own each Gameboy for a different reason.

The orginal GBA took AA batteries. It was wide and comfortable - but you couldn't see a damn thing. It was pretty useless without a light. So, they make the SP. It has a clamshell to keep the screen safe, a light (finally) and it's small enough to keep in your pocket. It lacked a headphone port, and it wasn't nearly as comfortable as the original design - not to mention the fact that you couldn't use the Gamecube connector and charge it at the same time. Now, they're making the Micro. It has a backlight (double-finally), a headphone port (weee!), a better LCD (wow!) and then? The screen isn't protected, it doesn't play older GB games and the screen is smaller.

I'm pretty sure they have a team of engineers that sit around and come up with ways to make you buy the same system multiple times.

Still, the best solution is to buy the original GBA and install the 'Afterburner' backlight.

The DS is the push-over while they work on the next Gameboy (much like the Gameboy Color was the push-over while the GBA was delayed).

Once the new Gameboy hits - all support for the DS will vanish into thin air.

Personally, I think the design of the 'Micro' handheld is a step back from the SP. If the SP had a better screen, backlight, maybe some bigger buttons (a tiny bit wider) and a headphone jack - I would be much happier.

I usually hate clamshell designs, like flip-phones - but I've found that being able to throw my SP in my bookbag, or keep it in my pocket with my keys is quite handy.

Unlike my PSP(s) - which I pampered like a premature baby - fearing that it might be scratched.

In other news, the DS is dropping to $130 next week. Now, if only they had games and a white or black system...

[raggedjimmi]

GFLPraxis you beat me to it again, reading though this i was like "ooh ive got an answer to that" only to have you there first ;):P

Im certainly going to purchase one of these. and $99 isn't that bad, thats £54 in sterling. however I can imagine this costing £30-40. why do i want one?

-Its supposedly got Nintendo's greatest screen. the DS makes GBA games look incredible. anything more than that will be flat out beautiful.
-I can carry this anywhere. hell this is going on my keychain!
-Its plain and simple. just GBA games. just an iPod shuffle. just does what its meant to do.
-Im a massive GBA fan.
-I also own an original black GB, a GBPocket, my sister has my afterburner GBA, i have an SP and DS. it just makes sense. :P

the way i see it is that the Micro is Nintendos iPod Shuffle. Its small, lackluster, but most importantly; cheap. I think part of its reason for being is to say "hey you non GBA-owner! im cheap now! buy me, even if you dont like me!" and then the player likes it and buys a DS. Halo effect in action.

Like GFLPraxis said, the GB series is incredibly popular. I think he forgot to mention too that the GBA sold more than the PS2, and the pre-Advance GB series are the most sold gaming machine ever. People buy it because its good, not because of anything else. Its like why the iPod has huge success. its good and the public love it.

[jc27]

Also, Reuters is incorrect. Nintendo NEVER gave a price on the GameBoy Micro, some other magazines did. While it could be $99, I find this EXTREMELY unrealistic because Reggie specificly stated it would be the cheapest GameBoy ever produced.

Nintendo themselves have not announced a price point.

Sorry, they have. $99.99. I was hoping for $59.99, or maybe the same as the SP but alas. I suppose now they have SP at $80, Micro at $100, and the DS at $130.

http://www.nintendo.com/newsarticle?articleid=81a1f813-1cef-43cf-8d7f-aecdd9960b2e&page=currentNews

[Mac_Freak]

I hope it is better than that DS s**t. When will Nintendo release something revolutionary in Technology? They use old technology, which they just minaturize, give me something better to talk about.

[mrgreen4242]

This needed to be $50 or it won't fly. If you can get an SP for LESS than the micro no one will bother. The SP, incidently, is probably the greatest video game system ever made. Extremely sturdy, cheap, great game library at a good price, great battery life, decent screen... I've NEVER played a system as much as my SP, and I've never enjoyed the games as much.

The micro could have been a HUGE success if they had done some things different...
1) Price: sold it at $50 OR at $80-100 with a cool package with a multigame cart and some other 'goodies'. Or if they had built in the wireless kit they sell for the SP now they may have gotten away with it at $100.
2) Design: ya, it looks ok, BUT I would have LOVED this if they did it in case designed to look like an original NES controller. C'mon, you know that've been cool.

