Game Informer gets a GB Micro

[Smoke]

Our Friday morning began with the arrival of a brand spankin' new Game Boy Micro. We're going to be putting it through its paces all day long, but for now, we're giving you a truckload of comparison shots, and a few tidbits that you probably didn't know about Nintendo's newest handheld.



1. The removable faceplates include the screen, so if you scratch up the screen of your Micro, you can get a new faceplate. This also means, be very careful when you're removing or replacing to not get finger prints on the actual screen, or the back of the faceplate's screen.

2. To remove the faceplate, you can use your finger nails to loosen the right side of the screen, but a pin or needle needs to be used on the right side of the screen to pop the screen out entirely.

3. Current Game Boy Advance link cables, battery chargers, and wireless adapters will not work with the Micro.

4. The start and select buttons light up blue when the Micro is charged, and red when the battery is fading.

5. The volume controls also double as the screen brightness controls. By pressing the left shoulder button you'll be able to adjust screen brightness.

That's all we have for right now. Check back later when we finish up our play test.

Have any questions about the unit? Hit this thread in our forums, and we'll address them!


-Billy Berghammer

About the removable faceplates including the screen: Praise be Nintendo!

I was hoping this would be the case but was worried that Nintendo would overlook this. This means you can actually put this thing in your pocket without it getting scratched to hell.

[A Black Falcon]

No you can't, not if you like that faceplate... I remember how my GBC got horribly scratched. My GBA only has a few scratches, but that's because I have a screen cover thing (actually found use of something from that E3 kit of LL's... :)) and because after what happened to my GBC screen I was more careful. But a screen like the SP's, which folds, is clearly better... and the SP supports the GC-GBA cable, and the GBA link cable, and GBA accessories, and GB and GBC games... I guess I just don't really see the point of this thing. Why would anyone buy one other than as a fashion statement? The SP seems to be clearly better...

[Dark Jaguar]

Um, they had the same thing with previous ones. However, it wasn't the entire faceplate, it was just the screen itself. I myself went through 2 replacement screens with my GBA until I got that SP.

Besides that, what's the big deal about a removable face plate? I'm fine with a color I can't ever change. It's just never been an issue.

And as for everything else, the ENTIRE system is a complete waste of cash compaired to an SP. In no way at all is this thing actually superior that I can tell. Let's see... No GBC/GB game support. It doesn't support ANY of the old accessories (requiring, for reasons I can't really fathom, completely new types of ALL the old accessories), a lack of the ability to fold it up to store it in a really small form and at the same time protect the screen.... Sorry, no dice. I'll stick with my SP. I figure this must be for poor people anyway though.

[The Former DMiller]

I'm definitely sticking with my SP, but I'll get a Micro somewhere down the line just so I can say I own every Gameboy system.

[dex]

The GBM uses Nintendo's "Brightest, sharpest screen to date".

Does that warrant the 100 dollar price tag? Not at all. For 20 bucks more, you can get a DS. For 20 bucks less, you can get an SP. For 40 bucks, you can get a GBA with a worm light.

However, I do want one. I can imagine having one on my keychain with Final Fantasy Tactics always ready to go. But i'll definitely be waiting for a price drop or an ebay steal.

[Smoke]

I don't know why I want it, I just know I need to have it. I think it works on the same principal as the Apple iProduct only replace Apple with Nintendo and iProduct with Gameboy _____.

[Dark Jaguar]

Brightest and Sharpest screen to date? So they outdid the DS screen (top one, the bottom one is a tad fuzzy thanks to the touch screen) as well? Eh, no matter. Yes, that is an improvement, but it's still not worth it for all the reasons I mentioned.

Seriously, what were they thinking? The SP costs LESS than this thing! Why would ANYONE get it? Most people will NOT care about a sharper screen in the face of the lack of 3 features that make the cheaper model BETTER.

You know, I would be one to want "every model of the GB", but I gave that up when my original model was stolen. Oh, but I would like to eventually replace my old Gameboy Pocket with an imported <a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/Gameboy-Light-SYSTEM-w-Indiglo-Backlight_W0QQitemZ8214060287QQcategoryZ62054QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem">Gameboy Light</a>.

[Weltall]

What a complete waste of money.

[A Black Falcon]

And as for everything else, the ENTIRE system is a complete waste of cash compaired to an SP. In no way at all is this thing actually superior that I can tell. Let's see... No GBC/GB game support. It doesn't support ANY of the old accessories (requiring, for reasons I can't really fathom, completely new types of ALL the old accessories), a lack of the ability to fold it up to store it in a really small form and at the same time protect the screen.... Sorry, no dice. I'll stick with my SP. I figure this must be for poor people anyway though.

Other disadvantages:
-smaller, making it less comfortable for long play sessions (also sometimes a problem on SP actually, when compared to the original GBA (for some people), but even worse on Micro I'm sure)
-weaker speaker than the SP, meaning quiter sound (didn't the SP have louder sound than the GBC/GBA (which to me seem identically quiet)? I wonder if it's back to that, or if this is even quieter... makes me wish for the days of the original GB and it's loud speaker, that's for sure... :))

It does have one advantage though...
-Brighter, clearer, more evenly lit screen. It's smaller, true, but it's those things too, and it's the same resolution... so the only problem is if something is too small for some people to read/make out clearly. But most of the time I wouldn't expect that to be a problem.