Editing Game Boy Advance (section)

==History==

=== Project Atlantis ===
When the original Game Boy launched in 1989, many questioned Nintendo’s decision to release a monochrome handheld console, when competitors like the [[Atari Lynx|Lynx]] and [[Game Gear]] had color screens. However, the rivals' color displays were criticized for their poor battery life and bulky size, while the Game Boy’s better portability and battery longevity increased its popularity.<ref name="McFarren 2016">{{Cite book |last=McFarren |first=Damien |title=Videogames Hardware Handbook |publisher=[[Imagine Publishing]] |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-78546-239-9 |edition=2nd |volume=1 |location=Bournemouth |pages=157–163}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Ryan |first=Jeff |title=Super Mario: How Nintendo Conquered America |date=2011 |publisher=Portfolio Penguin |isbn=978-1-59184-405-1 |location=New York |pages=102–105 |language=en}}</ref> 

Nintendo publicly pledged to develop a color version of the Game Boy only when the technology overcame the limitations of existing color handhelds.<ref name="Day 2016">{{Cite book |last=Day |first=Ashley |title=Videogames Hardware Handbook |publisher=[[Imagine Publishing]] |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-78546-239-9 |edition=2nd |volume=1 |location=Bournemouth |pages=236–239}}</ref> Internally, however, a team led by [[Satoru Okada]]—who had worked on the original Game Boy—was already experimenting with color screens. Their early 1990s prototype, codenamed "Project Atlantis," featured a color display and a 32-bit processor designed by [[Arm Holdings|ARM]].<ref name="NGen18">{{Cite magazine |date=June 1996 |title=Nintendo's New Color Handheld |url=https://archive.org/details/Next-Generation-1996-06/page/n21/mode/2up |magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]] |publisher=[[Imagine Media]] |page=20 |issue=18}}</ref><ref name="EGM83">{{Cite magazine |date=June 1996 |title=Nintendo's 32-Bit Color Portable "Project Atlantis" to Be Ready in Fall |url=https://retrocdn.net/images/3/39/EGM_US_083.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180916164241/https://retrocdn.net/images/3/39/EGM_US_083.pdf |archive-date=September 16, 2018 |magazine=[[Electronic Gaming Monthly]] |publisher=[[Ziff Davis]] |page=18 |issue=83}}</ref><ref name="NGen19">{{Cite magazine |date=July 1996 |title=Nintendo's Atlantis Emerges |url=https://archive.org/details/Next-Generation-1996-07/page/n17/mode/2up |magazine=Next Generation |publisher=Imagine Media |page=16 |issue=19}}</ref> Despite the promising technology, the team was not satisfied with the outcome and the project was shelved by 1997.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Satoru Okada – Interview |url=https://www.nintendo.co.jp/nom/9902/b_box/staff/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000529053545/https://www.nintendo.co.jp/nom/9902/b_box/staff/index.html |archive-date=May 29, 2000 |access-date=January 15, 2019 |website=Nintendo}}</ref><ref name="Kurokawa 2022">{{Cite web |last=Kurokawa |first=Fumio |date=2022 |title=Satoru Okada – 2022 Retrospective Interview |url=https://shmuplations.com/okada2022/ |access-date=April 8, 2024 |publisher=[[4gamer.net]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |date=August 1997 |title=The Lost Portable of Atlantis |url=https://retrocdn.net/images/3/3b/EGM_US_097.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727235809/https://retrocdn.net/images/3/3b/EGM_US_097.pdf |archive-date=July 27, 2020 |magazine=Electronic Gaming Monthly |publisher=Ziff Davis |page=116 |issue=97}}</ref>

However, as competitors such as the [[Neo Geo Pocket]] and [[WonderSwan]] entered the market, Nintendo decided to create a color version of the Game Boy by combining the color screen they had been testing for Project Atlantis with a faster version of the existing Game Boy's 8-bit processor.<ref name="Kurokawa 2022" /> The Game Boy Color launched in 1998.<ref name="Day 2016" />

=== Game Boy Advance ===
Still under pressure from its competitors handhelds, Nintendo started developing a successor to the Game Boy Color. The project, codenamed Advanced Game Boy (AGB), would utilize the 32-bit processing power from Project Atlantis. Details about the GBA emerged at the [[Nintendo Space World#Space World 1999|Space World 1999]] trade show in late August.<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 27, 1999 |title=Game Boy's Next Incarnation? |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/1999/08/28/game-boys-next-incarnation?amp=1 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000815195705/http://pocket.ign.com/news/9942.html |archive-date=August 15, 2000 |website=IGN}}</ref>