I'm hoping that the GBA2 or whatever they call it has some built in storage to hold classic games downloaded via the Revolution or something like that. I want a portable N64 that can play SNES and GBA games too! :) I don't need even need the N64 3d-ness, just give me something that had 6 buttons, a SNES/NES/GB/GBA emulator built in with onboard memory for ROMs and an iTunes like store to buy them and I will open my wallet up wide. N64 games would be gravy.

[applekid]

The Micro ain't cheap. Might buy it just so that I have a GBA with a backlight though the SP is still at an attractive price point or I could just jump to the DS.

The Micro is a bastard child! I don't think it has room in the lineup. Very gimmicky. I'll probably end up buying it in the far future when its price is cut just because it's still a pretty cool machine on its own, but not with that price.

[msbsound]

Also, I don't feel they have too many handhelds. Overall, we've had:


1) Their first handheld system.
2) Their first color handheld system.
3) Their first 16-bit color system.




Wasn't the first color handheld the Atari Lynx? It was a 16bit portable, although from what I remember it wasn't very small. I had a friend who got one and I seem to remember it being out at the same time as the original gameboy.

[Poff]

I guess they're just trying to milk it right now. Price will hopefully go down in a couple of months..

[GFLPraxis]

Sorry, they have. $99.99. I was hoping for $59.99, or maybe the same as the SP but alas. I suppose now they have SP at $80, Micro at $100, and the DS at $130.

http://www.nintendo.com/newsarticle?articleid=81a1f813-1cef-43cf-8d7f-aecdd9960b2e&page=currentNews

Wow. I still am having a hard time believing that, but it's straight from Nintendo.com :(

Reggie specificly said it would be the cheapest GameBoy and it would look even more attractive when they announced the price....argh.

[DavidLeblond]

Also, I don't feel they have too many handhelds. Overall, we've had:


1) Their first handheld system.
2) Their first color handheld system.
3) Their first 16-bit color system.




Wasn't the first color handheld the Atari Lynx? It was a 16bit portable, although from what I remember it wasn't very small. I had a friend who got one and I seem to remember it being out at the same time as the original gameboy.


Don't forget, before the Gameboy Color came out we ALSO had the Gamegear and the Turbo Express.

[raggedjimmi]

whoa, didnt know it was going to cost more than the SP! hmmm.

ooo hold on! conversion widget says that $99 is £54.70? thats actually quite cheap. cheaper than the SP which goes for £70-80 ($126) in the UK, but more than the regular GBA which is about £30. £54 isnt much. about the price of 2 new GBA games. maybe at that price i wont get one on day 1, but its still well and truly in reach of all gamers.

so... in the UK, they're right. as i haven't seen plain GBAs for sale in the big shops for years. rock on :D

[chameeeleon]

According to Joystiq, it's also coming out in four colors: silver, blue, pink and green... the exact same colours the iPod mini's available in. Seems Nintendo's got their eyes set on this being a companion piece to the mini, they've made a lot of size and style comparisons to it so far.
I was hoping for red, but the blue one looks verrrrrry tempting.

[AlBDamned]

ooo hold on! conversion widget says that $99 is £54.70? thats actually quite cheap. cheaper than the SP which goes for £70-80 ($126) in the UK, but more than the regular GBA which is about £30. £54 isnt much. about the price of 2 new GBA games. maybe at that price i wont get one on day 1, but its still well and truly in reach of all gamers.



It won't translate to £54 here though will it. It will likely be about £80-100 I would think, given the usual (VAT) mark-up in US-UK prices. After all - you can't get a top-end iBook for $999 worth of pounds in the UK.

[raggedjimmi]

there are 2 colours coming out, according to the US site. Silver and Black. each one comes with 3 faceplates, including a very sexy blue spiral thing. my guess is that new faceplates will be ten a penny from markets and eBay too.

little question; do we know if the Micro has a link port on it? I cant find any images of this other than front and back shots.

after VAT and all that my guess is the Micro will cost £60-70. still less than a brand new SP. Nintendo of europe will have a massive backlash if if costs both $100 and £100. something like that would go down in history.

