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 Original Game Boy Advance in Indigo | |
| Also known as |
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|---|---|
| Developer | Nintendo R&D |
| Manufacturer | Nintendo |
| Product family | Game Boy[1] |
| Type | Handheld game console |
| Generation | Sixth |
| Release date | |
| Introductory price | US$99.99 (equivalent to $180 in 2024)[6] |
| Discontinued | |
| Units sold | 81.51 million[8] |
| Media | |
| System on a chip | Nintendo CPU AGB |
| CPU | ARM7TDMI @ 16.8 MHz Sharp SM83 @ 4.2 / 8.4 MHz |
| Memory | 288 KB RAM, 98 KB Video RAM |
| Display | ReflectiveTFT LCD, 240 × 160 px, 61.2 × 40.8 mm (2.41 × 1.61 in)[9] |
| Power | 2 ×AA batteries |
| Online services | |
| Dimensions | 82 × 144.5 × 24.5 mm (3.23 × 5.69 × 0.96 in) |
| Best-selling game | Pokémon Ruby andSapphire (16 million)[10] |
| Backward compatibility | |
| Predecessor | Game Boy Color[11] |
| Successor | Nintendo DS |
| Related | |
TheGame Boy Advance[a] (GBA) is a 32-bithandheld game console, manufactured byNintendo, which was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, and to international markets that June. It was later released in mainland China in 2004, under the nameiQue Game Boy Advance. Compared to theGame Boy Color it succeeded, the console offered a significantly more powerfulARM7 processor and improved graphics, while retainingbackward compatibility with games initially developed for its predecessor.
The GBA is part of thesixth generation of video game consoles, competing against Nokia'sN-Gage and Bandai'sWonderSwan. The original model was followed in 2003 by theGame Boy Advance SP, a redesigned model with afrontlit screen andclamshell form factor.A newer revision of the SP with abacklit screen was released in 2005. A miniaturized redesign, theGame Boy Micro, was released in September 2005.
By June 2010, the Game Boy Advance series including revisions, had sold 81.51 million units worldwide, massively outselling its competitors. Its successor, theNintendo DS, launched in November 2004,[12] was backward compatible with GBA games. GBA sales ended by 2010 after over nine years.[7]
When the original Game Boy launched in 1989, many questioned Nintendo’s decision to release a monochrome handheld console, when competitors like theLynx andGame Gear had color screens. However, the rivals' color displays were criticized for their poor battery life and bulky size, while the Game Boy’s better portability and battery longevity increased its popularity.[13][14]
Nintendo publicly pledged to develop a color version of the Game Boy only when the technology overcame the limitations of existing color handhelds.[15] Internally, however, a team led bySatoru Okada—who had worked on the original Game Boy—was already experimenting with color screens. Their early 1990s prototype, codenamed "Project Atlantis," featured a color display and a 32-bit processor designed byARM.[16][17][18] Despite the promising technology, the team was not satisfied with the outcome and the project was shelved by 1997.[19][20][21]
However, as competitors such as theNeo Geo Pocket andWonderSwan entered the market, Nintendo decided to create a color version of the Game Boy by combining the color screen they had been testing for Project Atlantis with a faster version of the existing Game Boy's 8-bit processor.[20] The Game Boy Color launched in 1998.[15]
Still under pressure from its competitors' handhelds, Nintendo started developing a successor to the Game Boy Color. The project, codenamed Advanced Game Boy (AGB), would utilize the 32-bit processing power from Project Atlantis. Details about the GBA emerged at theSpace World 1999 trade show in late August.[22]
Nintendo officially announced the Game Boy Advance on September 1, 1999, revealing details about the system's specifications, and that the handheld would first be released in Japan in August 2000, with the North American and European launch dates slated for the end of the same year.[23] On August 21, 2000,IGN showed images of a GBA development kit running a demonstrational port ofYoshi's Story,[24] and on August 22, pre-production images of the GBA were revealed inFamitsu magazine in Japan.[25]
The GBA’s design featured a landscape form factor, diverging from the portrait layout of the previous Game Boy models. The design put the buttons to the sides of the device instead of below the screen. The shift was the work of French designer Gwénaël Nicolas and his Tokyo-based studio, Curiosity Inc.[26][27]
