Melbourne, Australia, August 18th 2005 – Nintendo is pleased to introduce the Game Boy micro. We have taken the widely successful Game Boy Advance SP, retooled it and added a dash of chic. The result? The Game Boy micro system, quite simply the smallest and sleekest Game Boy product that Nintendo has ever created.

The Game Boy micro will be available across Australia on November 3rd 2005, for a suggested retail price of $149.95. The Game Boy micro will be available in five colours at launch. The Platinum silver version will be available everywhere, with four other special colours being individually released through specific retailers. Other than the standard face plate, every unit sold will come with an alternative face plate that can be used to switch the style of your unit.

It's thinner than a mobile phone, as attractive as an MP3 player and as fun as a Game Boy.
The metallic Game Boy micro measures a mere 10cm wide, 5cm tall and 1.75cm deep, allowing it to sit comfortably alongside today's coolest tech gear. Amazingly, it weighs less than 80 grams, or about the weight of 80 paper clips. Yet Game Boy micro has the same processing power and plays the same games as Game Boy Advance SP models, complete with standard face controls and gleaming shoulder and Start/Select buttons that literally shine.

Source - Nintendo Australia

--- Edit, sorry I posted this in the wrong section (meant to be in Handheld) could the mods fix it, thanks :)

On yay borg. :P

If I didn't already own a normal GBA and a DS I would pick this up. but why would I need another GBA? althought size factor is really appealing.

With the possibility of a DS price drop (in the US the price has dropped from 150 USD to 130 USD) the GBM seems a bit on the expensive size. Sure you may be paying for something that is a bit more portable than a DS but why buy a GBM when you can get a DS for $30 to $50 more? The DS plays all GBA games plus you get all the unique DS games and even Wi-Fi support come Mario Kart and Animal Crossing.

If Nintendo bundled the GBM with Play Yan (the MP4 video/MP3 music player for GBA) then I would consider it a buy as it would make a handy media player (even if the screen is on the small side).

Yeah I'm not particularly interested in the device, but I can see that some others may be interested, if they are after true portability.

It is a bit on the expensive side. I actually quite like the Micro itself, especially with the face plates and all, but again the price is too high. I think i'll stick to playing my GBA games on my DS.

However if it came down to around $90 i'd buy one, mainly because it's extremely portable and i'd be able to play it in uni lectures :P

Uh, this was Arcade/Retro...how? :P

I've moved it into handheld. ;)


Anyways, I think this is definately a canidate for an Xmas present for my little sister. ;)

I think this is just another self inflicted kick in the balls by Nintendo.

Good on ya guys, release another friggen gameboy spinoff, that'll keep costs down and people happy.

Morons.

I actually think this thing will sell pretty well down here.

They are going for the primary/early high school consumers who have iPod Mini's.

It's also a fuckload cheaper than the PSP is down here, and I'm sure when parents look at the two of them sitting next to each other, they'll go for the Micro.

Speaking PSP's, we've been pimping it at work for weeks now(there's PSP boxes everywhere, and we've got a PSP ad in our answering service), but we haven't even got ONE pre-order yet. The manager at the EB in our center said he's only had a few pre-orders there...and that's at EB!
At this rate, I can't see the PSP doing to well here, as consumers look at the price tag, then change their minds.

Hmm, I'll just post this in the PSP thread methinks. :/

Uhh, yeah I realised the mistake, but it was too late :lol:

While I'm not too interested in the Micro, I guess it means that GBA games are still going to be in development, if you're after strict in your pocket portable gaming then the Micro is your best option, since the DS and PSP aren't best suited to stuffing in your pocket.

High school consumers? There's no fucking way people as old as that, will buy another gameboy, no way in hell. Once more people see the PSP in action, those people you mentioned will all want one. Trust me on this, the PSP just hasn't been advertised nearly enough, but will sell by the bucketload through consumer based advertising.

Just cause it's small, it shouldn't be placed in the same category as the iPod. Music in general is much more popular than pokemon.

Well the PSP is being pushed at stores like EB now Manny, I can see that people would be interested in it, but I'm not sure if it's going to sell to the high school crowd by the truckloads given its price, it's essentially a 'games' machine, and thus its main appeal is going to be to gamers, who may not be willing to shell out $400 for a handheld console when they can get a home console with better graphics for a cheaper price, and bundled with some games.

That's right, saying it's not being advertised is bullshit Manny, everywhere that sells gameboys and consoles has PSP posters, display boxes and are taking pre-orders...which is ALOT more than what we saw with the DS. They only thing I haven't seen yet are TV and Radio spots.(didn't many for the DS, and look how well that's done.)

I watched that ACA thing tonight, and(after playing the DS, Mirco and PSP) all the kids said they wanted a PSP(but still wanted thought the DS and Mirco were good), but when they were told the price, they got dis-heartend cause they knew there was no fucking way that Mum and Dad would get them one, or that they could buy one themselves.

The fact is, $400 is NOT a price for school-kids. (unless they have a job or rich/generous parents)

I can't seriously see the PSP doing well down here at that price, especially with the DS being half the price with cheaper games.
If it had a $299 price tag, it would be a different matter.


