Alright, which one of you wiseguys bought 850,000 GBA's for Christmas?

Scobie

Scobie

CAGiversary!
I dunno about you guys, but I'm still reeling from the news about the GBA sales in December. 850,000 were sold!

So what I'm wondering is, with the platform still obviously viable and in fact massively enhanced with the DS's ability to play GBA titles, why aren't more AAA titles being released?

Are developers assuming they're just being bought by kids who will accept any licensed shovelware they fling at the marketplace? Are they *that* stretched with projects for other platforms? Surely the installed user base would mean a guaranteed profit on a decent game.

I'm especially disappointed in Nintendo for largely abandoning the "Three Pillar" notion. Publishing a couple of Final Fantasy remakes dev'ed by Squenix doesn't cut it. They should at least be seriously beefing up the GBA Player's Choice line, if not giving us brand new stuff.

Any thoughts?
 
I think what has happened is people have said "Well, the DS can support any game we want to release for the GBA. In addition, if we wanted, we could enhance any game we were making for the GBA with improved graphics, dual-screen, touch controls, etc." With the DS being so hot, it probably gets more attention just being a DS game, rather than a GBA release.

The GBA is selling largely because it has a huge software library and it's ridiculously cheap. Someone somewhere made the point that even with how ridiculous DS sales are right now, when the future price drop to $100 or $80 occurs, sales will only maintain that level, or even improve.
 
[quote name='Scobie'] They should at least be seriously beefing up the GBA Player's Choice line, if not giving us brand new stuff.
[/quote]

I can't agree more. Didn't Sony start their greatest hits line for the PSP before Nintendo started their Player's Choice for GBA? Regardless, relative to just about any other console, the GBA came very late to the party.
 
GBA is pretty much dead in Japan, thats where most of the good games come from. Since the DS user base is high, most developer would want to take advantage of the extra butons, better graphics and sound. I do agree they should beef up the Player's Choice lineup.
 
What I find funny is that the cost of a DS Lite and a GBA SP retail is the difference of one $50 game. There are three reasons the GBA sold so well:

1. People couldn't find DSes.
2. The GBAs had some pretty decent sales.
3. The GBAs are really perfect for little kids. They play their Spongebob games, toss the system around and drop it, and the darn thing still works.
 
Reggie said in an interview somewhere that he thought the Game Boy had one more good Christmas left.

Of course, was he talking about this past Christmas or next Christmas? If he was talking about Christmas 2007, a Players Choice expansion seems likely.
 
[quote name='62t']GBA is pretty much dead in Japan, thats where most of the good games come from. Since the DS user base is high, most developer would want to take advantage of the extra butons, better graphics and sound. I do agree they should beef up the Player's Choice lineup.[/QUOTE]

I dunno about that.
Rhythm Tengoku is a superb GBA game, it was released late last year.
and NA still hasn't gotten any of the Bit Generations games either.

And I personally LOVE playing traditional RPGs on the GBA platform, the SNES grade graphics and menu-based strategy, ahhh, what a perfect fit.
 
Mostly "price", I saw lots of situations where DS were readily available and so were GBA, salesmen explained "the DS will sell out quicker, it plays all GBA games and the new DS games, it has a better screen and good battery life" but people just look at that price tag...when in reality they're getting ripped off much like all the people who bought Gameboy Colors a mere season before the GBA came out [that was half a decade ago though]

Everything is price, it's the same reason people went after the Wii, only $100 more expensive than a PS2 and technically "next gen", with a "game" included.

I'll admit Nintendo played their cards extremely well, I guess in 10 years, Sony fans will be much like us Sega fans, relics of long lost era, bitter that the lesser company won, and wishing we could share our nostalgia with many more.

fucking Hot Topic NES shirts.
 
[quote name='gizmogc']Yes...worldwide infact.[/quote]
Thats just pathetic - Especially with the DS out and all. You'd think more people would buy a DS.
 
in japan, Nintendo has found a new audience with their Bit Generations games, which i feel must appeal to commuters, especially since Brain Age made video games acceptable.

Add to that reductions in price. It may seem silly to buy an SP (or are you talking about regular GBA's only?) when you could get a DS for only $30 more, but I'm sure a lot of purchasers are not looking for top of the line games. They probably just want to play one or two games (in fact, most likely remakes of classics) and they want to play it in the least frustrating way possible.

