Post by Linalin on Mar 1, 2005 20:32:54 GMT -5
It's been rumoured for many years but now Nintendo watchers are predicting that the Japanese giant will reveal the successor to GBA SP at E3 in May, just two months after the DS is launched in the UK.
The news comes from a variety of sources with some claiming to have heard from insiders at the Kyoto company, while other rumourmongers are quoting industry experts, but both versions of the story point at a brand-new handheld console being launched by Nintendo before the end of the year.
Seasoned stat-watcher PJ McNealy of respected nerd-thinkers American Technology Research is the man who made the predictions, saying: "We believe it is likely that the next version of Game Boy Advance SP will ship as early as this Christmas, ahead of most expectations of 2006."
While also claiming that the new GBA 2 will cost as little as the SP does (about £70), his report picks out a number of reasons why Ninty will be adding another console to their armoury.
The first is that historically Nintendo produce a new Game Boy, on average, every two years; secondly, the DS's launch in the US and Japan hasn't affected the still climbing sales of GBA units or its games; and thirdly, he feels that GBA cartridges are too easily copied for Nintendo to want to keep losing money on them.
However his fourth reason is slightly less convincing: McNealy believes that with Sony and Microsoft distracted by PS3 and Xbox 2, Nintendo could steal a march on its more powerful rivals. Which would be just about believable if Nintendo weren't trying to produce their next-gen console, Revolution, at exactly the same time.
At the moment it is almost impossible to find the truth beneath all of this gossip and speculation, for while Nintendo don't comment on such rumours, the company has often spoken about replacing GBA SP very soon.
Even Jim Merrick, the Senior Director of European Marketing has called the company's smallest handheld its 'third pillar' and their 'rock of Gibraltar', placing it alongside Gamecube and DS, and the heart of their long-term plans.
And with the PSP already out-selling DS in Japan, it seems logical that Nintendo would want to do something to hold on to the handheld market, a market that they used to dominate.
We will have more on the future of GBA the moment the news breaks.
I actually got into a discussion relevant to this awhile ago with Chaz. Is it me or does Nintendo release handheld systems too quickly?
The news comes from a variety of sources with some claiming to have heard from insiders at the Kyoto company, while other rumourmongers are quoting industry experts, but both versions of the story point at a brand-new handheld console being launched by Nintendo before the end of the year.
Seasoned stat-watcher PJ McNealy of respected nerd-thinkers American Technology Research is the man who made the predictions, saying: "We believe it is likely that the next version of Game Boy Advance SP will ship as early as this Christmas, ahead of most expectations of 2006."
While also claiming that the new GBA 2 will cost as little as the SP does (about £70), his report picks out a number of reasons why Ninty will be adding another console to their armoury.
The first is that historically Nintendo produce a new Game Boy, on average, every two years; secondly, the DS's launch in the US and Japan hasn't affected the still climbing sales of GBA units or its games; and thirdly, he feels that GBA cartridges are too easily copied for Nintendo to want to keep losing money on them.
However his fourth reason is slightly less convincing: McNealy believes that with Sony and Microsoft distracted by PS3 and Xbox 2, Nintendo could steal a march on its more powerful rivals. Which would be just about believable if Nintendo weren't trying to produce their next-gen console, Revolution, at exactly the same time.
At the moment it is almost impossible to find the truth beneath all of this gossip and speculation, for while Nintendo don't comment on such rumours, the company has often spoken about replacing GBA SP very soon.
Even Jim Merrick, the Senior Director of European Marketing has called the company's smallest handheld its 'third pillar' and their 'rock of Gibraltar', placing it alongside Gamecube and DS, and the heart of their long-term plans.
And with the PSP already out-selling DS in Japan, it seems logical that Nintendo would want to do something to hold on to the handheld market, a market that they used to dominate.
We will have more on the future of GBA the moment the news breaks.
I actually got into a discussion relevant to this awhile ago with Chaz. Is it me or does Nintendo release handheld systems too quickly?
GBA SP4? I've only been standing here 15 minutes!