In an announcement on August 24, 2000, Nintendo revealed the final design of the GBA to the public, announced itsJapan andNorth America launch dates, and revealed the tenlaunch games.[28] AtSpace World 2000, Nintendo also showcased several peripherals, including theGBA link cable, theGameCube – GBA link cable,[29] a rechargeable battery pack, and an infrared communication adaptor.[30][31] By March 2001, Nintendo confirmed the $99.99 price and announced 15 launch games for the system, with over 60 expected by the end of the year.[32][33]
All Game Boy Advance models were discontinued in the Americas in 2008, and globally by the end of 2010.[8][34]
The Game Boy Advance uses a customsystem on a chip (SoC), integrating the CPU and other major components into a single package, named theCPU AGB by Nintendo. Manufactured by theSharp Corporation, the SoC contains two processors: theARM7TDMI running at aclock rate of 16.776megahertz (MHz) for GBA games, and theSharp SM83 running at 4.194 MHz or 8.389 MHz forbackward compatibility with Game Boy and Game Boy Color games. The system operates in two modes: GBA mode using the ARM7TDMI, and the backward-compatible CGB mode using the SM83.[35]
The ARM7TDMI is a hybrid16-bit and32-bitRISC processor based on theARM architecture, designed to maximize performance under power and storage constraints, making it more suitable for use in a handheld device. It features sixteen 32-bit registers and a 32-bit bus connected to 32 kilobytes (KB) of "working" RAM on the SoC, and 16-bit buses interfacing with the 256 KB of "working" RAM on the motherboard and theGame Pak. In addition to the 32-bit ARM instruction set, the CPU supports the 16-bit THUMB instruction set, which is used when executing instructions over the 16-bit buses.[36]
The SM83 is a hybrid between two other8-bit processors: theIntel 8080 and theZilog Z80. The SM83 has the seven 8-bitregisters of the 8080 (lacking the alternate registers of the Z80) but uses the Z80's programming syntax and extrabit manipulation instructions, along with adding new instructions to optimize the processor for certain operations related to the way the hardware was arranged. Like the Game Boy Color, the SM83 in the Advance could be commanded to operate at either 4.194 MHz when playing games compatible with the original Game Boy or at 8.389 MHz when playing games designed for the Game Boy Color.[37][38][39] The SoC also contains a 2 KB "bootstrap" ROM which is used to start up the device in CGB mode.[40]
The CPU CGB incorporates an updated version of Nintendo's venerablePicture Processing Unit (PPU), which was used in the Game Boy, Game Boy Color, andSuper Nintendo Entertainment System. The PPU is essentially a basicGPU that renders visuals using 96 KB ofVideo RAM located inside the CPU CGB. Inside the PPU itself is 1 KB of object attribute memory and 1 KB of palette RAM, which are optimized for fast rendering.[35] The display itself is a 2.9-inch (diagonal)thin-film transistor (TFT) colorliquid-crystal display (LCD), measuring 61.2 millimeters (2.41 in) wide by 40.8 millimeters (1.61 in) high. The screen is 240pixels wide by 160 pixels high in a 3:2aspect ratio.[41]
Foreground objects aresprites with up to 128 per frame, sized from 8×8 to 64×64 pixels, and with 16 or 256 colors. Backgrounds can be rendered in one of six different modes. The first three are the "character modes," which use traditionaltile map graphics: Mode 0 offers four static layers, Mode 1 has three layers with oneaffine transformation layer (which can be rotated and/or scaled), and Mode 2 has two affine layers. The other three are the "bitmap modes" which allow for rendering3D geometry: Mode 3 has a single full-sized, fully-colored (32,768 colors) frame, Mode 4 provides two full-sized frames with 256 colors each, and Mode 5 provides two half-sized (160×128 pixels), fully-colored frames. Having two bitmaps allows "page-flipping" to avoid the artifacts that can sometimes appear when re-drawing a bitmap. While the bitmap modes were considered cutting-edge, most games avoided using them because they cost a lot of CPU resources.[35][42]
