Nintendo upgrades Game Boy Advance

By Steven Kent
USA Today

The most popular game system in history is getting a face lift.

A new version of Nintendo's handheld Game Boy, which has sold 150 million units since 1989 to Pokémon-crazed kids and bored travelers, is being updated to reflect consumers' increased expectations as well as to stay ahead of new competition from games played on cell phones.

The Game Boy Advance SP with a flip-up, lighted color screen will cost $99 when it hits U.S. stores March 23, Nintendo said. It joins Game Boy Advance, now $70, and replaces the discontinued Game Boy Color system.

Screen visibility has been a particular sticking point with users. "The one big complaint about Game Boy Advance has always been it has a dark display," said Simon Price, analyst with International Development Group. Billy Berghammer, director of an influential Nintendo Internet site called Planet GameCube, adds: "I used to get a headache from squinting at that screen."

The Advance SP includes lighting along the screen's edge. For the first time, it also comes with a rechargeable battery pack instead of depending on disposable AA cells. The battery pack lasts about 10 hours with the light on and up to 18 hours with the light off.

Nintendo said Advance SP is compatible with all previous Game Boy cartridges. More than 300 games have been released for the Advance system; hundreds more are available for Game Boy.

The other major change is the game's clamshell design.

Shaped like a cosmetics compact, the SP has its 2.4-by-1.6-inch screen built into its lid and unfolds vertically. It folds into a 3-inch square about 1 inch thick — nearly half the size of earlier units. "I like the fact that it folds down and becomes very portable," said Brian Farrell, president of game publisher THQ. "It's very appealing, perhaps even for an older gamer."