I got to test-play the new Game Boy Micro and the new version of the SP recently.
Micro first: I'm not really impressed. Yes, the image looks sharper than the SP, but this is done by making the screen smaller. Text is more difficult to read. It's cheating, frankly. And worse, it's nothing short of criminal to charge a hundred dollars for this thing. It should be no more than fifty.
It does have a headphone jack though, and the unit itself is rather neat-looking. That doesn't change the fact that it's a pointless machine.
The new SP, on the other hand, I rather liked.
It's coming in two new colors (granite and pearl blue, which I played). The significant change comes in the screen, which is now truly back-lit (the old SP's lights were from the sides). The improvement is extraordinary. I played the new Donkey Kong on this.
You remember the button on the SP which toggled the light. It no longer does this. Now, it changes the brightness. The lower setting is the one you're used to on your SP now, the side-light. The other setting is the actual backlight, and there's no comparison. When back-lit, the screen is more than twice as bright, but even more importantly, the colors are fantastically improved, and I cannot stress this enough. The old SP's colors look very drab and washed-out in comparison to the new screen. It's a huge improvement. Colors are far richer and deeper. I was absolutely amazed.
The New SP will retail for the same price as the old one, and is replacing them. The old colors are being phased out.
Also, there will be new bundles. The DS will bundle with Mario Kart DS, and the machine will be red with black racing stripes. There's another bundle with another game, but I don't remember what it is.
The Gamecube will bundle with SSBM (with a platinum machine, this bundle's already available), and another later on with the new Pokemon. Apparently, this cube is purple, and the black circle on the machine's top is replaced with a Pokemon head.
That's it. The moral is to buy the new SP if you need anything. Skip the Micro completely. The small improvement in sharpness doesn't make up for the pitiful screen size (smaller than the GBA cart).
Would you say the new SP screen is on par with the DS screen when playing GBA games? They look great on the DS screen, with nary a trace of the washed-out colors or slight blue tint I've noticed at times.
Either way, I barely use my SP anymore since I got my DS anyhow. Last time I used it was when I was playing the last Fire Emblem, because it was easier to carry (and play :)) at work. Other than that, I'll either play them on the DS or, if I'm home, on the Game Boy Player.
I had no intention of buying a GBMicro, but if it's $100 for an inferior machine, then I'm forced to wonder what Nintendo is thinking...
IGN has pics, the new SP is as bright as the Micro -- and both, I think, are brighter than the DS...
So the new SP is the superior GB model and it's actually CHEAPER than the micro?
What are they thinking indeed...
Besides that, I DO have that little adapter so I can in fact use a headset with my SP.
I should get that new SP. I never even got the old one though. I've just used the original GBA this whole time. I never felt compelled to buy the SP (even though the shape was clearly superior, it was just an inconvenience to dish out money for a new machine that didn't play a wider variety of games) but with this backlight, I just might get this new model. The Micro... yeah, what the hell were they thinking? Forget that junk.
I got my SP at launch and then got another one, the NES one, just for the hell of it :D.
I can live with just having an original GBA, for those (very few) times when I desperately need the screen lit, I've got the (inadaquate-but-functional) wormlight... it would not be worth $80 to get a backlit screen.
Oh yes, and the original GBA looks like it's a bit more comfortable to hold too...
As for the Micro... functionally? Reduced. Sensibly? Not as worth owning as an original GBA or SP. You need to buy all-new accessories. But... it looks so cool... :)
As for the price, it is high, but consider that it's surely harder to make than a SP... it's smaller, after all, and small is hard. So it makes perfect sense that it's more expensive... Nintendo doesn't want to lose lots of money on the things, and it's surely the most expensive GBA model to make, so what choice do they have...
They could just NOT make it? I really think their target audience is the ignorant. I'm not insulting people here, I'm just saying that only people who are unaware that the Micro has nothing but limitations compaired to the SP (and that will be a lot of people, really they can't be expected to just know this stuff like we nerds do) are going to buy that thing.
It's unfortunate really... I know it's smaller than the SP even, possibly capable being dangled from some sort of chain, perhaps one normally commissioned for the holding of keys.
It's sad really, but I think we all know Nintendo isn't going to advertise it's weakened functionality, not even indirectly by pointing out what the SP CAN do in some SP commercial.
I think the lesson here is "let the buyer beware".
I don't plan on getting either.
Well if you already have an SP, there's not too much of a point. The screen on my SP is easily sufficient. Those photographs seem... misleading... Certainly the major difference in screen quality as depicted there hasn't been present when I take the two systems into my closet and compare them...
However, a test, I DEMAND A TEST!
I think I'll have to find a way to prevent me from knowing which system is which while someone else has the "answer sheet" more or less, then I can see if I can tell the difference with scientific accuracy, and to what degree.
