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The , released in February 2003, is an upgraded version of Nintendo
Nintendo

is a global company located in Kyoto, Japan founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi to produce handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
's Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance

The is a 32-bit Handheld game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo; resembling Sega's 8-bit Game Gear. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color....
. The "SP" in Game Boy Advance SP stands for "Special". The SP was marketed at US$
United States dollar

The United States dollar is the unit of currency of the United States and was defined by the Coinage Act of 1792 to be between 371 and 416 grains of silver ....
99.99 at launch. In September 2004, Nintendo lowered the price to US$79.99. The SP is accompanied by the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS

The is a dual-screen handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in 2004 in video gaming in Canada, the United States, and Japan....
 (released in November 2004) and the Game Boy Micro
Game Boy Micro

is a handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. The system is the second major redesign of the Game Boy Advance, and is marketed towards the "image conscious" consumer, with emphasis placed on its small size and sleek design....
 (released in September 2005).

In Japan, it was marketed at ¥
Japanese yen

The is the currency of Japan. It is the third most-traded currency in the forex after the euro and the United States dollar. It is also widely used as a reserve currency after the U.S....
12,500 on February 14 2003. In Canada, it was marketed at CA$
Canadian dollar

The Canadian dollar is the currency of Canada. It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies....
149.95 on March 22 2003.






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Encyclopedia


The , released in February 2003, is an upgraded version of Nintendo
Nintendo

is a global company located in Kyoto, Japan founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi to produce handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
's Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance

The is a 32-bit Handheld game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo; resembling Sega's 8-bit Game Gear. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color....
. The "SP" in Game Boy Advance SP stands for "Special". The SP was marketed at US$
United States dollar

The United States dollar is the unit of currency of the United States and was defined by the Coinage Act of 1792 to be between 371 and 416 grains of silver ....
99.99 at launch. In September 2004, Nintendo lowered the price to US$79.99. The SP is accompanied by the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS

The is a dual-screen handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in 2004 in video gaming in Canada, the United States, and Japan....
 (released in November 2004) and the Game Boy Micro
Game Boy Micro

is a handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. The system is the second major redesign of the Game Boy Advance, and is marketed towards the "image conscious" consumer, with emphasis placed on its small size and sleek design....
 (released in September 2005).

In Japan, it was marketed at ¥
Japanese yen

The is the currency of Japan. It is the third most-traded currency in the forex after the euro and the United States dollar. It is also widely used as a reserve currency after the U.S....
12,500 on February 14 2003. In Canada, it was marketed at CA$
Canadian dollar

The Canadian dollar is the currency of Canada. It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies....
149.95 on March 22 2003. In Australia, it was marketed at AU$
Australian dollar

The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Islandss of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu....
199.99 on March 28, 2003. In Europe, it was marketed at €
Euro

The euro is the official currency of 16 out of 27 European Union member state of the European Union . The states, known collectively as the Eurozone are: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Republic of Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain....
129.99 on March 28, 2003.

Technical specifications


Physical

  • Size (closed): Approximately 8.4 × 8.2 × 2.44 cm (3.3 × 3.23 × 0.96 inches).
  • Weight: 142 grams (approximately 5 ounces).
  • Screen: Reflective TFT Color LCD.
  • Light source: Frontlight
    Frontlight

    A frontlight is a means of Lighting a display device, usually a liquid crystal display , which would otherwise be viewed in ambient light. This improves its performance in poor lighting conditions....
     integrated LCD.
  • Power: Rechargeable lithium ion battery.
  • Battery Life: 10 hours continuous play with light on, 18 hours with light off; needs at most 3 hours recharging.
  • Hardware colors: Onyx, Flame, Platinum, Cobalt blue, Pearl pink, Pearl blue, Graphite, Midnight blue (backlit), Charizard red, Torchic Orange, Venusaur green, NES classic design, and Pikachu yellow. In September 2005 a Surf Blue edition was sold through Best Buy
    Best Buy

    Best Buy Co., Inc. is a Fortune 500 company and the largest specialty Retailing of consumer electronics in the United States accounting for 21% of the market....
    . A special Pokemon Emerald pack contained A limted edition Green Rayquaza SP and the Emerald game. A limited SpongeBob SquarePants
    SpongeBob SquarePants

    SpongeBob SquarePants is an American animated Television program and media franchise. It is currently one of Nickelodeon and Nicktoons Network's most-watched show....
     backlit edition exists. There is also an All Blacks
    All Blacks

    The New Zealand national rugby union team, often referred to by their nickname the All Blacks, is the representative side of New Zealand in rugby union....
     edition.


The GBA SP is slightly more than half the size of the GBA when closed and roughly the height of Nintendo's Game Boy Color
Game Boy Color

The is Nintendo's successor to the Game Boy and was released on October 21, 1998 in Japan and in November 19, 1998 in North America and November 23, 1998 in Europe....
 when open. The clamshell or laptop design protects the screen from scratches and dust, reminiscent of two-screen Game & Watch
Game & Watch

File:Nintendo Game and watch Marios cement factory 1983.jpgThe were handheld electronic games made by Nintendo and created by its game designer Gunpei Yokoi from to ....
 units. However, the casing is made from a different material, making it more prone to scratches than previous Game Boy systems.

The GBA SP AC adapter comes with the package to recharge its lithium ion battery, something previous Game Boys did not have. The software library and general hardware specifications are identical to those of the Game Boy Advance.

