Gameboy Advance or DS?
Friday, February 25th, 2005 - 4:25am
I'm taking a huge trip to Asia and I'm thinking about buying either a Gameboy Advance or a DS for the ride. I'm leaning towards the GA since there aren't a lot of DS games yet anyway and the smaller unit is appealing. Still, I've never paid any attention to the handhelds and so I thought I'd ask your opinion.
PS, I really know nothing about these things, so any comments on what accessories are really necessary?
That depends on whether you find the idea of playing GBA games in a black border with one screen being off psychologically harrowing.
Gamewise DS seems to have started off the wrong foot. Nintendo guys said it themselves, that Nintendo DS is NOT meant to replace the Gameboy, and I think the strongest potential of that platform will come when someone will come up with tools which allow you to encode a DVD into low-res MPEG-4 that fits onto a cart.
Yes, Nintendo is going to ""officially"" do that idea themselves but lets face it, buying a second copy of a movie is ridiculous. I''d rather have a flash cart of some sort where I can put movies that I encoded off my DVDs.
Also, the strongest potential of DS is in its PDA qualities and the upcoming PDA software. So far all the games that came out specifically for DS and are ""upcoming"" can only be classified as ""wacky Japanese crap"". I was never into Pokemon and I was fed up with Mario about 10 years ago. Really. Give me some normal, sane games please.
GBA is much this way too but there are some games which are not ""wacky Japanese crap"" on it. Space Invaders is a great great port, there''s Iridium II, there''s Metroid Fusion, there''s the Pacman collection which has 3 splendid pacman games on it, Shrek 2 puzzle game, etc.
Power-wise, GBA lasts about 20-40% longer than the DS, as I understand. GBA is smaller and is pretty straightforward.
If you go for a GBA, you will want to buy something like this.
This thing can fit two carts into it, plus one in the GBA. Its very compact and makes the GBA drop-resistant. You can carry it on your wrist. I can''t see my GBA without it.
I''d pick up a DS since in the the long run you''ll be buying one anyway.
For instance, there are 108 beads in a Catholic rosary and there are 108 stitches in a baseball. When I learned that, I gave Jesus a chance. ~Ron Shelton, Bull Durham, 1988
As someone who has owned and loved a GBA:SP for over a year, and someone who JUST bought a DS a few weeks ago, I gotta say-- GO WITH THE GBA:SP.
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If it was 3 months from now (there''re some GOOD titles coming out in March, and that''ll continue through June) I would say go with the DS.
But, if you''re okay with buying an SP and then wanting to buy a DS in a few months, then that''d be my recommendation.
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Why the GBA:SP?
DS- CRAP games so far. Very crap.
- it''s very heavy... not great for travelling
- it''s actually MORE uncomfortable to play with than the GBA:SP due
to the awkward placement of the control pad, buttons, and touch
screen
- on the plus side, it DOES have true backlighting
- you could maybe make new friends pictochatting with 12 year olds
The GBA:SP is small, lightweight, and easy to carry. You can buy a battery before leaving which will give you 3X normal charge. You can play hundreds of old GB games as well... plus the large selection of classic GBA games that have already come out and are cheaper to buy (used) than the 1 or 2 decent DS games.
If you''re looking for a machine with a great library now and easy portability, the SP is your man.
just my $0.02
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If your leaving shortly then you have no choice really..
There are no good games for the DS right now.. so your choice are very limited if you go the DS route.
Aint nothing new about the world order..it's been playing since the day they put George Washington on a quarter
85's face the truth you're too dumb.
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wait for the DS to wake up the carpal tunnel in little kids, and make it worse for us arthritic gamers. there''s tons of potential in the DS, but there is also tons of potential energy in a stick of dynamite.
like somebody posted before, give me an SP with a larger screen, and also get rid of those corners where your hand goes. Palm dents are not attractive and they feel weird.
MaxShrek .. The reason you keep falling, is there is no bottom.
Horror Vacui
I say go with the SP. It''s a great ""throw in the pocket"" machine and there''s a ton of good games.
The DS has a couple great games - Mario 64 and Wario Ware touched are a lot of fun. Feel the Magic is pretty neat and I''ve heard good things about Zoo Keeper. It''s been too long between releases, but that''s just because the system is rushed. The games will come, and there''s some killer titles in the works. The technology nut in me loves how high tech it is compared to the SP.
I have both, and they both get equal usage.
Keep in mind too that the DS''s backlit LCD makes the GBA games look nicer than on the SP.
So yeah, I''d definitely grab the SP and if any DS titles interest you, pick one up on the cheap side when there''s a game you want to play. Chances are you''ll be seeing a lot of used DS''s for very cheap as people bail to get a PSP. I know I''ve seen a lot of used/returned units lately - hey, their loss
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I read this and saw Pyro''s avatar there and thought, ""Why the f*ck hasn''t he told me that?"" Then I saw the name.
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Get a few good books.
Okay okay, I''m leaving.
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Wii: 4859 2... oh f*ck it.
However the DS can play GBA cartridges anyway, so it will come down to whether your buying a DS or not I suppose?
"You let your kid get hooked on Yu Gi Oh? Someone was asleep at the parenting wheel" -*Legion*
When you'rethis good, its hard to be humble
Just for the record, the DS doesn''t fit in the pants too well. You''ve been warned.
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I know common sense may tell you to just go ahead and buy the DS... the good games will come sometime (!?) and you can always use it right now to play GBA games.
That''s true, of course, but as I said, the DS literally weighs at least 3 times that of a GBA:SP (no, I havent measured it... just what it feels like in my hands...). It is also twice as big, and as Swat said (I agree, that damn avatar is FREAKING ME OUT) it is NOT a comfy piece of kit to carry around in your shirt/pants/etc.
And while the DS does play GBA games, it also puts an annoying boarder around the screen (as the GBA does with old-skool GB games)... maybe that''s why the DS doesn''t play old GB games... the screen would be the size of a postage stamp
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DS?... Dual Shock?
j/k.. couldn''t resist
The question isn't "Who is going to let me?" It's "Who is going to stop me?"
Thanks! I think I''ll go for the GBA SP, once I figure out how much it will cost with all the accessories and stuff. Forget the touch screen, when are they going to come out with a Donkey Konga handheld? It''d be great for meeting dirty backpacking hippies on the other side of the world.
As for the avatar, I just took it from the gallery. I didn''t mean to impersonate anyone-- how do you import an image to use as an avatar, anyway?