For sound, the Game Boy Advance features twoPCM sample player channels, which work in combination with theAudio Processing Unit (APU), aprogrammable sound generator first used by the legacy Game Boy. The APU has four channels: apulse wave generation channel with frequency and volume variation, a second pulse wave generation channel with only volume variation, a wave channel that can reproduce anywaveform recorded in RAM, and awhite noise channel with volume variation.[35][43]
The Game Boy Advance features aD-pad (directional pad) and six action buttons labeled 'A,' 'B,' 'L,' 'R,' 'SELECT,' and 'START.' The top of the console has a link port that allows it to be connected to other Game Boy devices using aGame Link Cable or aWireless Adapter, or theGameCube home console with a specialGameCube – Game Boy Advance link cable.[29]
| Game Boy Advance[41][44][45][46][47][35] | |
|---|---|
| Height | 82 mm (3.2 in) |
| Width | 144.5 mm (5.69 in) |
| Depth | 24.5 mm (0.96 in) |
| Weight | 140 g (4.9 oz) |
| Display | 2.9-inch (diagonal) reflectivethin-film transistor (TFT) colorliquid-crystal display (LCD), 40.8 mm × 61.2 mm (1.61 in × 2.41 in) |
| Resolution | 240 (w) × 160 (h)pixels (3:2aspect ratio) |
| Frame rate | 59.727500569606Hz[48] |
| Color support | 32,768 colors, up to 511 simultaneously in character mode, all may display simultaneously in Bitmap mode |
| System on a chip (SoC) | Nintendo CPU AGB |
| Processors | |
| Memory | |
| Power |
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| Battery life | Up to 15 hours |
| Sound |
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| I/O |
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| Controls |
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The Game Boy Advance was available in numerous colors and limited editions throughout its production. It was initially available in Arctic, Black, Orange (Japan Only), Fuchsia (translucent pink), Glacier (translucent blue), and Indigo. Later in the system's lifespan, additional colors and special editions were released, including: Red, Clear Orange/Black, Platinum, White, Gold (Japan Only),Hello Kitty edition (pink with Hello Kitty and logo onbezel),The King of Fighters edition (black with images on bezel and buttons),Chobits edition (translucent light blue, with images on bezel and buttons),Battle Network Rockman EXE 2 (light blue with images on bezel),Mario Bros. edition (Glacier with Mario and Luigi on bezel), andYomiuri Giants edition (Glacier with images on bezel).[citation needed]
SeveralPokémon-themed limited-edition systems were made available inPokémon Center stores in Japan. These editions include: Gold Pokémon edition (Gold withPikachu andPichu on bezel), Suicune edition (blue/grey with greyscale Pikachu and Pichu on bezel, and a Pokémon Center sticker on the back), Celebi edition (olive green withCelebi images on bezel), and Latias/Latios edition (pink/red and purple, with images ofLatias and Latios on bezel).[citation needed]
With hardware performance comparable to theSuper Nintendo Entertainment System, the Game Boy Advance represents progress forsprite-based technology. The system's library includes platformers, SNES-likerole-playing video games, and games ported from various 8-bit and 16-bit systems of the previous generations. This includes theSuper Mario Advance series, and the system's backward compatibility with all earlier Game Boy titles. Though most GBA games primarily employ 2D graphics, developers have ambitiously designed some3D GBA games that push the limits of the hardware, includingfirst-person shooters like a port ofDoom,racing games likeV-Rally 3, and evenplatformers, likeAsterix & Obelix XXL.[citation needed]
Some cartridges are colored to resemble the game (usually for thePokémon series;Pokémon Emerald, for example, being a clear emerald green). Others have special built-in features, including rumble features (Drill Dozer),[49] tilt sensors (WarioWare: Twisted!,Yoshi's Universal Gravitation),[50] andsolar sensors (Boktai).[51]
In Japan, the final game to be released on the system wasFinal Fantasy VI Advance on November 30, 2006, which was also the final game published by Nintendo on the system.[52] In North America, the last game for the system wasSamurai Deeper Kyo, released on February 12, 2008. In Europe, the last game for the system isThe Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night, released on November 2, 2007. The Japan-onlyRhythm Tengoku, the first game in what would eventually become known outside Japan as theRhythm Heaven/Rhythm Paradise series, is the final first-party-developed game for the system, released on August 3, 2006.
