The new Game Boy Advance SP came to my door today; I was looking forward to importing this system a great deal. Like others that have expressed the same sentiments, I had long stopped enjoying playing the GBA. The game library, screen size, and CPU power are all adequate. But the inability to comfortably play it for a length of time, due entirely to the lack a quality lighting solution, had weighed too heavily on me. As a result, both the GBA and games have been collecting dust for a couple of months at the least. I haven’t even purchased a new game in as long.

Third parties were fast to offer a number of light alternatives for the GBA, but they all shared the same faults. The screens were glared, and some devices even impaired access to the buttons because those solutions completely enclosed the entire screen to light and magnify it.

Nintendo initially denied that there was interest in a lit Game Boy Advance, minimizing it to Internet gabble largely based on the inroads tritonlabs.com and their Afterburner project made to bring the issue to light, no pun intended. As it turns out, Nintendo had been working on a solution since the release of the initial Game Boy Advance. They announced the Game Boy Advance SP -- the same Game Boy Advance, but with a new form factor, internal battery, and built-in lighting.

The cardboard box that the Japanese GBA SP comes in is particularly small at 3 5/8" x 3 5/8" x 2 1/4" (or about 9 x 9 x 6 cm). I got the platinum model, so the box was appropriately gray. The box labeling wasn't very interesting -- completely grayscale. The GBA SP packaging that we get in the States will certainly resemble our more typical packaging.

The unit has a cell phone-like form factor, though it's wider than a typical cell phone. When I opened the screen, I was immediately reminded of the classic Game Boy, so this is old hat for long-time players. The screen will naturally slant at about a 35 degree angle, giving the user a better viewpoint. The platinum casing has a very metallic look and feel. It is, for sure, at least as durable as the GBA we know. The screen is well protected when the unit is closed, and the buttons do not rub against it. The hinge is very durable -- a slight bit of pressure is needed to open and close the unit, and it would need to be the victim of serious abuse to be pulled completely apart at the hinge.

The D-pad is ever so slightly larger than the original GBA's, which is good news for many. The L and R buttons are much smaller, but still comfortable for the index fingers to reach. Overall, the unit is fairly comfortable. It’s rectangular in shape, so it’s not ergonomic, but it is so light and small that it doesn’t really matter. When you first hold the GBA SP with the screen opened, you'll notice how skinny the bottom half really is. The unit is 7/8th of an inch thick when closed. When open, the bottom half is a little over half an inch thick. The unit should comfortably fit in jean pants if you want to take it with you wherever you go.

The power on/off button was placed on right side of the lower half of the unit, the volume dial was put on the left side, and the recharge and extension ports are in between the L and R buttons in the back. On the bottom of the unit, there is a small screw hole to access the unit's internal lithium-ion battery, which should be good for at least 3 years of use. Whether or not the battery can be replaced by the gamer is uncertain; I haven't tried opening it yet. The required screwdriver is about the size found in an eyeglass kit. Conspicuous by its absence is the headphone jack. Nintendo will be selling a headphone adapter separately, and the adapter will plug into the same port you use to recharge the battery.

To recharge the internal battery, the GBA SP includes a plug that connects to a power outlet. You can play games while the battery charges, and you don’t have to worry about the battery dying prematurely if you don’t consume the power completely, thanks to the lithium-ion battery pack.

Finally, the unit is not “backlit”; it is lit by small internal LEDs that spread light across the front surface of the screen, just like the Afterburner. The lighting brightens the screen evenly, without any dim or “hot” spots to be found. While playing games in complete darkness is now possible, as with all LCD displays, for optimal viewing conditions you'll want to view the screen face-on. You lose color and lighting detail if you view the display at an angle. But this should be a non-issue for most people.

The lit display adds so much flexibility and maneuverability to gameplay that I couldn't be more thankful. In fact, because of the newfound flexibility, I have been able to play games at a faster and more exciting pace because I don't feel like I have to be so careful not to inadvertently bump into enemies that I couldn't see or screw up in some other way due to bad or no lighting. I'm no longer worrying about anything but the action on the screen -- and I am a happy camper as a result. This is the way games were supposed to be played on the GBA. The dust is finally being blown off my GBA collection. It's about time to play them again.