In Japan it was released in a variety of standard colors and special packages. In most other regions it was released in Platinum Silver, and Charcoal Black. Later a Flame Red version was released. The Six special editions have also been released: a NES Classics model with the same color scheme as a classic NES controller (and designed to resemble a NES deck
Nintendo Entertainment System

The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe and Australia in . In most of Asia, including Japan , the Philippines, China, Vietnam and Singapore, it was released as the ....
 when closed), a SpongeBob SquarePants model, a Pikachu
Pikachu

is one of the List of Pok?mon of Pok?mon creatures from the multi-billion-dollar Pok?mon media franchise—a collection of video games, anime, manga, books, trading cards, and other media created by Satoshi Tajiri....
 model, and a silver SP with a tattoo engraved on it, called the 'Tribal Edition'. In other regions, such as Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, additional colors have been released, such as Pearl Green and Starlight Gold. Additionally, two new special versions have been released in Asia exclusive to that region.

Internal

  • CPU: 32-bit ARM7TDMI
    ARM7TDMI

    The ARM7TDMI processor is a 32-bit RISC Central processing unit designed by ARM_Ltd, and licensed for manufacture by an array of semiconductor companies....
     with embedded memory.
  • Co-processor: 8-bit Zilog Z80
  • Memory: 32 kilobyte
    Kilobyte

    Kilobyte is a unit of Computer data storage equal to either 1,024 bytes or 1,000 bytes , depending on context.It is abbreviated in a number of ways: KB, kB, K and Kbyte....
    +96 kilobyte VRAM (internal CPU), 256 kilobyte WRAM
    Dynamic random access memory

    Dynamic random access memory is a type of random access memory that stores each bit of data in a separate capacitor within an integrated circuit....
     (external CPU).
  • Resolution: 240 × 160 pixels.
  • Color: Can display 511 simultaneous colors in character mode and 32,768 simultaneous colors in bitmap mode.
  • Software: Fully compatible with Game Boy
    Game Boy

    The is an 8-bit handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in August , and in Europe in ....
     and Game Boy Color
    Game Boy Color

    The is Nintendo's successor to the Game Boy and was released on October 21, 1998 in Japan and in November 19, 1998 in North America and November 23, 1998 in Europe....
     games.


Headphone jack

Gbasp Headphoneadapter
Due to form-factor limitations, Nintendo removed the headphone jack, which had been included on all previous Game Boy models. Headphones designed specifically for the GBA SP can be purchased, or standard headphones can be attached with an optional adapter that plugs into the same port as the AC
Alternating current

In alternating current the movement of electric charge periodically reverses direction. An electric charge would for instance move forward, then backward, then forward, then backward, over and over again....
 adapter.

As both AC adapter and headphones use the same port, it is not possible to charge the SP and listen to headphones at the same time with the Nintendo brand adapter. There are however third-party solutions, such as an adapter that "splits" into two different cords; The power jack on one side, and a normal headphone jack on the other.

Majesco developed officially licensed neckband stereo headphones that plugs directly into the port without the need of an adapter.

Backlit version

In North America in September 2005, around the time of the Game Boy Micro's release, Nintendo released an improved version of the Game Boy Advance SP featuring a backlight instead of the previous version's frontlight. The brightness can be set to low or high. The box says, "Now with a BRIGHTER backlit screen!" to distinguish the new model from the older, frontlit models. In addition, the backlit SP model can be recognized by the AGS-101 model designation on the bottom of the unit.

The backlit version comes in three standard colors: Pearl Blue, Pearl Pink and Graphite (a more gray version of Charcoal Black).

Sales information

As of December 31 2008, the Game Boy Advance series has sold 81.44 million units worldwide, of which 43.52 million are Game Boy Advance SP units.

 Life-to-date Number of units sold
Date Japan Americas Other Total
2003-03-31 0.82 million 0.83 million 0.46 million 2.11 million
2003-06-30   4.84 million
2003-09-30 2.33 million 4.32 million 2.38 million 9.04 million
2003-12-31 3.14 million 7.82 million 4.34 million 15.30 million
2004-03-31 3.68 million 8.78 million 4.70 million 17.16 million
2004-06-30   19.33 million
2004-09-30 5.02 million 12.46 million 6.21 million 23.68 million
2004-12-31 5.94 million 16.13 million 8.67 million 30.73 million
2005-03-31 6.00 million 16.69 million 9.10 million 31.79 million
2005-06-30  
2005-09-30 6.16 million 18.08 million 10.08 million 34.32 million
2005-12-31 6.35 million 20.40 million 10.64 million 37.40 million
2006-03-31 6.42 million 20.95 million 10.86 million 38.23 million
2006-06-30 6.46 million 21.30 million 11.08 million 38.84 million
2006-09-30 6.48 million 21.95 million 11.37 million 39.79 million
2006-12-31 6.50 million 23.06 million 11.78 million 41.33 million
2007-03-31 6.50 million 23.47 million 11.95 million 41.92 million
2007-06-30 6.50 million 23.78 million 12.14 million 42.43 million
2007-09-30 6.51 million 24.01 million 12.31 million 42.82 million
2007-12-31 6.51 million 24.01 million 12.51 million 43.02 million
2008-03-31 6.51 million 24.00 million 12.71 million 43.23 million
2008-06-30 6.51 million 24.00 million 12.89 million 43.41 million
2008-09-30 6.51 million 24.00 million 12.97 million 43.49 million
2008-12-31 6.51 million 24.00 million 13.00 million 43.52 million


See also

  • List of Game Boy Advance games
    List of Game Boy Advance games

    This is a list of games for the Game Boy Advance handheld game system. This includes games released in the US, Japan, and Europe for the system....


External links

  • at Nintendo.com ( at the Internet Archive Wayback Machine
    Internet Archive

    The Internet Archive is a nonprofit organization dedicated to building and maintaining a free and openly accessible online digital library, including an archive site of the World Wide Web....
    )