Nintendo officially announced the Game Boy Advance on September 1, 1999, revealing details about the system's specifications and that the handheld would first be released in Japan in August 2000, with the North American and European launch dates slated for the end of the same year.<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 1, 1999 |title=It's Official: The Next Generation Game Boy |url=https://pocket.ign.com/news/10064.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19991127212154/https://pocket.ign.com/news/10064.html |archive-date=November 27, 1999 |website=IGN}}</ref> On August 21, 2000, [[IGN]] showed images of a GBA development kit running a demonstrational port of ''[[Yoshi's Story]]'',<ref>{{Cite web |title=Game Boy Advance Development Kit Revealed |url=https://pocket.ign.com/news/23761.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000930202212/https://pocket.ign.com/news/23761.html |archive-date=September 30, 2000 |website=IGN}}</ref> and on August 22, pre-production images of the GBA were revealed in ''[[Famitsu]]'' magazine in Japan.<ref>{{Citation |title=Famitsu gets a hold of the Game Boy Advance Early - IGN |date=August 22, 2000 |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/08/23/famitsu-gets-a-hold-of-the-game-boy-advance-early |access-date=July 27, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190425190434/https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/08/23/famitsu-gets-a-hold-of-the-game-boy-advance-early |archive-date=April 25, 2019 |url-status=live |language=en}}</ref>  

The GBA’s design featured a landscape form factor, diverging from the portrait layout of the previous Game Boy models. The design put the buttons to the sides of the device instead of below the screen. The shift was the work of French designer Gwénaël Nicolas and his Tokyo-based studio, Curiosity Inc.<ref>[http://curiosity.jp/works/en/product/gameboy-advance.html Gameboy Advance | WORKS - CURIOSITY - キュリオシティ - ] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170726081507/http://curiosity.jp/works/en/product/gameboy-advance.html|date=July 26, 2017}}. Retrieved December 21, 2015.</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Van Tilburg |first=Caroline |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uXouFPGhPDkC&q=editions:ISBN3764367431 |title=Curiosity: 30 Designs for Products and Interiors |date=2002 |publisher=Birkhauser Verlag AG |isbn=978-3764367435 |access-date=November 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117035223/https://books.google.com/books?id=uXouFPGhPDkC&q=editions:ISBN3764367431 |archive-date=January 17, 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In a August 24, 2000, announcement, Nintendo revealed the final design of the GBA to the public, announced its '''Japan''' and '''North America''' launch dates, and revealed the ten [[launch game]]s.<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 23, 2000 |title=Game Boy Advance: It's Finally Unveiled |url=https://pocket.ign.com/news/23952.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001003153249/https://pocket.ign.com/news/23952.html |archive-date=October 3, 2000 |website=IGN}}</ref> At [[Nintendo Space World#Space World 2000|Space World 2000]], Nintendo also showcased several peripherals, including the [[Game Link Cable#Third generation|GBA link cable]], the [[GameCube – Game Boy Advance link cable|GameCube – GBA link cable]],<ref name="Connecting to the Cube">{{Cite news |last=IGN Staff |date=September 14, 2001 |title=Connecting to the Cube |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2001/09/14/connecting-to-the-cube |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128163844/https://www.ign.com/articles/2001/09/14/connecting-to-the-cube |archive-date=November 28, 2020 |access-date=August 7, 2020}}</ref> a rechargeable battery pack, and an infrared communication adaptor.<ref>{{Citation |title=The Peripherals of the Game Boy Advance - IGN |date=August 28, 2000 |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/08/29/the-peripherals-of-the-game-boy-advance |access-date=July 27, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806005013/https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/08/29/the-peripherals-of-the-game-boy-advance |archive-date=August 6, 2020 |url-status=live |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=August 23, 2000 |title=Meet the Game Boy Advance - IGN |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/08/24/meet-the-game-boy-advance |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190425190440/https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/08/24/meet-the-game-boy-advance |archive-date=April 25, 2019 |access-date=July 27, 2020 |language=en}}</ref> By March 2001, Nintendo confirmed the $99.99 price and announced 15 launch games for the system, with over 60 expected by the end of the year.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ahmed |first=Shahed |date=March 7, 2001 |title=Nintendo announces North American GBA launch details |url=https://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-announces-north-american-gba-launch-details/1100-2693383/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190425190435/https://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-announces-north-american-gba-launch-details/1100-2693383/ |archive-date=April 25, 2019 |access-date=July 27, 2020 |website=GameSpot |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |title=The US Price and Launch Titles for GBA - IGN |date=March 7, 2001 |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2001/03/08/the-us-price-and-launch-titles-for-gba |access-date=July 27, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190425190432/https://www.ign.com/articles/2001/03/08/the-us-price-and-launch-titles-for-gba |archive-date=April 25, 2019 |url-status=live |language=en}}</ref>

All Game Boy Advance models were discontinued in the Americas in 2008, and globally by the end of 2010.<ref name="nintendosales" /><ref name="Edwards 2016">{{Cite news |last=Edwards |first=Benj |date=June 11, 2016 |title=7 Things Everyone Should Know About the Game Boy Advance |url=https://uk.pcmag.com/gaming-systems/82144/7-things-everyone-should-know-about-the-game-boy-advance |access-date=December 13, 2024 |work=PCMag UK |language=en-gb}}</ref>