Why the heck is Nintendo completley abandoning the platform... :(
Major GBA games released in the US in 2006:
--
Juka and the Monophonic Menace
Scurge: Hive
Yggdra Union: We'll Never Fight Alone
Mazes of Fate (first-person Western-style PC-ish RPG, like from the early '90s, but made in Argentina and for the GBA!)
Drill Dozer
Tales of Phantasia
Summon Night: Swordcraft Story
Summon Night: Swordcraft Story 2
Super Robot Taisen: Original Generation
Super Robot Taisen: Original Generation 2
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team
Polarium Advance
Final Fantasy V Advance
Castlevania Double Pack (Aria of Sorrow + Harmony of Dissonance, one cart)
Well, for one thing the DS has replaced it at this point. Get one and you have nothing to complain about :D.
The point is that it's obvous that the GBA isn't dying because of a lack of ideas -- this year's releases have been fantastic -- or a lack of hardware sales -- 600,000 in November? -- but just because of how successful the DS has been. I know the DS came out two years ago, but the NES had new games released for a solid three years after the SNES came out... PSX for nearly that long... SNES wasn't as long, but the N64's lower success level probably impacted that. The GBC vanished fast, within six months, but the GBA has done much better than that one... and anyway, I also felt like the GBC was being killed before its time to make way for the GBA. I mean, 2 1/2 years? Come on...
(as for the DS, I'd argue that most of those games are every bit as good as anything on the DS this year...)
Do six months really matter THAT much? Just move on.
FFVI is going to be released for the GBA, so there's that.
Aside from that, I fail to see your argument ABF. "Too soon"? It's been 2 years now, and that's roughly average. So what if a few lasted a year more? It's just a year. Let it go.
Quote:was the DS'es lineup that good?
Uh...yes?
Contact
Magical Starsign
Elite Beat Agents
Children of Mana
Rocket Slime
Yoshi's Island DS
Kirby Squeak Squad
Final Fantasy III
Touch Detective
Scurge: Hive
Not all of those are November/December games... it is a good lineup too though, of course. I wasn't saying that the DS lineup was bad, just that the GBA's 2006 lineup was awesome too and it's too bad that the 2007 one is completely non-existant, with the single exception of Final Fantasy VI Advance in February.
Quote:Not all of those are November/December games...
No earlier than mid-October for any of those games, with the earliest being Contact which was released on October 19.
That's nine games there... I listed eight GBA ones released in that same timeframe. One game is on both lists though... it's just odd to see the GBA's release list suddenly seem to just... stop. Usually consoles slowly fade out, and I guess the GBA has been for the last two years, but it's had steady releases all along... but after FFVI in February?
... yeah, then it's time to get a DS.
YAY!
At least waiting this long gets you the Lite model.
That's assuming that in the interim I don't waste all my money on a Saturn or something... :D
How could you waste THAT much money on a Saturn? They only cost like $35 around here, and are plentiful. I mean there's the games and all but... wait, you aren't considering getting Panzer Dragoon Saga for standard eBay price are you? Madness!
I got a Saturn for like $40-$50 and never paid more than $20 for any of the games.
Well, given that the number of Saturn games in stores around here is extremely small, I'd have to get things online, which usually costs more than games you find in local stores, at least once shipping costs are added in...
(I could also get a Neo-Geo Pocket Color, as one is available in a store around here and for $50 I could have one with four or five games, but beyond that I'd be stuck with just online...though NGPC games aren't expensive, I don't like buying online very much... heck, I have a Sega CD which I've found almost nothing good for around here but still haven't bought anything online though I know I badly need a Sega CD memory card and games and stuff...)
From Amazon:
Virtua Cop 2 = $8
Stunner Gun = $12
Shining Wisdome $20
NiGHTS Into Dreams = $15
Saturn 3D Controller = $14
Action Replay 4-in-1 = $27
Street Fight Alpha II = $16
Night Warriors = $15
Astal = $8
Dark Savior = $10
Marvel Super Heroes = $20-$30 [on eBay]
Panzer Dragoon Zwei = $9
Prices aren't too bad.
Quote:heck, I have a Sega CD which I've found almost nothing good for around here but still haven't bought anything online
From Amazon:
Sonic CD = $5
Silpheed = $2.50
Sol-Deace = $3
Rise of the Dragon = $3
Heart of the Alien = $30 [eBay]
Panic! = $40 [eBay]
Vay = $20
Some of the games are a bit harder to find, but generally not as expensive as the Saturn games.
Add shipping costs and I bet those prices go up quite a bit...
