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Why the Game Boy Advance Was a Classic Console: Video games consoles have become more and more powerful and technically impressive as the years have gone by. However, many of us still hold a special place in our hearts for a console that is now out of date, or even obsolete. For many gamers, it is the Game Boy Advance, a handheld console made by gaming giant Nintendo, that creates the strongest sense of nostalgia. But what is it about this old product that makes it remembered so fondly so many years later? In this article, we will take a look at what it was that made the Game Boy Advance such an all-time classic video games console.
The Game Boy Advance was one of the consoles that paved the way for modern casual gaming and mobile gaming. While back in the day the question of how to play casino games on a portable device would have been hard to answer, the handheld gaming boom made this possible!
The History of the Game Boy Advance
In 1989, Nintendo released their first handheld games console, the original Game Boy. The product was extremely popular and featured the iconic four directional buttons and A and B buttons. The Game Boy only had a black and white screen, but its successor, 1998’s Game Boy Color, took things to a new level with a full color screen, and was one of the best-selling games consoles of all time.
Nintendo had set a high standard for their next handheld console to live up to. In 2001, the Game Boy Advance (often abbreviated to GBA) was released, and it was immediately successful. The GBA matched its predecessors’ high sales, selling over 80 million units by 2009.
The Features
The original GBA, released in 2001, was different from the previous consoles in the Game Boy series in an immediately noticeable way. While the other consoles had been rectangular, with the screen placed above the buttons, the GBA changed things up and placed the screen between the directional buttons on the left hand side and the A and B buttons on the right hand side. It also introduced two “shoulder buttons”. The design was praised for being more comfortable to use than the original Game Boys. The screen was also larger than before.
In 2003, the GBA SP was released, which made some distinct design choices. Instead of a screen between the buttons, it came in a “clamshell” design reminiscent of flip-design cell phones. This was not only visually stylish and practical, but it also offered an increase in protection from damage to the screen. Perhaps the most important and game-changing (no pun intended!) new feature of the GBA SP was the fact that the screen was now backlit, meaning that for the first time, gamers could play in low light without having to shine an external light on the console!
The Games
Of course, no games console is complete without the games to play on it. If anything makes the GBA legendary, it is the collection of games that was released for it. So many of these games are remembered fondly by an entire generation of gamers, such as the many Pokémon games on this platform, The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, Super Mario Bros 3, Sonic Advance (above), and Mario Kart Super Circuit.
The GBA may have been replaced by its successors the Nintendo DS, the 3DS, and the Switch, but it still occupies an iconic place in video game history!
James Daniels is a freelance writer, business enthusiast, a bit of a tech buff, and an overall geek. He is also an avid reader, who can while away hours reading and knowing about the latest gadgets and tech, whilst offering views and opinions on these topics.