Flip-up model advances Game Boy
By Steven Kent, Special for USA TODAY

The most popular game system in history is getting a facelift.

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, according to Nintendo. It joins Game Boy Advance, now $70, and replaces the discontinued Game Boy Color system.

Screen visibility has been a particular sticking point in the past with users. "The one big complaint about Game Boy Advance has always been it has a dark display," says 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 including the light and up to 18 hours with the light off.

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

The other major change is its 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 an inch thick - nearly half the size of earlier units. "I like the fact that it folds down and becomes very portable," says Brian Farrell, president of game publisher THQ. "I think it's very appealing, perhaps even for an older gamer."

Questions remain as to why Nintendo is introducing SP at a time when the company is enjoying unprecedented success with the current Advance. In November alone, Nintendo sold 1.3 million units, "one hell of a lot of business," says Price. Since its introduction in mid-2001, Game Boy Advance has sold 11.5 million units in the USA.

But the market is changing. Nintendo, which owns the handheld game world with a 98% share, is facing competition from mobile phone makers as they add game-playing capabilities to their next-generation networks.

In Japan, cell phone games have cut into industry profits with publishers such as Sega and THQ designing games for phones. Next month manufacturer Nokia will unveil N-Gage, a combination cell phone-game unit.

January 7, 2003

Jim - News Contributor, GameCubicle