R.I.P. Game Boy

• submitted by Rocksteady
• posted November 7, 2006

The Game Boy Pocket is the same system as the Game Boy Advance? That's news to me. Do you really think Nintendo would have been stupid enough to launch the Game Boy Micro at only targeting collectors? If that were the case it would have seen limited release and been sold online only. But instead it got a massive distribution but sat on store shelves. Nintendo made the assumption that the Game Boy name would sell. Period. But it didn't because Nintendo didn't put the resources in to supporting it, whether that be marketing or accessories or what have you.

And you say the GBA has two years left in it from licensed crap and other garbage that will most likely sell, but are you going to be buying any of these games? Is anyone aside from little kids who don't know any better really going to look forward to any of these games? No. Doesn't that alone say that the system is dead despite games still being put on the market?

• submitted by ODBJBG
• posted November 4, 2006

This isn't a bad article, but it's foolish too. You failed to mention a few key things that make a difference. Some of the above posters have pointed some out. But how about this? Perhaps the Micro "failed" because it was the 3rd or 4th release of the GBA. I think everyone owned an SP by the time the Micro came out.

Not to burst your bubble either, but I saw a pretty large campaign in stores for the Micro. The fact that it looked like a old NES controller almost got me to buy one. Which is the market I think they were aimed at... Collectors.

The Micro might be dead, but the GBA has at least 2 more years left. Kids still buy GBA and play them. Their cheaper, disposable. DS is more of a teen/adult area, while kids are still more likely to have GBAs.

You do have some solid points though. But I think you really missed the boat with the fact that most people already had a GBA by the time of the Micro. I mean between the Gameboy, Gameboy Color, Gameboy Color Pocket, GBA, GBA SP, and the Micro, thats SIX versions of essentially the same system. It's not a bad idea to cool off the "Gameboy" name for a bit so the public doesn't think your ganking them for dollars.

• submitted by Illustrious Chin
• posted October 27, 2006

It is completely irrelevant that the Micro "failed" because the so called "three-pillar" plan was a load of bullcrap to begin with, Nintendo just to maintain GBA support as long as possible.

There is a ton of GBA games that I an many other people have never played and if you want a GBA Micro you can still buy one. In fact, the "failure" of the Micro only means that a person can pick the thing up for cheap now, which is exactly what I was waiting for. I have a GBAM and I use it all the time and I probably wont get bored of it for a while.

• submitted by rathelfrog
• posted October 25, 2006

from volume 209 nintendo power, GAME WATCH LIST..

GBA = 80 titles
DS = 110 titles

that doesnt sound like a death to me.

• submitted by Rocksteady
• posted October 24, 2006

What's inaccuarate about this article? It's helpful to point out the faults in something before just writing it off as shit, as you so put it.

• submitted by jdavis
• posted October 24, 2006

Thanks for the feedback Druz. Actually, NO thanks! (See what I did there).

We need to check our facts? Oh, you're right... the Micro did support the full line of GBA peripherals that most GBA owners had already picked up. Nintendo also supported the system with customizable faceplates, launched it at a mass market price, and gave it a huge marketing push.

...oh wait :(

• submitted by Druz
• posted October 24, 2006

This article is hilariously bad. Check your facts before you write a 5 page article on something you don't know shit about.

• submitted by reidman
• posted October 24, 2006

I'm pretty sure that the death of the Game Boy is the reason that no one could convince Nintendo's execs to translate and release Mother 3 in English. Frustrating!

Here's to hoping for a Virtual Console release, though.

• submitted by nilcam
• posted October 23, 2006

I think Nintendo branched the DS from the Gameboy name since the Gameboy name is a well-established, popular brand and the DS was a big risk on their part. Many people thought the DS was a joke at launch. Risking your most successful brand by using it to launch an experimental platform is far too dangerous from a marketing point. If the DS failed, the Gameboy line would remain Nintendo's most untarnished brand, which is important to maintain. If Nintendo would have known that the DS would take off the way it did, we would all be playing the GBDS.

• submitted by Lardon Jones
• posted October 23, 2006

The way i've always thought about it was, regardless of what ninty says, the ds simply is the latest iteration of gameboy. They just changed the name to give it more appeal in the iPod age. Abbreviations are well sexy! Only what ninty didn't tell you is that DS really stands for ' Donkey Sausages ', yeek!!

• submitted by Rocksteady
• posted October 23, 2006

It's more of a hybrid of why the Micro failed and the future of the Game Boy name as a whole. It's not just saying the Micro is the reason the Game Boy name is officially over, but just one of the examples.

• submitted by usickenme
• posted October 23, 2006

This article is kind of weak. It is a rip (justifable) on the micro but the micro was never meant to be the successor to the GBA, just a stylish version of it. Nintendo still sells the GBA Sp, which despite what the article implies, is still selling very well.

The GBA has simply come to the end of the line. It is 5 years old.

• submitted by jdavis
• posted October 23, 2006

Really nice article! I knew about some of this stuff (the strange stealth-release of the backlit SP), but other info was new to me (the incompatibility of GB peipherals with the Micro).