Nintendo has revealed details on the launch of its handheld console Game Boy Advance.
The successor to the 11-year-old Game Boy, the Game Boy Advance (GBA), was initially scheduled to launch in North America late this summer. However, strong demand has convinced Nintendo to bring forward its appearance on the shelves to June 11. Nintendo claims that it has already pre-sold 2.5 million units worldwide. The new handheld console will have a recommended retail price of $99.95, with prices for games ranging from $29.95 to $39.95. For the North American launch, consumers will have a choice of 15 brand new games.
Nintendo should have another massive success on its hands with the GBA, due to its strong hold on the handheld console market. With only minor competition from Bandai’s WonderSwan in Japan, the Game Boy has been able to establish its dominance with around 95% of the global handheld market. To compound this monopoly, the GBA will be backward compatible with all Game Boy games. In particular, it will run Pokemon games – which have dramatically boosted the handheld console’s sales and contributed heavily to Nintendo’s brilliant financial health over the past three years.
Beyond the Game Boy name, the GBA is a significant technical improvement with increased processing power, better graphics and sound and the possibility to link it with the forthcoming GameCube, Nintendo’s replacement for the Nintendo 64. Furthermore, Nintendo intends to allow players to play online through wireless connections. If children can spend hours playing on the current Game Boy, an obsolete and technically limited console, they are bound to find the GBA very exciting.
Nintendo is unlikely to face much competition for quite a while. Sony and Microsoft, the other two console manufacturers left after the withdrawal of Sega, will be involved in a fierce battle for the home console market over the next three years at least. Therefore, it would be a surprise to see one of them launch a handheld console, as they would have to start from scratch against Nintendo, which embodies the handheld market for many consumers.