Though for the 18 and up consumer base I think the PSP will do pretty well, assuming they want to cough-up for a bigger memory card("32mb is crap, you wouldn't be able to hold much music on it at all...and the Sony cards aren't cheap." - Customer I saw at work today who was looking at the PSP display) and is happy to buy their movies again on UMD.(yes, you can get your own movies onto the system, but as -if Sony would advertise that)

As opposed to paying $50 or so for a SNES and $5 for most of the games that are otherwise on the GBA? :P

I can't see myself getting one. I already have a GBA and rarely play it. Its a good present for the little guys like Estapol mentioned though.

Uhhh. but didn't you say:

Now, praytell, how much do iPods go for again? And how man of these 'school-kids' have iPods, despite being so 'ridiculously' expensive?

Shot yourself in the foot there, didn't ya.

Not really, iPod minis are $300.

PSP's are $400, then theres games($80), UMD Movie's($50?) and Memory Sticks(up to $250).

I'm sure little Jimmy is gonna want more than 1 movie and/or UMD Movie.

Say the parents buy a PSP, a game and movie, that's what? $530? Compare that to Mini and 3 cds they bought for their kid last year which only cost them $375-390, that's a pretty big price gap if you ask me. That's also assuming they buy CD's with it, which in my experience they don't; they just get their child the iPod and that's it.

Quiet you :P

There are many GBA games that are not on the SNES, and a SNES (and games) are a lot harder to come by than current consoles.

I see your point, but still my point is valid.

Don't be stupid enough to only use the cheapest of the iPod range to backup your side of the argument.

Fact is, if they're willing to fork over for an iPod for their kids, there's not much of a gap with the PSP, and it's not going to stop them from buying it.

Also, this all doesn't sway from the whole GB mini thing being a complete crock of shit, and a step down for Nintendo in general.

Play-Yan Micro



Well looks like Nintendo are releasing a new version of the Play-Yan for the GB Micro (in Japan at least) and while it won't come bundled with the Micro in Japan it would make sense if they bundled it over here. Just add your SD memory card of choice and you've got a nice small multimedia player and a GBA all in one.

The Japanese also get this...

MP3 player for Micro

I wonder if you can use it on the normal GBA or DS?

If it's just the Play Yan it will work on the GBA and the DS just fine. The GBM is just the right size for a portable MP3 player moreso than the DS and GBA which are bulkier.

Yeah it makes sense for the Micro, it could rival the i-Pod!!

Should be ble to. It's presumeably just a GBA cart with an SD card slot

Except for the storage capacity :P

You can get SD cards the same capacity as Shuffles. :P

Buy the price would be higher since you have to have a GBA as well.


As Gekko, I'm thinking this is just the Play-Yan. ;)

Looks like it is the Play Yan, but in anycase it would widen the appeal of the GBA/DS platforms :) .

Not to mention the cheapest price I've seen for a 1 gig SD card was like $99, with most being more like $150-200

Well I paid about $150 for a 512MB SD card for my camera last year sometime so prices for flash memory are definitely falling. If you want the same capacity on your PSP you still have to buy a 1GB Memory Stick Duo anyway. The 32MB card won't let you hold many songs especially if you have a few games saves.

Yeah true 32MB isn't much if your going to use the full capabilities of the machine, if you're sticking just to games though 32MB is more than enough.

Small Japanese female hands make the Micro look big...



Compared to a NES pad...

2 things:

1) You plug the earphones into the play-yan rather than into the unit?
2) what's that on her nail? It looks very very creepy...

1) Play Yan has its own audio chip and this is recommended for the best music quality. It can output through the GBA/DS/GBM speakers/headphone jack but this causes a loss of quality.

2) Are you referring to the weird looking fake nail or the fact her real nails seem to be flaking?

2) a bit of column A and a bit of column B

Heres some pics of the Japanese Famicom version. It looks very awesome.






And some pics of the US packaging. It really looks like they are appealing to the more casual gamer.




Also, the Micro is selling better than expected in Japan which is interesting.

Mini Site for anyone interested, the micro was released today, Big W were selling it for $138.

I tried one out with Yoshi's Gravitation (tilt sensor platformer) the other day and the screen is quite bright and clear considering its size. Not much use for me anymore since I've already got an original GBA and an SP (now only useful for FF:CC or Four Swords) and my DS plays GBA games.

Now if only Nintendo can make the DS more portable without sacrificing screen size too much...

I asked the guys over at Home Entertainment at work last night (Big W) and they said they didn't sell a Micro all day. Considering we nearly sold out of DS's on the launch day, it suprised me a bit considering the price we had it at. However, I expect we might sell a few leading up to christmas.

I had a quick look at the box and it's different to both the Jap and US one's, as it's in a rectangular cardboard box. It seems as if you get a red and silver faceplate in each pach aswell.

Hrmph, this one might be a flop considring Nintendo fans probably wont bother with it, the product is aiming at a different audieance that probably want more in a cool gadget that games, if it came with the Play Yan it might have sold better.

Argh, even those pictures of the GBA kart inside it cannot even show how damn small this thing is. A few shops have little actual sized pictures of the Micro. I can put it in my mouth!

Well it seems EB have discontinued the SP (no word on whether the new backlit SP will come to Australia) so anyone wanting a GameBoy Advance is stuck with a Micro.

No suprise there, retailers aren't going to hold multiple versions of the same machine, esepcailly in the case of the GBA.