'Front-lit' Game Boy Advance SP should brighten gamers' day
Called Game Boy Advance SP, the new player features a "front-lit" display that gives players a brighter view of screen action.
"I used to get a kink in my neck from hunching over it (Game Boy Advance) trying to get the light right," says Billy Berghammer, director of an influential Nintendo Internet site called Planet GameCube. "The screen is clear once you get a good light source. The challenge was getting the light just right."
The Game Boy Advance SP, scheduled to go on sale March 23 at $99.99, should eliminate such contortions. It features the same 1.6-by-2.4-inch screen as the original Game Boy Advance, but has integrated front lighting that can be turned on and off to preserve battery life.
With Game Boys used mostly by children and teenagers, the lighting should be more than adequate for plane trips and car rides. Barely detectable in bright lighting, the new system provides even illumination. In a dark room, a game played at a recent viewing looked clear.
Along with lights and rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, the Game Boy Advance SP also features a clamshell design. Measuring a nearly square 3.3 inches long and 3.2 inches wide when closed, the new handheld game device snaps open like a cosmetic compact.
"We're absolutely thrilled about Game Boy Advance SP," says Brian Farrell, president and CEO of THQ, a Calabasas Hills, Calif., publisher of game titles. "I have seen the unit at Nintendo's office and I think it's just a fantastic piece of hardware. It looks great. It plays great. I think it is a great extension of the handheld business for Nintendo."
Farrell's appraisal of Game Boy carries particular weight because THQ is one of the most successful publishers for the system. It publishes Disney, Nickelodeon and Sega games for Game Boy, as well as a successful line of games based on professional wrestling.
"It reminds me of the original Game Boy. Once it is opened up, it has the same profile," says Farrell. "I like the fact that it is differentiated and that it folds down and becomes very portable. I think it is very appealing, perhaps even for an older gamer."
Nintendo intends to continue marketing the original Game Boy Advance, which will retail for $69.99.
Having only recently announced plans to release an adapter that lets consumers play Game Boy cartridges on its GameCube game console, Nintendo of America executives are quick to squelch rumors that their company is leaving the console market to concentrate on the handheld market, which, with a 98 percent share, it has virtually to itself.
"We are committed to the console market," says Perrin Kaplan, Nintendo of America vice president of marketing and corporate affairs. "Not only are we committed to GameCube, we are currently working on our next console."
But Nintendo is highly aware of its success in the handheld market. Since first releasing the Game Boy Advance in the United States in July 2001, Nintendo has sold 11.5 million units, making it the only video game system to keep pace with Sony's PlayStation 2 game console. In November, Game Boy Advance actually outsold PlayStation 2.
While handheld games and hardware are considerably less expensive than console games and hardware, handheld sales account for nearly one-third of the market.
Steven L. Kent, a Seattle-area free-lance writer, is a longtime observer of the video-game industry.
Xbox Live starter-kit sales
Microsoft said yesterday that it has sold about 250,000 starter kits for its Xbox Live online video-game service since its November launch. The subscription-based service allows users to play video games with others connected over the Internet.
Buying a $49.99 starter kit gives a player access to the service for a year. After that, there will likely be a monthly subscription fee in the $10 range.
Microsoft said 150,000 of the kits were sold in the first week after their launch. By comparison, rival Sony has said it expected to sell 400,000 of its online-access tools, called network adaptors, for the PlayStation 2 game console by the end of last year.
— Seattle Times business staff