---Small Tidbit: At my high school last year, we saw a random surge of people playing pokemon. It started with a few normal, rather popular, kids, and grew from there. During this time, a lot of kids admitted they had GBA's and I'm sure a lot more bought them. Just a small example of the kind of influence Nintendo's games can have.

In addition to the two above details, I am sure a lot of organizations/businesses are picking up game boys. I know a lot of pediatrician's offices, dentists, daycares, and other places that deal with children are buying them. In addition, they are probably becoming more common as prizes for raffles, exchanging tickets, boardwalk games, and stuff like that.


Overall, a lowered price can go a long way in giving a system a long life span (PSone)
 
[quote name='Scobie']So what I'm wondering is, with the platform still obviously viable and in fact massively enhanced with the DS's ability to play GBA titles, why aren't more AAA titles being released?[/quote]

There actually have been quite a few quality GBA releases in the last few months: Summon Night: Swordcraft Story 1 & 2, Yggdra Union, Super Robot Taisen 1 & 2, Mazes of Fate, Scurge: Hive, not to mention several Final Fantasy remakes. Unfortunately, aside from Final Fantasy, none of them have really been selling all that well.
 
[quote name='q 3']There actually have been quite a few quality GBA releases in the last few months: Summon Night: Swordcraft Story 1 & 2, Yggdra Union, Super Robot Taisen 1 & 2, Mazes of Fate, Scurge: Hive, not to mention several Final Fantasy remakes. Unfortunately, aside from Final Fantasy, none of them have really been selling all that well.[/QUOTE]

I'm playing Swordcraft Story right now, and I think it's really well done.
The weapon making system is nice, but it's not forced on you, as in, you don't HAVE TO spend a lot of time experimenting to find the best weapon recipes, and the 2D action oriented battle system really makes the game refreshing and strategic.
 
fucking Hot Topic NES shirts.
Click to expand...

Just out of curiosity, what do you have against them? It's a serious question... I've seen them but there isn't a Hot Topic where I live.
 
[quote name='furyk']What I find funny is that the cost of a DS Lite and a GBA SP retail is the difference of one $50 game. There are three reasons the GBA sold so well:

1. People couldn't find DSes.
2. The GBAs had some pretty decent sales.
3. The GBAs are really perfect for little kids. They play their Spongebob games, toss the system around and drop it, and the darn thing still works.[/QUOTE]

Just to expand on this a bit. #1 is probably a big point. I would also throw in several thousand sales due to people NOT knowing the DS can play GBA games (and by people I mean not just parents but some salespeople as well - I've actually heard this).

#3 is also important. While my 6 and 9 year-olds have a DS to play (they share one phat DS), my 4 year-old gets a GBA SP (except he plays SMB3, WarioWare Twisted, and DKC 3, not Spongebob!). The DS is too delicate for him. Actually, the DS Lite is too delicate for the older kids, so I'm glad I have the old one.

I bought a Micro when CompUSA had them for $40. We've played it all of once since Nov ;). It is a nice concept but we just don't use it. If we had made any road trips we'd probably bring it for them to play (we'd bring all 3 - the DS, the GBA SP, and the Micro).

However, I have to admit, I myself bought 4 GBA SP's in December :oops: (so that accounts for nearly 5/1000th of a percent of those sales ;)). What might surprise some of you is that not only did they sell well, they SOLD FOR A PREMIUM for a while before Christmas. My GR had them clearanced out for $50 and since they never got any Wii's (and I had to buy one from EB instead) I wanted to dump some credit. I sold 3 old red GBA SP's for $90-$120 each on eBay. I kept a black one as a backup for the inevitable day my 4 year-old breaks our old platinum one. Note that these are the older GBA SP's (without the brighter screens) - but people wanted them for Christmas gifts. That might partly be due to the color choice - I think the only "current" GBA SP's are the pink and teal ones. But even those were not too easy to find in stores in December.
 
[quote name='Scobie']They should at least be seriously beefing up the GBA Player's Choice line, if not giving us brand new stuff.[/QUOTE]
One option is that they could release GBA Players' Choice complilations for DS. I mean, I know it's up to each publisher to do that, but it'd be cool to see a DS card with Advance Wars 1 and 2, Golden Sun 1 and 2, or Metroid Fusion/Zero Mission.
 
I'm actually thinking of buying ANOTHER GBA SP (really dont want a Micro) to play FF VI on it.

Yes, I have a DS. But I really don't like playing GBA games on it.

But $80 for a GBA SP..meh.
I can def see how that many were sold. The GBA SP is awesome looking, and has a great game library.