While those games were the last to be officially released at the time, a game titledShantae Advance: Risky Revolution was released in 2025 for the console. It was originally in development until 2004, when work halted due to the lack of a publisher. Development resumed in 2023, using the same code and hardware.[53][54]
In Japan there were 25 launch games, 17 in North America and 15 in Europe.
An add-on for theGameCube, known as theGame Boy Player, was released in 2003 as the successor to theSuper Game Boy peripheral for theSuper Nintendo Entertainment System. This add-on allows Game Boy Advance, Game Boy, and Game Boy Color games to be played on the GameCube. However, some games may have compatibility issues due to certain features requiring extra hardware; for instance,WarioWare: Twisted! would require the console to be rotated manually due to its nature as a tilt sensor game.[55]
The GBA is the last Nintendo handheld system to bear the Game Boy name. Games developed for it are incompatible with older Game Boy systems, and each game's box carries a label indicating that the game is "not compatible with other Game Boy systems." Conversely, games designed for older Game Boy systems are compatible with the Game Boy Advance, with options to play such games on either their standardaspect ratios or a stretched fullscreen using the shoulder buttons.[56]
Game Boy Advance cartridges are compatible withNintendo DS models that support them with a dedicated GBA cartridge slot beneath the touch screen (specifically the original model and theNintendo DS Lite), although they do not support multiplayer or features involving the use of GBA accessories due to the absence of the GBA's external peripheral port on the DS. They can also be used to unlock original content found in Nintendo DS games. TheNintendo DSi andNintendo DSi XL lack a GBA cartridge slot, and therefore do not support backward compatibility with the GBA.[57]
 | This sectionmay beconfusing or unclear to readers. In particular, Satoru Iwataactually announced the GBA games on Wii U in 2013, and later confirmed them in February 2014, both as part ofNintendo Direct. Please helpclarify the section. There might be a discussion about this onthe talk page.(February 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Since the Game Boy Advance was discontinued, many of its games have beenre-released viadigital distribution on later Nintendo consoles, mainly in the form ofemulation. As part of an Ambassador Program for early adopters of theNintendo 3DS system, ten GBA games, along with tenNintendo Entertainment System games, were made available free for players who bought a 3DS system before the price drop on August 12, 2011.[58] Unlike otherVirtual Console games for the system, features such as the Home menu or save states are missing, since the games are running natively instead of via emulation. In January 2014, Nintendo PresidentSatoru Iwata announced that Game Boy Advance games would be released on theWii U's Virtual Console in April 2014.[59] The first set of GBA games, includingAdvance Wars,Metroid Fusion, andMario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, were released on April 3, 2014.[60] All Virtual Console releases are single-player only, as they do not emulate multiplayer features enabled byGame Link cables.[citation needed]
In February 2023, Nintendo added Game Boy Advance games to theNintendo Classics library for itsNintendo Switch Online service, exclusively to those with theExpansion Pack tier.[61] For the first time, players are able to play multiplayer games in their emulated form, online. This application emulates theGame Boy Player, meaning that games that support GameCube controller rumble work with the vibration of the Switch controllers.[citation needed]
Nintendo released several add-ons for the Game Boy Advance, including:
Other accessories for the Game Boy Advance include:
In early 2003, Nintendo introduced a new form-factor for the handheld, known as theGame Boy Advance SP (model AGS-001). The redesigned unit features aclamshell design that resembles a pocket-sizelaptop computer, including a folding case approximately one-half the size of the original unit. It has a rechargeablelithium-ion battery, a significantly brighterLCD screen, and an internal front-light that can be toggled on and off. The redesign was intended to address some common complaints about the original Game Boy Advance, which had been criticized for being somewhat uncomfortable to use, especially due to a dark screen.[67][68]
