#30207 - doudou - Mon Nov 29, 2004 3:17 pm
Hi,
With the DS now available, I would like to have your approximations of the time left to the life of the GBA.
My guest would be that the last GBA game release will be in about 1 year and a half, so around spring 2006.
#30223 - Abscissa - Mon Nov 29, 2004 5:46 pm
Much longer than that. Nintendo is keen on the idea that the DS is their "third pillar" and not a new GameBoy. So I'd say that the GBA still has until a few months to a year after the next GameBoy comes out. And since there hasn't been *any* info on the next GameBoy yet, not even a codename (ie less info than we even have on their GameCube successor: "Revolution"), I take that as a (fortunate) indicator that the GBA will still be around for quite awhile.
#30225 - penndragon - Mon Nov 29, 2004 6:09 pm
I think they announced a SP2 so GBA will most likely
be around for years to come.
#30334 - cyberg - Tue Nov 30, 2004 3:02 pm
The fact that the nintendo DS don't have the same name as the Game Boy doesn't mean that it's not mean to replace it. It is backward compatible and add support for 3D and Wireless. Maybe there will be a SP2 somewhere in a couple of years and it will surely be to replace the DS.
Anyway I think Nintendo will want to continue publishing games for the GBA for a while because it is a very well established market.
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#30375 - FluBBa - Tue Nov 30, 2004 8:10 pm
The non gameboy name of the Nintendo DS is twofold, it isn't completly compatible to the whole Gameboy line, and the next Gameboy doesn't have to be compatible with the Nintendo DS.
As for GBA SP2, it will probably just be an enhanced SP, better screen/battery/buttons... A completly new Gameboy will probably take a couple of years still.
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#30383 - keldon - Tue Nov 30, 2004 9:01 pm
| FluBBa wrote: |
The non gameboy name of the Nintendo DS is twofold, it isn't completly compatible to the whole Gameboy line, and the next Gameboy doesn't have to be compatible with the Nintendo DS.
As for GBA SP2, it will probably just be an enhanced SP, better screen/battery/buttons... A completly new Gameboy will probably take a couple of years still. |
A completely new gameboy will never really exist; look at the advances from gb->gbc->gba. Having said that I don't quite see the problem with that, all we've ever dreamed of is more buttons or slightly different ones maybe.
#30405 - Abscissa - Tue Nov 30, 2004 11:43 pm
| cyberg wrote: |
| The fact that the nintendo DS don't have the same name as the Game Boy doesn't mean that it's not mean to replace it. |
Right, but Nintendo's insistance on calling it their "third pillar", and Nintendo saying that it's not meant to be the successor to the GBA *are* strong indications.
#30449 - sgeos - Wed Dec 01, 2004 8:41 am
| Abscissa wrote: |
| Right, but Nintendo's insistance on calling it their "third pillar", and Nintendo saying that it's not meant to be the successor to the GBA *are* strong indications. |
I disagree. It's a business ploy. Think about it. How many people would jump on the GBA bandwagon if Nintendo came out and said that the chances of the GBA being supported in a few years are slim?
-Brendan
#30451 - DiscoStew - Wed Dec 01, 2004 9:17 am
| sgeos wrote: |
| I disagree. It's a business ploy. Think about it. How many people would jump on the GBA bandwagon if Nintendo came out and said that the chances of the GBA being supported in a few years are slim? |
Perhaps that is why they gave the DS partial GBA compatibility, because the technology of the next GB may be totally different than how the current GB series is established, and they wanted the current GB series to live a while in some form. It seems that the whole argument of the DS *not* being the "3rd pillar" is because it has partial GBA support.
The DS really doesn't need GBA support, and how the DS presents itself compared to the GB series would show off that it is the "3rd pillar". How do we know that Nintendo hasn't been planning a 2nd port for the DS for different attachments this whole time, and then came to the conclusion that they could do what they planned PLUS add GBA compatibility? GBA compatibility is just an added bonus, and for their design, they were able to fit the hardware in.
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#30502 - sgeos - Wed Dec 01, 2004 6:35 pm
| DiscoStew wrote: |
| Perhaps that is why they gave the DS partial GBA compatibility, because the technology of the next GB may be totally different than how the current GB series is established, and they wanted the current GB series to live a while in some form. It seems that the whole argument of the DS *not* being the "3rd pillar" is because it has partial GBA support. |
X people make portable games for Nintendo. I suspect that X will remain more or less the same in years to come. If that is true, then either the DS will fail, or the GBA will be phased out. X will remain more or less the same unless consumption of portable games goes way up.
| DiscoStew wrote: |
| The DS really doesn't need GBA support, and how the DS presents itself compared to the GB series would show off that it is the "3rd pillar". |
Sure the DS needs GBA support. It doesn't have a game library of it's own. I think the GBA did as well as it did because people could play their GB/GBC at launch before the system had any games of it's own. I think Nintendo is trying to do the same thing with the DS.
Giving the "3rd pillar" line as a second benefit. If the DS does fail, they can fall back on the GBA.
| Quote: |
| How do we know that Nintendo hasn't been planning a 2nd port for the DS for different attachments this whole time, and then came to the conclusion that they could do what they planned PLUS add GBA compatibility? GBA compatibility is just an added bonus, and for their design, they were able to fit the hardware in. |
GBA compatibility is a marketing and business decision. Until the DS has a library of its own, it needs GBA compatability to sell in any great number. I don't think GBC support will sell many more units at this point.
As far as the GBA expansion port goes, I think that Nintendo's hardware engineers realized that expansion could be done with that port. Being highly trained really smart guys, they have probably played around with a few things. I am, however, doubtful that Nintendo has thrown a whole lot of money at the expansion port at this time.
-Brendan
#30521 - Datch - Wed Dec 01, 2004 8:17 pm
Backward compatibility is one of the keys to sucess. Nintendo did a great job with that on the GB. I guess all the consoles we'll see from now will be compatible with their ancestors. Even Microsoft is working hard to make XBox2 retro-compatible (VPC??)
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