Topic: Death to GBA

[kirby_killer_dedede]

Just wondering here, but did you guys consider Sunday to be the end of the GBA's life-cycle?  Sure, there's still some titles planned for it, and companies are claiming commitment, but the only reason I see anyone making a GBA game is because it's easier than making a DS game.   I mean, anything on the GBA can only be done better on the DS, right?

Yeah...so do you think that the GBA is going to live longer?  How much longer?  I loved the timing of the DS launch, but...I didn't.  For the sake of the GBA, that is.  I mean there's some pretty nice titles just released, like GTA Advance, which is actually almost as violent and adult as the PS2/Xbox ones...lol...so anyhow, your thoughts.  

[Bill Aurion]

Minish Cap, Yoshi Gravitation, and Wario Ware Twisted aren't out here yet, so yes, I think the GBA does have life still left in it...

[kirby_killer_dedede]

I meant after this round of games...what next?  I mean 2D can be done on the DS too, so why do it on the GBA?

[Bill Aurion]

Because you can cater to both the GBA and DS crowd?

[vudu]

Exactly what Bill said ... I'm not sure how many people own a GBA, but I know the number's big.  Currently, Nintendo is only planning on sending out something like four million units worldwide by March.  The number of GBA's out there is something like ten times that (at least).  Developers simply can't ignore a market as big as that.

[Djunknown]

If Nintendo is sticking to its corporate talk, the DS is the '3rd pillar'. Now if the GBA went away, there wouldn't be 3 now would there?

The first batch of DS games haven't really tapped into into the system's potential. Probably because they're still scratching their heads on what to do with it.  I don't know about you, I don't think people paid 150 just so they could get games that are 2d, or use the touch screen as an analog control.

Methinks the next Game boy will kill the GBA ^_-

[Ian Sane]

I think we'll find out what the future holds for the GBA at E3.  If the amount of new titles shown is very low then it's fair to say the GBA is going to die.  We'll have to wait and see.  At the very least I imagine we'll still see SNES ports for a while since it's an easy way for third parties to make a buck and the DS backwards compatible.

The death of the GBA certainly wasn't the day the DS came out because The Minish Cap hasn't been released in North America yet.  We may years from now see the DS launch as the beginning of the end but the GBA is guaranteed to have at least one last must own title.

[Shecky]

The SP has the perfect form factor.  If you ask me, the SP is still the best "portable".

So long as developers don't go releasing GBA games on DS carts, just because DS is new.  However, with the installed base of the GBA, I don't think that'll be a problem (or at least I hope developers aren't that short sighted)

[Infernal Monkey]

Nintendo still need to port Super Metroid to GBA. Square-Enix need to port Terranigma. There is still much more porting that could be done for a quick buck! But no, I should hope developers have enough sense to know not everybody who owns a GBA will get a DS right away. GBA will turn into PSone, a slow trickle of games will still come out over the next year and a bit or something.

[Gamefreak]

I think they will continue GBA development until the fanbase for the DS is big enough for third parties to decide, we might as well dump the GBA now because the DS fanbase is big enough to absorb any opportunity costs from cutting GBA support.

And I think they will continue GBA support for a while because if you go DS only you only have the DS fanbase to buy your games. However if you release a GBA title both DS and GBA owners will potentially buy your game.

[couchmonkey]

I think the GBA still has a long life ahead of it, thankfully.  Like the NES and Playstation, it will live on for a couple of years simply because it has such a huge user base.  I do think Nintendo will begin shifting away from GBA development sometime next year once it's confident that the DS is a success (the sales are great, but there's still no telling how the PSP might affect them or if this is just an initial tidal wave of support from hardcore fans).  However, third parties will probably continue to develop for the GBA well into 2006 and maybe even 2007 because its huge user base isn't going away.

I also agree somewhat with Shecky that the GBA's size and shape makes it more like the true portable system among the three, that may make a difference too.  I bet there will be people carrying Gameboys around with them even if new games stop coming out.

[Perfect Cell]

ITs not the death but the backwards compatibility of GBA on DS hurts.... GBA games look better on the DS imo...


though if the next couple of GBA games are multiplayer heavy then theres a reason to keep your GBA... since you cant play multiplayer gba on the ds...

I   wonder though... will the next GBA use the cartridge formula? Will it be backwards compatible with GB and GBA games? Id like to see the next GBA games play Nintendo Gamecube disks so it could be backwards compatible with Gamecube games...

[Rancid Planet]

As has been said before. No developer ignores THOSE kind of hardware sales. The GBA has been dominant as hell as console...not just as a portible system either.