On September 19, 2005, Nintendo released a new version of the SP, model AGS-101, that features a brighter backlit display. The switch that controls the backlight now toggles between two brightness levels.[69]
In September 2005, Nintendo released a second redesign of the Game Boy Advance. This model, dubbed the Game Boy Micro, is similar in style to the original Game Boy Advance's horizontal orientation, but is much smaller and sleeker. The Game Boy Micro allows the user to switch between several colored faceplates to allow customization, a feature which Nintendo advertised heavily around the Game Boy Micro's launch. Nintendo also hoped that this "fashion" feature would help target audiences outside of typical video game players. Unlike the previous Game Boy Advance models, the Game Boy Micro is unable to supportGame Boy andGame Boy Color titles. The Game Boy Micro did not make much of an impact in the video game market, as it was overshadowed by theNintendo DS, which also played Game Boy Advance games through the GBA cartridge slot.[70]
Upon its North American release,IGN praised the Game Boy Advance's graphical capabilities and battery life, but criticized the system's shoulder button placement and noted the system's high price tag which "may be a tad bit too high to swallow", ultimately scoring the system with an "8.0" out of 10. They also pointed out the system's lack of a backlight which occasionally got in the way of playing games.[71]ABC News praised the Game Boy Advance's graphics, grip, and larger screen, stating that "You've never had as much fun playing old games."[72]
Reviewing forCNET, Darren Gladstone scored the system with a 7.0 out of 10, praising its graphical performance and backward compatibility, but being considerably critical of the system's lack of a backlit screen, noting that it makes it "nearly impossible" to play in normal lighting conditions. Gladstone ultimately recommended the sleeker and backlitGame Boy Advance SP instead, despite noting that the cheaper price of the original model may "appeal to gamers on a lower budget."[73]
Nintendo hoped to sell 1.1 million Game Boy Advance units by the end of March with the system's Japanese debut, and anticipated sales of 24 million units before the end of 2001; many marketing analysts believed this to be a realistic goal due to the company's lack of major competition in the handheld video game market.[74] Within the first week of its North American launch in June, the Game Boy Advance sold 500,000 units, making it the fastest-selling video game console in the United States at the time. In response to strong sales, Nintendo ordered 100,000 units to ship to retail stores, hoping to ship another half million of them by the end of June.[75] The Game Boy Advance also became the fastest-selling system in the United Kingdom, selling 81,000 units in its first week of release and beating thePlayStation 2's previous record of 20,000 units.[76] In 2004, the system's sales in the United Kingdom surpassed one million units.[77]
On December 1, 2006, Nintendo of America released launch-to-date information indicating that the company had sold 33.6 million units of the Game Boy Advance series in the United States.[78] In a Kotaku article published on January 18, 2008, Nintendo revealed that the Game Boy Advance series had sold 36.2 million units in the United States, as of January 1, 2008.[79] As of December 31, 2009[update], 81.51 million units of the Game Boy Advance series have been sold worldwide,43.57 million of which areGame Boy Advance SP units and2.42 million of which areGame Boy Micro units.[80]
By the end of 2011, Nintendo will provide Ambassadors with 10 Game Boy Advance Virtual Console games. These include games likeYoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3,Mario Kart: Super Circuit,Metroid Fusion,WarioWare,Inc.: Mega Microgame, andMario vs. Donkey Kong. These games were made available to Ambassadors, and Nintendo has no plans to make these 10 games available to the general public on the Nintendo 3DS in the future.
The sales of Micro did not meet our expectations ... However, toward the end of 2005, Nintendo had to focus almost all of our energies on the marketing of DS, which must have deprived the Micro of its momentum.
UPDATE: Nintendo was nice enough to forward on GBA figures, just so we can see how theother last-gen, still-on-the-market platform is holding up.