I already have a DS and an SP.
Yeah I know, I was commenting on that.
I still tend to play my Advance games on my SP, just because it's not so heavy.
The same number of pixels in a significantly smaller screen means smaller pixels. This means a better image, even if it is smaller...
Quote:They could just NOT make it? I really think their target audience is the ignorant. I'm not insulting people here, I'm just saying that only people who are unaware that the Micro has nothing but limitations compaired to the SP (and that will be a lot of people, really they can't be expected to just know this stuff like we nerds do) are going to buy that thing.
They're selling it as a 'cool looking hardware thing' like an ipod or something... not really as 'a replacement for the SP' -- the new backlit SP shows that it's not replacing the SP. It's a seperate product aimed at people who want 'small' or 'cool looking'. I doubt many of the buyers of micros will really mind the missing backwards compatibility and broken addon support (some will certainly, though, and they should make it clearer that those things are removed... but it's new and more expensive so they don't want to go around saying 'yeah the older, cheaper model is better in almost every way except for looks'...)... most people who want backwards compatibility probably have a GBA already. :) The link port is a bigger problem, though, if anyone expected to use their micro for GBA-GC connectivity...
Actually I sort of question the "looks" part of that. I like the sleek flat look of the SP. It still hasn't worn off for me.
The sharper image due to the smaller screen size is interesting, but I prefer a larger image sacrificing that sharpness. Using the limitations of the eye's own resolution to produce a sharper image just doesn't cut it for me. I'm not saying it isn't something to consider. For example, I certainly wouldn't want to blow up regular non-HD TV to theater screen size, but it really doesn't seem worth it here. It seems to be counter productive if you can't make out all the details.
Here's the quote that gets me though.
Quote:the refresh rate is a tad slower than the classic GBA SP and Game Boy Micro screen, so there's an ever so subtle "blur" when objects move or the screen scrolls. The color saturation is also a little stronger -- reds are particularly more powerful on this screen than in GBA past.
So this new SP apparently has lower refreshing than the old SP screen, and the reds are oversaturated to a degree that these guys were apparently able to notice.
A brighter and crisper screen is nice, but Nintendo is it like some sort of GOAL to make SOME aspect of every new portable you make inferior somehow to the previous model? I'll just keep my old SP. I was just under the impression that they could somehow actually get the SP screen's quality to be the same as the micro's.
Yeah, the lower refresh rate is bad, but all reviews agree that even so it's greatly improved over the original SP screen... (and I don't know if the micro has this problem or not, that article was about the new SP)
Now the original GB, THAT console had ... a bit ... of a blurring issue. :D
Quote:Actually I sort of question the "looks" part of that. I like the sleek flat look of the SP. It still hasn't worn off for me.
I think the micro looks pretty cool, anyway...
Quote:The sharper image due to the smaller screen size is interesting, but I prefer a larger image sacrificing that sharpness. Using the limitations of the eye's own resolution to produce a sharper image just doesn't cut it for me. I'm not saying it isn't something to consider. For example, I certainly wouldn't want to blow up regular non-HD TV to theater screen size, but it really doesn't seem worth it here. It seems to be counter productive if you can't make out all the details.
You're being overly negative... reviews at IGN and Gamespy and stuff mention them thinking that the smaller screen would cause problems for reading text, but most seem to end up saying 'it's not nearly as big a problem as we thought it would be, and the very sharp screen looks great'. Of course, I'd have to use one to know my opinion, and I would think larger would be better, but it is true that the pixels on the GBA screen are quite large... but how the micro would affect stuff like the text in games, I don't know.
This may sound cynical, but I am currently wondering if IGN is getting paid not to insult a lot of the stuff they review. They seem to be overly careful to not word things, even the negative things, in such a way that it seems bad.
Oh come on... that allegation gets tossed around all the time to all kinds of media people (for us, game reviews in particular) but I really doubt it. Okay, sure, they're going to deny it, but what possible advantage is it... people can compare reviews, you know, to see if one looks overly nice to a game, or seems to just be marketing-speak or something... no, I do not think so at all.
And anyway, why would this bring that up? It's not like IGN are the only people saying good things about the micro, you know... yes, by some regards it's not a particularly useful item, but for the market they're aiming at? It'll do just fine. Look no further than the great week-one sales in Japan to show that.
And also... can you possibly say that this isn't cool looking?
![[Image: 4644_large.jpg]](http://www.mobilemag.com/content/images/4644_large.jpg)
A Black Falcon Wrote:As for the price, it is high, but consider that it's surely harder to make than a SP... it's smaller, after all, and small is hard. So it makes perfect sense that it's more expensive... Nintendo doesn't want to lose lots of money on the things, and it's surely the most expensive GBA model to make, so what choice do they have...
