The Full SP

Well, there has only been one thing on Nintendo fan's lips for the past few days- Nintendo's big press event in London, and in particular the announcement of the newest addition to the Game Boy family- the Game Boy Advance SP. In a move sure to cause mass suicide among the legions of people who reveived a shiny 'new' GBA in their stockings at Christmas, Nintendo have just upgraded their baby...

And what a thing of beauty it is. The SP (meaning Special Project, apparently) clocks in at a size even smaller than the existing GBA. The all-new design is quite startling- it resembles a cosmetics case, with the screen replacing the mirror- but the design is highly aesthetically pleasing. Of course, the key feature of the SP is what Nintendo dub the 'front light'- essentially a halfway house between the battery-guzzling backlight system and, well, no lights at all. The existing GBA, of course, has been heavily criticized for being nigh-on impossible to play unless you're in a very bright room- that, or within a few feet of the sun- and Nintendo's announcement is a very real result of public pressure forcing an upgraded GBA. With the possible exception of the fiddly-to-install-but-wonderful Afterburner backlight for the Game Boy, there has not really been a satisfactory solution for the GBA's lighting problem. Well, now there is. Enter the SP. Retaining a similar button layout, but changing just about everything else there is to change about the 'old' GBA, the SP feels, I am reliably assured, perfectly natural in the hand- even more comfortable than the previous GBA, which could become somewhat uncomfortable after prolonged play. Even the controversial new shoulder buttons- (they've shrunk considerably)- feel right, just as all Nintendo controllers have done since the grand old days of the original GB.

The styling of the console is of particular interest- Nintendo appears to have decided to try to attract the more mature, adult gamer with this newest incarnation of the GB- the sleek silver finish, coupled with the mobile phone-like flip screen make this a very attractive product, particularly for the older gamer. And as for the colours: metallic silver and blue, as well as black will be available from the off in Europe. And whats this? No purple in sight? Extraordinary. There's no doubt about it- the adult market is being targeted here. Its slightly retro (some would say dull) button placement and style will also appeal to retro enthusiasts.

There's no doubt about it- although the GBA SP is essentially a GBA in new casing (don't forget the front-light) it is a great announcement. Even better is the news that all previous GBA accessories will work just fine with the new model, with the suprising exception of headphones. Instead of the traditional headphone socket, the SP has an all-purpose utility socket, which means that a special headphone adaptor will have to be purchased. Shame. It should be cheap though. Another of the big changes with the SP is the method of powering the system- gone are the hordes of AA batteries, and in comes the lithium battery. Recharging it will be done in a similar fashion to a mobile phone. On the subject of battery life, the SP will give you 10 hours with the front-light on and about 18 hours with the light off. Pretty impressive stuff, no?

Nintendo also announced some new GBA titles for the coming year- the likes of Advance Wars 2, Golden Sun 2, the next editions of Pokemon and yet another Mario Advance, this time Super Mario Advance 4 (pray it's a new game this time)- all of which will ensure that the GBA won't be gathering dust while we're busy with Metroid and Zelda in just a few months time. The SP and a good line-up of triple-A games over the next 12 months should give the GBA the fillip it so badly needs in the UK- believe it or not, the GBA has had a bit of an unsteady period over there. Of course, in the U.S and GBA-mad Japan (where GBA sales have increased by over 37% in the past year, helping the console overtake the PS2 in sales) there are no such problems, and the release of the GBA SP should only consolidate the console's success. It should be said that the SP isn't the GBA 2- it rather offers an alternative to those who are annoyed that there is no light on the existing GBA. That said, it has enough nifty aesthetic features to make it a must-have. And best of all- it'll be out on March 26th- a mere two and a half months away.

Mark Cullinane
[email protected]

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Editors Note - Why did Mark leave out the seemingly obvious Gamecube release dates released? You'll all have that to look foward to in my next GameOff.