Wired In
Nintendo gets ready to reveal whole new Game Boy June 11

By Marc Saltzman
Gannett News Service

The new Game Boy Advance is set for release June 11.

So it goes without saying that Nintendo has high hopes for its first Game Boy successor, the Game Boy Advance, which goes on sale June 11.

Certainly, the statistics are impressive.

The Game Boy Advance (www.gameboy.com/gbadvance.html) features a 32-bit processor (compared with 8-bit in its predecessor), with speeds 17 times faster than the Game Boy Color.

The 2.9-inch, full-color LCD screen features a wide screen with a viewing area that is 50 percent larger than the Game Boy's square-shaped display. To accommodate the screen's new shape, players will now hold their machines horizontally, rather than vertically. The screen also is capable of displaying more than 10 times as many on-screen colors as the Game Boy Color.

The Game Boy Advance will ship in one of four colors: Arctic (white), Glacier (translucent blue), Indigo (violet) and, as a limited promotion, Fuchsia (pink).

Other noteworthy features include:

• Left and right forefinger buttons (in addition to the standard A and B buttons)
• Improved audio, the ability to link four Game Boy Advance machines for multiplayer gaming.
• Future support for mobile phones to download game content, exchange data with other players and surf special Web sites designed exclusively for Game Boy Advance users.

And parents will rejoice over these next two points:

• The Game Boy Advance enjoys 50 percent longer battery life than its predecessor.
• Perhaps taking a page from Sony with its PlayStation 2, the handheld system is also "backwards-compatible," so the 1,200 existing Game Boy and Game Boy Color games can be played on the new system.

The Game Boy Advance will ship with 15 games at launch, including "Super Mario Advance," "Mario Kart Advance," "F-Zero: Maximum Velocity," "High Heat Major League Baseball 2002," "Tony Hawk's Pro Skater" and "Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2." More than 60 titles are expected by the holiday season.

The Game Boy Advance will cost about $99.95, with new games another $29.95 to $39.95.

Where to get one

Nintendo of America (NOA) said it plans to have more than 1.5 million units available at toy stores, mall merchants, software vendors or mass market discount chains at launch — thus avoiding the lack of supply that plagued the launch of PlayStation 2 in October. Nintendo said it expects to sell another 4 million units in the United States by March 2002, with worldwide sales projected to reach 24 million the first year.

Nintendo said its official advanced sales program began May 1, but some merchants began taking deposits for Game Boy Advances much earlier in the year.

The machine can also be reserved online at various software retailers such as Electronics Boutique (www.ebworld.com) and Babbages (www.gamestop.com), but Nintendo is not taking orders directly.

Not just for kids

While the original Game Boy is popular with kids, it's also been successful with adults. Will the same be true for Game Boy Advance?

Perrin Kaplan, vice president of corporate affairs at Nintendo of America, is quick to remind naysayers that more than 45 percent of all Game Boy players are over 17. "Indeed, it's a rite of passage for kids — everyone has to have one — but millions of adults play the Game Boy, as well,'' he said.

"There's a misnomer that Nintendo is all kiddie products when nearly half of our players are adults, even on the Nintendo 64," Kaplan said. "Look what we did with the game Conker's Bad Fur Day.'' The controversial game is rated M, for mature players only (ages 17 or older).

"We will have many games for many different kinds of players," he said.

Indeed, the Game Boy Advance will host remakes of some of the more popular (and violent) computer games of our time: Doom and Wolfenstein 3-D.

The original Nintendo Game Boy also enjoys the largest female audience of any video-game system, with a 60-40 male-to-female ratio. Nintendo said it believes this trend will continue with the Game Boy Advance.

Billy Pidgeon, an analyst with research firm Jupiter Media Metrix, agreed.

"Nintendo's Super Mario Advance will appeal to those who remember the original Mario Bros. arcade game and Super Mario 2 for the NES (Nintendo Entertainment System)," he said. "Many consumers will buy it for the kids, but the kids may have trouble getting it back from Mom or Dad since many games will engage the older set."

Some Advance-release games

• Super Mario Advance (Nintendo; rated E for everyone): Everyone's favorite cartoon plumber must run, punch and jump through seven unique worlds (totaling 20 levels) in order to defeat the evil Wart. Optional game modes include Yoshi's Challenge, in which Yoshi and friends must find 40 eggs hidden throughout the worlds, or multiplayer mode for as many as four Game Boy Advance players to link up for simultaneous action.
• Rayman Advance (Ubi Soft; rated E for everyone): Remaining true to its PlayStation predecessor, the epic Rayman Advance tells the tale of hero Rayman, who must seek out and destroy Dark and his twisted minions, free the 'Toons and restore balance to the universe. There are six colorful and surreal worlds, yielding tens of hours of game play.
• Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2 (Midway; rated E for everyone): The Game Boy Advance version of this celebrated boxing game franchise features 11 characters, including Afro Thunder and Mama Tua, each with his or her own unique look, fighting style and special moves. There are four game modes, including a "career" mode to bring a boxer up through the ranks to compete for the coveted title belt.
• Tweety and the Magic Jewel (Tecmo; rated E for everyone): Temco's animated party game stars popular Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon characters, including Tweety Bird, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig and Yosemite Sam. Each player takes a turn drawing electronic cards and exploring real world locations to find the five magical jewels to break Tweety's curse.