Topic: The future of gameboy and some other issues.

[Untouchable_Dom]

As you can see from the title, its all about the future of our beloved game boy. Yes we love this little devil and are always surprised by what nintendo comes out with next but....the GBA graphics are already rivaling the Snes, correct? There are some things, such as metroid fusion, which I couldn't even think of being on the snes. So where is the GB platform going next? 64 bits? its a big jump and it doesn't seem the technology is even available, I say it is. If they can get tomb raider (the origional, early playstation graphics) to play on the nokia hand held n-gage then I am sure that nintendo could somehow turn up the heat a bit. But, I had a strange idea the other day, like lightning had struck my brain. Nintendo's console sales are down and they are in third in the wars (am I wrong?) so why don't they slowly move to the hand held market and concentrate all their effort there? I am sure if they did they could set the hand held buissness on FIRE! I could see future game boy's with back lights, infared multiplayer linking, internal batteries, CD's instead of cartridges, plus the cd's could hold gigantic games, think FF7 on a handheld, sitting in your car kicking some ass from a totally cordless perphrial. I can see that happening but not for a long time, unless nintendo puts the pedel to the metal. I first thought of this when I played Duke Nukem Advance, that was state of the art graphics years back and now we can play it on a gameboy and think nothing of it, intresting. What I am saying is if nintendo really put the buck behind the gameboy franchise, it could become BIG! Bigger then it ever has become, it could even snag not even nintendo faithfull gamers but even Xbox and PS2 gamers, because its a diffrent market then consoles, and havn't GBA's outsold all other consoles? think about it for a while....heh

[Rambozo]

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Originally posted by: Untouchable_Dom
As you can see from the title, its all about the future of our beloved game boy. Yes we love this little devil and are always surprised by what nintendo comes out with next but....the GBA graphics are already rivaling the Snes, correct? There are some things, such as metroid fusion, which I couldn't even think of being on the snes. So where is the GB platform going next? 64 bits? its a big jump and it doesn't seem the technology is even available, I say it is.

Of course it is. With PocketPCs reaching 500Mhz, I see no reason why a handheld based on the N64 architecture would not be possible. Cost effective is another issue.

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If they can get tomb raider (the origional, early playstation graphics) to play on the nokia hand held n-gage then I am sure that nintendo could somehow turn up the heat a bit. But, I had a strange idea the other day, like lightning had struck my brain. Nintendo's console sales are down and they are in third in the wars (am I wrong?) so why don't they slowly move to the hand held market and concentrate all their effort there?

What, you mean why don't they give up everything they have fought so hard for? Nintendo has explicitly stated that the day they stop making consoles is the day they stop making games altogether.  You are not the first person to have this very, very bad idea.  If anything, they ought to be focusing on what needs focusing on alot more, their home console.  

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I am sure if they did they could set the hand held buissness on FIRE! I could see future game boy's with back lights, infared multiplayer linking, internal batteries, CD's instead of cartridges, plus the cd's could hold gigantic games, think FF7 on a handheld

One of the main reasons handhelds are so successful is that it is easy and cheap to develop a game for them. Why? Because the games are like 8 megs, and are not huge complicated console quality dealies, and should not be. What you are asking is: "Why don't GBA developers make games a million times as large and complex with way more content......while charging the exact same amount?" This means more work for the same money, and that makes no business sense.

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I can see that happening but not for a long time, unless nintendo puts the pedel to the metal. I first thought of this when I played Duke Nukem Advance, that was state of the art graphics years back and now we can play it on a gameboy and think nothing of it, intresting. What I am saying is if nintendo really put the buck behind the gameboy franchise, it could become BIG!

It's already a virtual monopoly. What more do you want?

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It could even snag not even nintendo faithfull gamers but even Xbox and PS2 gamers, because its a diffrent market then consoles, and havn't GBA's outsold all other consoles? think about it for a while....heh

Anyone who wants to play on a handheld already has a Gameboy of some sort, be it regular, colour, GBA or GBASP.  Simply adding alot of impractical, expensive features will not sway the minds of those who do not want one to begin with.  And, as I mentioned, many of those features are terrible ideas.

[Syl]

I personally belive the GBA is going to be here for quite a few more years.

With the latest incarnation, and the amazing things it can do, i give it another 3-4 years at least with just GBA architecture.

Nintendo does *NOT* want the handheld business to turn 3 dimensional, thats why the made the advance a pure SPRITE pushing machine that can handle sprite effects better than anything before it.  This is the main reason i think this is the last version of game boy for quite a while.

And, to be honest... i would hate the handheld to turn 3D.... i love sprite based games.

[Ace]

I agree with you Syr_Aran, but the industry wants to go to the 3rd deminsion.  Look at all the 3D games out on the GBA.  From Doom to Crazy Taxi, all are trying to push the GBA where it wasn't intended to go.  If Nintendo doesnt go 3D people will go to the system that does.  Look at the mid 1990's, Nintendo was on top of the world with the SNES, and when the N64 released, there were many games that came out at first because of Nintendo's dominance in the previous console war.  Slowly but surely, companies began to go to the playstation because of the extra space on the discs to get the sound and length that they wanted but couldn't get from the N64.  The point is that if the public wants 3D portability, and someone releases it at a reasonable price, developers will flock to it and so will consumers.  I think that Nintendo should eventually turn the GCN into what the PSOne is now, except it would actually be a handheld system that had decent battery life.

[Jdub03]

"CD's instead of cartridges, plus the cd's could hold gigantic games, think FF7 on a handheld, sitting in your car kicking some ass from a totally cordless perphrial."


I dont think Using CDs with handhelds is a good idea. Think of the cost.  It would need a cooling fan for one.  The cd rotater would have to be constantly spinning.  The battery life would suck!  I dont think nintendo would make the same amount of money if they abandoned cartridges. ( That would be excellent though, oh well)

["Sky"]

You forgot to add in another problem with CDs... not necessarily a good idea to keep a CD based game system that requires moving parts to be constantly on the move.