[chameeeleon]

there are 2 colours coming out, according to the US site. Silver and Black

Yeah, I just read that on Nintendo's news bit too. Disappointing really - the colours that Joystiq has pics of look much cooler than your average black and silver, but I suppose they'll delay them until sales lull.
There does seem to be a link port on top of the system though. Unless that's where you plug in the charger? Yeah, looks more like the charger plug now that I think of it.

[raggedjimmi]

oooh i would bet money on Nintendo releasing new colours, probably just 3 months after launch too. this time next year there will be a plethora of colours, a multitude of faceplates and an overabundance of RSI injuries :D (had to put that there. i like them really)

[Poff]

There does seem to be a link port on top of the system though. Unless that's where you plug in the charger? Yeah, looks more like the charger plug now that I think of it.

You're probably right, but I really hope it will be link-able.

http://img.engadget.com/common/images/1130358613635661.JPG?0.2683395349426687

Funny thing is the news on Nintendo.com points to www.gameboy.com for pictures, but I can't find any.. :confused:

Edit:
ok they're up now. I searched and searched earlier today.. hehe.. :)

Editx2:
might be me, but now I can't find anything else than the gameboy Micro on gameboy.com , unless I use my log from earlier today.. :confused:

[mcmillan]

hmm.. slightly bigger than the iPod Mini.. is there space to play??

[raggedjimmi]

But the Micro uses removable batteries? there probably isnt a built-in charger. much like the regular flavor GBA.

must be a link port :)

EDIT: but there seems to be no clips for the add-ons? hmmm... this is puzzling.

EDIT 2: Nintendo.co.uk says "Like the Game Boy Advance, the Game Boy Micro comes with a built-in, rechargeable lithium-ion battery and supports standard headphones. The Game Boy Micro will be able to play all previous Game Boy Advance titles."

its a charge port.

[raggedjimmi]

no double post, just 2 edits in 1 post is a little sad :P

they seem to have announced the Micro in the UK too, £69.99, november 4th.

student loan should cover this :P

[chameeeleon]

Editx2:
might be me, but now I can't find anything else than the gameboy Micro on gameboy.com , unless I use my log from earlier today.. :confused:

Bottom of the Micro site, click on "Gameboy Advance" and it takes you to the original Gameboy site.
Speaking of the Micro site, I love the attempts at "cool" lingo Nintendo's typed up for their descriptions. "The L and R buttons have gotten bigger. Oh no, now they're going to give us ego!" Ummm, what?

I'm still really disappointed those colours aren't part of the release - they were the coolest thing the Micro had going for it. Now I guess I'm opting for Silver with a red faceplate whenever it comes out.
EDIT: Silver with a black faceplate looks cool too. Very sleek.

Can anyone explain how the faceplates work though? Will they actually stay on well, do you unscrew something to attach them, etc.

Still excited to have a TRULY portable console. In my opinion this, and the Revolution's complte backwards-compatibility, are Nintendo's best choices of the year.

[Poff]

Hmm.. no link = less fun.. hmm.. I hope it's got wireless. :D

[ravenvii]

Dunno I might be off, but maybe that one port can be used as both a link and a charger, sort of like the iPod? Or maybe it's wireless :)

Despite the limited color selection, I think I'm going to get the silver nonetheless, so I'm happy they release that first :) I wasn't interested in one, but now that I gave it a look and really saw the size of it, I'm tempted... Damn you, Nintendo!

As for the faceplates, I like the silver-black and silver-silver ones the best. I guess I'll have to see one in person in a store before I decide.

Again, damn you Nintendo. (I don't have a SP, or a DS, my last Game Boy was the Game Boy Color many years ago, so it's not like I've bought every model like a sucker or anything)

[chameeeleon]

I just read the pink, green and blue models are what the UK's getting along with silver on November 4. Makes me wonder if Nintendo would bring them to the states for Christmas shopping too?