And I haven't paid over $7 for a Genesis/Sega CD game, $15 for a SNES game (if I round off things like 'buy two get the third free' by averaging the total price of the three games, so instead of "$20, $15, and $0" it's "3x$10"), or $30 for a PSX game...
This is my current real Sega CD collection:
Bram Stoker's Dracula
Battlecorps
Loadstar
Star Wars - Rebel Assualt
Third World War
... erm... h... uh, the Sega CD plays burned CDs (with no modification, unlike most any other CD-based console)? ... I wish I actually had legitimate versions of those games, it'd be better... but the prices for the games that I actually want are high sometimes -- I want Lunar: Eternal Blue, Silpheed, Dark Wizard, Snatcher, Popful Mail, Shining Force CD, maybe Lunar, and a backup cart so I can actually save much stuff... some others would be nice too (Sol-Feace [Deace is the Genesis version...], Sonic CD, Android Assualt, Robo Aleste, Rise of the Dragon, Heart of the Alien, maybe more)...
... I'd buy pretty much any of those if I actually saw the case (the only Sega CD game I've seen since getting the system in July and not bought is Sewer Shark, which is $3, still there, and I'll probably eventually get even though I know it's terrible. I bought Loadstar and Dracula knowing that they were horrible... they were worth it. It's funny seeing how badly people used CDs early on... :)), but having to get them online...
Quote:Prices aren't too bad.
It's just that every additional platform is an additional drain of funds, and I don't think I'll exactly be getting much MORE money in the next four or five months... maybe, but at this point it looks doubtful...
Quote:Add shipping costs and I bet those prices go up quite a bit...
Not more than $2 or $3 per item, particularly at Amazon.
Quote:Sonic CD, Android Assualt, Robo Aleste, Rise of the Dragon
You can get all those for well under $10 a piece, probably even with shipping charges.
By the way, if you're going to be playing many Sega CD games you ABSOLUTELY need the JVC X'EYE. It's an all-in-one Genesis and CD, along with being very stable and reliable.
I think he's already got a Genesis/CD combo. So, he doesn't really need that.
In fact I also have that combo, and a 32X, so I don't need it either. My model 2 Sega CD has not skipped at all in all the time I've used it.
The only reason to get one is that it's a space/electrical socket saver.
Quote:By the way, if you're going to be playing many Sega CD games you ABSOLUTELY need the JVC X'EYE. It's an all-in-one Genesis and CD, along with being very stable and reliable.
Since I already have a Genesis and a Sega CD, why should I pay for a X'Eye (which cost quite a bit more than a Sega CD)? I know that Sega CDs can break, but this is a model 2, which are a bit more reliable than the model 1's, and I've had it for 5-6 months or so now and it's worked fine so far...
Quote:Quote:
Sonic CD, Android Assualt, Robo Aleste, Rise of the Dragon
You can get all those for well under $10 a piece, probably even with shipping charges.
Silpheed too.
True, but Lunar 2, Dark Wizard, Shining Force CD, Snatcher, Popful Mail... those usually cost more...
... I wish I could get GleyLancer and Eliminate Down (heck, and Panorama Cotton) for Genesis too, but those are extremely expensive and Japan-only, so that's ... quite unlikely, to say the least...
Really though, the main thing is just that I haven't bought anything online, and don't really like the idea of doing it... paranoia I know, but...
Quote:Since I already have a Genesis and a Sega CD, why should I pay for a X'Eye (which cost quite a bit more than a Sega CD)?
Because it's awesome.
Quote:Really though, the main thing is just that I haven't bought anything online, and don't really like the idea of doing it... paranoia I know, but...
I've bought a ton of stuff online and have had almost zero problems. There's nothing at all to worry about, especially if you buy from Amazon.
Okay I realized one possibility. With not very many GBA titles coming out at all in the near future, this opens up the possibility of FINALLY bringing those unreleased but highly demanded GBA games to America! There's still a lot of people who just have GBA systems and no DS, and there'd be no worries about competition. So, bring on that first GBA Fire Emblem game, Mother 1+2, and of course, MOTHER 3!
Quote:I've bought a ton of stuff online and have had almost zero problems. There's nothing at all to worry about, especially if you buy from Amazon.
Amazon doesn't have things like imports, import-related devices, or Sega CD memory cards though...
Quote:Okay I realized one possibility. With not very many GBA titles coming out at all in the near future, this opens up the possibility of FINALLY bringing those unreleased but highly demanded GBA games to America! There's still a lot of people who just have GBA systems and no DS, and there'd be no worries about competition. So, bring on that first GBA Fire Emblem game, Mother 1+2, and of course, MOTHER 3!