In which case it was a bad investment on their part.
Not if they make money off the investment, no. And if they haven't done that already (over 150,000 sold in Japan week one), they will eventually.
Well okay, there's no evidence for that. However, I must say they seem far too kind to the things they review.
Advance is trendy but the original will always have a place in my heart. There was the pocket for a while which was nice because the original just came in the plastic grey. Though Color was nice too and it had all sorts of killer apps like the sewing machine add on. Not much use for Virtual any more huh?
Pocket? Pointless thing... it's just the GB, but smaller, with a better screen. Like micro... except it doesn't break compatibility with some games. :D ... they were kind of neat I guess, and the less-blurry screen was nice at the time, but certainly not worth buying if you already had a GB... like the micro again. :) Except the micro looks cooler than the GB Pocket.
Virtual Boy wasn't portable so it doesn't really count.
Anyway... I definitely like the size of the original GB, with those nice big buttons... but even for original GB games it's hard to use these days because of how blurry the screen is for any game that scrolls. Great console, but made mostly obsolete by the GBC and GBA/GBA-SP... I keep mine around, though, because it looks cool and because it still works perfectly (which is more than I can say for my GBC... its screen broke a year and a half ago...). :)
I used to own a silver GBP (I never owned a GB) but it was stolen. >=( My friend gave me his Super Game Boy, which I used for the time being. (It was pretty neat.) I later got a kiwi green GBC, which I still own, and about three years ago I got a white GBA.
Actually ABF, that last paragraph by me was a direct quote from the "next time" segment of the first episode of FLCL.
I only just realized they were describing Nintendo's portables.
I just got one of the 20th anniversary Famicom Micros from Japan, and I can definitely attest that it looks really cool. Even the packaging is cool. The box is small and all red, and inside it contains scenes from the original Super Mario Bros. The system even comes with a little black, velvet pouch to carry it in. Also, when charging the system the start and select buttons glow blue. I wish I could take pics but my digital camera is on the fritz. I totally buy into getting "cool" looking things, though, and I have to keep my collection of all the Gameboy systems going so I knew a Micro would be in my future eventually. The Famicom edition looked so cool, though, that I splurged a little and bought it earlier than I thought I would. I'll post some gameplay opinions after it is charged.
Not my styles upon styles myself. "We have steep prices and... trees."
I will say that, functionality aside (to an extent), I really want that limited edition version of the Famicom SP.
Well, what Ryan said about the Micro is pretty much true. The smaller screen does make for a sharper image, but it was tough to make out the text in Fire Emblem. The system itself is pretty comfortable to use, and I certainly wouldn't be embarrassed to take this thing out on the subway as opposed to the bulkier SP. Nevertheless, the SP will be the platform I use for the majority of my portable gaming, but I'll take out the Micro to show off every once in a while. I wouldn't recommend a Micro for anyone really since it is functionally a lot worse than the SP, but it just looks so damn cool.
Why isn't that an embarressment?? At least with the SP, someone might have mistaken it for some sort of PDA before knowledge of it's existence became well known. This takes it back to classic "it looks exaclty like what it is, a toy". I can understand you liking it's appearence, but I'm pretty sure if you pulled that out in public people would think exactly the same thing as if you pulled out an SP. "Well, I THOUGHT that person was on the ball, but they are playing games in public..." The majority of people, non-gamers, aren't going to notice or even care about tiny little cosmetic issues (from their perspective).
I don't know about that, DJ... looks do matter, and the Micro is by far the nicest looking Game Boy model... so people might think 'cool looking thing' first before they think something negative about the fact that the person is playing videogames. That's what Nintendo hopes, anyway, and to some degree at least it's working, going by reviews and sales... certainly the thing is functionally useless when compared to the SP (or, in most situations, the original GBA), but functionality isn't the most important factor for everyone. Particularly the not-exactly-hardcore-gamer market Nintendo is aiming at with this thing. :)
I'm not so sure I agree with you on the idea of the Micro looking better. The SP takes that title, as far as I'm concerned. A sleek, clamshell design beats some tiny, flat piece of plastic any day.
That's not to say the tiny, flat piece of plastic in question doesn't <i>ALSO</i> look nice, just not as nice as the SP :D.
Yeah, I don't see why you two think the Micro actually looks better than the SP. It basically is the same as the original Advance, only smaller.
You really have to see the thing in person to really appreciate it. It is not like the original GBA. It almost doesn't even look like plastic; it looks more like pieces of colored metal welded together. And the blue LEDs in the start and select buttons just prove that I am a sucker for a blue LED, and two blue LEDs are just too much goodness for me to bear.
I have seen it, through glass and the plastic wrappin's around it. Also, I really don't think I'm all that interested in custom face plates. I like a nice plain jane...ette...son... look on my GBs.