The Game Boy Advance is Nintendo next major handheld system after the Game Boy Color which was released in 2001 worldwide. The development of the GBA started in around 1996 with the development of what Nintendo dubbed Project Atlantis, a 32-bit system that was meant to be a major hardware upgrade to the original Game Boy, but it was scrapped sometime in 1997 due to being too expensive to produce and the Game Boy having over 80% of the market share for handhelds at the time. After the release of the Game Boy Color, Nintendo would work on an actual successor similar to that, but more cost effective. The system hardware-wise is essentially a portable Super Nintendo, with plenty of games from that system being ported over nearly intact. The system an almost instant success, gaining praise for its low price ($100), with plenty of high quality portable games being released, such as Pokemon Sapphire and Ruby (and Emerald), the Super Mario Advanced series, Metroid Fusion, and the Sonic Advanced Trilogy.

However, a major point of contempt was the lack of a backlight, which made the system nearly impossible to see except under specific lighting conditions. So in response, in 2003, Nintendo would release an upgraded model called the Game Boy Advance SP, featuring a frontlight that could be toggled, and a redesigned system that could be folded to make it easier to store. In 2005, an upgraded model known as the AGS-101 featured an actual backlight instead of the frontlight from the original model. Also released that year was the Game Boy Micro, an even smaller system that had a backlight and changeable faceplates, though it removed the backwards compatibility and only allowed you to play Game Boy Advance games.

The system sold over 81 million units worldwide, and was discontinued in 2008. Its successor, the Nintendo DS, was released in November 2004 and is backward compatible with Game Boy Advance software.

Nintendo consoles

• Nintendo Entertainment System
• Super Nintendo
• Virtual Boy
• Nintendo 64
• GameCube
• Wii
• Wii U
• Nintendo Switch

Nintendo handhelds

• Game & Watch
• Game Boy
• Game Boy Color
• Game Boy Advance
• Nintendo DS
• Nintendo 3DS
• Nintendo Switch

See also

• nintendo
• game_boy_family
• game_boy_color
• nintendo_console