Oh I know, and I badly, badly wish that this would happen, but it won't. Chances are somewhere around 0%. Nintendo has said that they will not be releasing any more first-party GBA games, I'm pretty sure... the fact that there are a lot of awesome games they could easily release is, for whatever reason, irrrelevant. :(
I'm fine with them "moving on" in terms of making brand new games, but I sure wish they'd localize more existing games... Shame that, when you consider that the DS has a GBA right inside. It's not like Mother is touted for it's multiplayer facets.
Problem is, even if they no longer need focus on a huge number of games on the GBA, that focus is redirected to localizing DS games now... So, we get left behind.
And, from the looks of things, Nintendo really doesn't have any intention of localizing previously unreleased games for the various emulators on the Wii, which basically is a vast hit to a lot of potential sales they would otherwise get, with VERY little overhead (just the payment for server space and localization).
I really don't understand what Nintendo is thinking on this, I really don't... sure the ones that require lots of translation might not be worth the effort, but ones that require none? Nintendo is going out of its way to block things which they shouldn't! I mean seriously... because Austrailia didn't get the Turbografx-16 released there they can't access the TG-16 games unless they set their systems to UK region mode? What the heck? Why in the world would Nintendo DO that? It makes absolutely no sense... all these things to is anger their fans and encourage illegal activity (since emulating those old games is so easy).
The fact that Nintendo has only released the horribe 50hz verions of their games in PAL territories is one of those situations where actions speak louder than words...
To be fair, the PAL version thing is due to Europe having those horrible 50 hertz TVs. Mind you, that doesn't apply to their HD sets, which are identical to our HD sets, but you know Nintendo's stance on HD. That doesn't excuse the REST though.
Quote:Mind you, that doesn't apply to their HD sets, which are identical to our HD sets, but you know Nintendo's stance on HD. That doesn't excuse the REST though.
Also, most any modern European TV has a 60hz mode, I'm pretty sure (and I don't think that means just HD ones...). There is no excuse...
Quote:That doesn't excuse the REST though.
Doesn't even begin to. Seriously, I like Nintendo, but they sure make it really hard (or impossible) to support their actions sometimes...
Well that's the problem with blanket "it's good" or "it's bad". The most we can say is "Nintendo is a company that does a lot of neat stuff but also does some stupid and/or questionable things."
Okay along these lines, Target is apparently planning on getting rid of it's entire GBA stock in a month. Their GBA games will be getting bargain bin pricing.
Now's the time to pick up all those GBA games that you may have wanted but not "pay $30 for it" wanted. For example, I think I'll pick up Super Mario Bros 3, except I won't be getting those e-reader cards...
Along these lines, the next DS really needs to go the PSP route with upgradable firmware. It's obvious they aren't even considering that with the DS right now (even though that firmware has been hacked by others). The idea is, they can set up an online store for old games just like with the Wii, and if they stick a memory card slot in there, they'd have plenty of room for whatever. They could easily expand it with a huge list of portable games. So, we'd get (for example) Donkey Kong Land (the only GB DKL game that was actually original and not a port of a DKC game) Mega Man V, Final Fantasy Adventure, the Final Fantasy Legends games, Zelda: Link's Awakening (and the Oracle games at that), Super Mario Land, Metal Gear Ghost Babel (I recently picked it up for 5 bucks, and it's surprisingly good, though called plain ol' "Metal Gear Solid" here confusingly enough (it isn't a remake of the PS1 game's storyline), and more than enough reason for Nintendo to justify the effort and expense, all those old Pokemon games (for the cash monies, obviously).
Gamestop's GBA section had some very low prices... $10 for Tales of Phantasia, $5 or $10 for Scurge: Hive, $20 for Summon Night Swordcraft Story 2, etc... I think that they are trying to get rid of them too... :(
... it did get me a cheaper copy of Summon Night 2, though! :) That game is still $30 in the local places that have a copy...
DS download: They could probably do that now with a GBA card adapter or something. They just don't want to I guess... but yes, being able to actually KEEP those downloadable demos and stuff from those demo stations, and having purchasable old handheld games, would definitely be awesome (and handheld games ARE more fun on handhelds than on a television).
Hey ABF, I'll add that they wouldn't even need download stations if they just let you download the things off the internet.
True. That would require more network infrastructure for sure, though, and with the way Nintendo hates online networks...
... maybe the promise of money could lure them in, though, like it did for the VC... :)
They already have their network set up with the Wii. Their servers are handling the traffic just fine. They handle DS online games just fine. They don't need more infrastructure to be built, their servers seem up to the task. All they need is a firmware update and the server software updated to provide this stuff. It is in their best interest to do this too, as it not only gets those advertisements called demos in our hands, they can make money directly off sales of old Gameboy games.