Game Boy Advance

From WE Computers Museum
GBA logo.png
Game Boy Advance
Designer Nintendo R&D3
Manufacturer Nintendo
CPU 16.8 MHz ARM7TDMI
8 MHz Sharp LR35902
Graphics Custom Picture Processing Unit
Memory 32KB RAM
96 KB Video RAM
Media Game Pak
Released Game Boy Advance
JP: March 21, 2001
NA: June 11, 2001
EU: June 22, 2001
China: June 8, 2004
Game Boy Advance SP
JP: February 14, 2003
NA: March 23, 2003
EU/AU: March 28, 2003
China: October 2004
Game Boy Micro
JP: September 13, 2005
NA: September 19, 2005
AU: November 3, 2005
EU: November 4, 2005
China: October 2005
Added to Museum GBA: September 18, 2017

The Game Boy Advance was the fourth handheld video game system released by Nintendo. It had backward-compatibility with its predecessor systems, the Game Boy and Game Boy Color. However, the Game Boy Micro redesign lacked backward-compatibility.

It was succeeded by the Nintendo DS, which was released in 2004.

Models

The original Game Boy Advance was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, in North America on June 11, 2001, and in Europe on June 22, 2001. It was released in China by iQue as iQue Game Boy Advance on June 8, 2004. It had a color liquid crystal display screen that was not backlit.

The Game Boy Advance SP was released in Japan on February 14, 2003, in North America on March 23, 2003, and in Europe and Australia on March 28, 2003. It was released in China by iQue as iQue Game Boy SP in October 2004. It had a clamshell design with a color liquid crystal display screen on the top half of the clamshell and the controls for the unit on the bottom. It had a backlit liquid crystal display screen.

The Game Boy Micro was a miniature version of the original Game Boy Advance design. It was released in Japan on September 13, 2005, in North America on September 19, 2005, in Australia on November 3, 2005, and in Europe on November 4, 2005. It was released in China by iQue as iQue Game Boy Micro in October 2005. It had the form factor of the original Game Boy Advance rather than the clamshell design of the Game Boy Advance SP but had a backlit liquid crystal display screen. The Game Boy Micro does not have backward-compatibility with Game Boy and Game Boy Color games.

Peripherals

E-reader.jpg

In December 2001, Nintendo released the Nintendo e-Reader, a peripheral for the Game Boy Advance that would read a code on custom printed cards.

These cards would allow the device to play games, unlock features in games, or play Nintendo Entertainment System games through an emulator contained in the read-only memory of the device.

Game Boy Advance games owned by WEC Museum

Title Developer Released Date Added to the Museum Notes
Air Hockey-e Nintendo 2002 January 20, 2018 A one card air hockey game for the e-Reader that was given out for free at Toys R Us stores in 2002.
Balloon Fight-e Nintendo 2002 January 20, 2018 A five card game for the Nintendo Entertainment System emulator on the e-Reader.
Baseball-e Nintendo 2002 January 20, 2018 A five card game for the Nintendo Entertainment System emulator on the e-Reader.
Castlevania: Circle of the Moon Konami 2001 June 11, 2001 The WEC Museum owns only the cartridge
Donkey Kong-e Nintendo 2002 January 20, 2018 A five card game for the Nintendo Entertainment System emulator on the e-Reader.
Magical Vacation Brownie Brown 2001 January 10, 2020 Japanese-exclusive.
Manhole-e Nintendo 2002 September 18, 2017 One card remake of the Game & Watch game, Manhole, for the e-Reader.
Mother 3 Brownie Brown 2006 January 10, 2020 Japanese-exclusive.
Tennis-e Nintendo 2002 January 20, 2018 A five card game for the Nintendo Entertainment System emulator on the e-Reader.

Emulated Game Boy Advance games owned by WEC Museum

Title Developer Release Added to museum Notes
Anguna: Warriors of Virtue Bite the Chili 2008 October 13, 2019 The WEC Museum owns the GBA version on Retro-Bit Generations.
Broken Circle 7 Raven Studios 2009 October 13, 2019 The WEC Museum owns the GBA version on Retro-Bit Generations.
WarioWare, Inc. Nintendo R&D1 2003 April 18, 2019 The WEC Museum owns the GBA version on Virtual Console for Wii U.
World Reborn NeoPong Software 2015 October 13, 2019 The WEC Museum owns the GBA version on Retro-Bit Generations.