Ahh.. I remember skipping school and work that day in June of 2001 to go get my pre-ordered GBA and Mario Advance ^_^
 
[quote name='lilboo']
Ahh.. I remember skipping school and work that day in June of 2001 to go get my pre-ordered GBA and Mario Advance ^_^[/QUOTE]

Ah, memories... I remember getting my GBA at TRU's Black Friday special where you got the system and Super Mario World. I really feel that the GBA was the first portable system that was a legitimate platform for games.
 
I think because everybody was out of DS's and GBA Micros were ultra cheap (actually purchasable at $35) around black friday and I was tempted to pick one up myself.

The system format is not dead yet. FF6 comes out in Feb, and I'm sure we'll learn of newer releases in the future as well.
 
[quote name='zatos']Just out of curiosity, what do you have against them? It's a serious question... I've seen them but there isn't a Hot Topic where I live.[/QUOTE]

Well, one, there's people that wear them that have no idea what the hell they mean. They're wearing a shirt with the konami code all over it and they have no idea what it actually did.

Second of all, it's mostly resentment. There's shirts, and keychains, and toys, and posters, of mushrooms, 1 UPs, and that plumber.

I grew up on the Sega side, still would be on the Sega side if they existed, and hate what they've become, but I still have my memories

It just seems no one cares about them. What 16 bit RPG is most remembered? FF VI. What platforming game is constantly praise? Super Mario World. What action RPG is often called the perfect game? Link to the Past.

My answers: Phantasy Star IV, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Beyond Oasis.
 
Who bought 850,000 GBA's? Ignorant people.

I worked VG retail for awhile at different outlets, and people frequently chose the cheaper product because it was cheaper. It makes no sense to not spend the $50 extra for the system that plays both GBA and DS and is a good investment for the next 4 - 5 years.

All these kids that got GBA's for Christmas, this same time next year when there are NO GBA games being made and store selection is slim, all these kids are going to want DS's, and parents could have just avoided this problem altogether and not been cheap.

GBA isn't dead but it's getting it's last hurrah, I believe. We won't see anything new past summer.
 
[quote name='sarausagi']What 16 bit RPG is most remembered? FF VI. What platforming game is constantly praise? Super Mario World. What action RPG is often called the perfect game? Link to the Past.

My answers: Phantasy Star IV, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Beyond Oasis.[/quote]

:applause: While I'd personally put SMW over Sonic 2, I gotta give you props for PS4 and Beyond Oasis. I too liked PS4 and Beyond Oasis better than their SNES counterparts.
 
[quote name='AlbinoNinja']

---Small Tidbit: At my high school last year, we saw a random surge of people playing pokemon. It started with a few normal, rather popular, kids, and grew from there. During this time, a lot of kids admitted they had GBA's and I'm sure a lot more bought them. Just a small example of the kind of influence Nintendo's games can have.

[/quote]

I wish that happened back when I was in high school. Back then, all the popular kids did was get drunk or high or a combination of the two.
 
No kidding... When I was in high school you were a total and complete social reject if you played video games, or, even worse, used a COMPUTER... :rofl:
 
[quote name='io']No kidding... When I was in high school you were a total and complete social reject if you played video games, or, even worse, used a COMPUTER... :rofl:[/QUOTE]

You had computers back then?
 
Fortunately, that didn't happen to me, but yeah I graduated few years ago. That means I probably could've completed my pokedex a lot sooner if my classmates* played along with me.
 
[quote name='Roufuss']You had computers back then?[/QUOTE]

Haha, very funny. Yes, we had computers. They ran on water wheels or windmills or something though, I don't remember any more.
 
[quote name='io']Haha, very funny. Yes, we had computers. They ran on water wheels or windmills or something though, I don't remember any more.[/QUOTE]

:rofl:

I saw that in a museum I think.
 
Well, it looks like it really is curtains for the GBA at long last... the new issue of Nintendo Power (with Sonic on the cover) says it's the last issue for the GBA sales chart.

Too sad. Would've loved a GBA Drill Dozer sequel, though I'm sure there'll be one for the DS before long.
 
My sister bought one for my niece because she's like 5 and all the DS's were sold out. Also because she was scared that my niece would break it, like most young children do.
 
[quote name='DQT']I wish that happened back when I was in high school. Back then, all the popular kids did was get drunk or high or a combination of the two.[/QUOTE]
well, that's still true, we just need something to do during English class
 
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