Still, as I said I'm really excited for this one. I stopped bringing my GBA with me because I got too used to my DS backlight, and I stopped bringing that with me because it's far from pocketable. This is the sweetest combination.
Now I'll just pick up the original Super Mario Bros. from the NES classic series (I've been playing the Gameboy colour version on my Advance, but since this thing's Advance-only I'm suddenly VERY glad Nintendo re-re-released SMB in an Advance cart) and I'll have portable gaming heaven. Not to mention the already released and awesome GBA games - Mario Kart, Mario Advance 1-4, Mario vs. Donkey Kong - whoa, I love this system already. It's going to get me re-loving all of the old GBA games I've beat already.

I know there are lots of people moaning about old technology or too high a price, but in my eyes this this is pure gaming gold.

[Poff]

Gaming gold. yeah, I'm tempted myself.

And I forgot to say thanks for pointing out the link on your previous post, so thanks. :)

[ijimk]

dunno if i will get this seeing as i have a DS and a GBA SP already :P

[chameeeleon]

Hmm.. no link = less fun.. hmm.. I hope it's got wireless. :D
I just found this in IGN's hands-on with the Micro at E3:
"On the top of the unit between the L and R buttons, the system has an EXT port that will be used for charging the internal battery as well as provide a plug-in for the link cable dongle that will be made for the unit. The EXT port is proprietary to the Game Boy Micro, looking similar to plug-in ports for a cellphone."
Article Here (http://gameboy.ign.com/articles/615/615202p1.html)
So apparently you're in luck, link-cable wise.

And no worries about the link before.

[Poff]

I just found this in IGN's hands-on with the Micro at E3:
"On the top of the unit between the L and R buttons, the system has an EXT port that will be used for charging the internal battery as well as provide a plug-in for the link cable dongle that will be made for the unit. The EXT port is proprietary to the Game Boy Micro, looking similar to plug-in ports for a cellphone."
Article Here (http://gameboy.ign.com/articles/615/615202p1.html)
So apparently you're in luck, link-cable wise.

And no worries about the link before.
YAY! Thanks! :D

[raggedjimmi]

thats made me happy :) the link ability is massive for me. Pokemon and Kirby player ;)

yea its strange how the official site only has black and silver, whereas the UK has the 4 colour thing going on. might have to get a Blue one to match my iPod mini.

pleased to see it 'looks' like its made out of metal. that will be incredible. so shiny looking

[Counterfit]

I hope it is better than that DS s**t. When will Nintendo release something revolutionary in Technology? They use old technology, which they just minaturize, give me something better to talk about.
Two screens in a handheld system isn't enough for you? Perhaps you would like a 16:9 DLP rear projection screen, with 7.2 surround sound? :rolleyes:

[raggedjimmi]

I hope it is better than that DS s**t. When will Nintendo release something revolutionary in Technology? They use old technology, which they just minaturize, give me something better to talk about.

the DS hasn't got new technology, but dual screens, microphones and touchscreens have not been used in a handheld gaming machine before. You want to talk about bland used-formula machines talk about the PSP ;)

[JDOG_]

I really don't understand the decision to make the Micro $99. For $79, you get the SP which features:

-Bigger Screen
-Better Battery Life
-User-removable Battery
-Protected display
-Backwards compatibility
--------

And it's not even that much bigger when you compare the dimensions. I just don't get it.

[spaceballl]

I think considering the installed base of GBA and now with the Micro coming out, people are going to be making GBA games for years to come...

[spaceballl]

I also find it humorous to see Apple users like ourselves posting basic things like, "I don't get why people would be so stupid to pay more for something just for looks?!" Uh... Look at the iMac in front of you :).
-Kevin

[Counterfit]

Uh... Look at the iMac in front of you :).
-Kevin
HEY! Who replaced my PowerBook with this 800MHz G4 iMac?! :mad:

[raggedjimmi]

in the UK the SP costs about £80 with a naff game (so the SP costs roughly £70). Micro=£69. you pay about the same, you can get a smaller, metal, ultra-screened beauty... or a flippy, beautiful, not-as-good screen backwards compatible SP.

Game are doing pre-orders now. but no self-respecting british gamer goes there ;)