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[Mejilan]

At work, can't really browse or search, so I apologize if this has been posted.

The NWS in Rockefeller Center has the following items in stock today:

GB Micro (Black)
GB Micro (Silver)
Battalion Wars (GCN)
Donkey Kong - King of Swing (GBA)

I picked up a Black GB Micro (so fucking hot) and both games during my lunch break.

I know that most stores won't get the games until tomorrow or Wednesday, and some stores aren't getting one GB Micro color (or both) until next week, the 26th!

Go loot their stock, fools!

 

[Mihail]

I was excited for King of Swing. Is it as crappy as the last impressions I read made it out to be?

 

[John Harker]

Haha, where do you work?

Ya know, I'm here in Midtown everyday, and I always say I want to go to Rockafella to visit the story... and I never have.

I intend to go for the Mario Kart tournmane though!

 

[sammy]

tell us how Battalion wars is

 

[el jacko]

Aw man. I read the thread title and thought there was new Earthbound news.

You disappoint me, Mejilan.

 

[bumpkin]

I've been wondering... Does the Nintendo World Store still carry the NES edition GBA SP's?

 

[jgkspsx]

I was excited for King of Swing. Is it as crappy as the last impressions I read made it out to be?

No. Well. It's the true son of Clu Clu Land. If that still excites you, you'll love it.

 

[sidnotcrazy]

Sold, I love Clu Clu Land!

 

[Varian]

I was excited for King of Swing. Is it as crappy as the last impressions I read made it out to be?

The preview linked by sonycowboy has a neat quote:

That's not the point, though. As with a lot of Nintendo's games, King of Swing mostly exists as an exercise for future developers to study. Something to broaden the mind a bit; get people thinking. And that's noble enough. Expect academic types to go wild for the game, and expect Nintendo fans to point at it as yet another example of Nintendo's genius. All the previews I've read are very positive, suggesting if nothing else that it plays into what the current generation of videogame journalists is looking for.

Sounds pretty hardcore.

 

[GDJustin]

I was excited for King of Swing. Is it as crappy as the last impressions I read made it out to be?

Yeah, I was pumped for it too, and now I'm on the fence.

 

[Varian]

Aw man. I read the thread title and thought there was new Earthbound news.

You disappoint me, Mejilan.

Like Keats always sez, "motherlode every rift with ore."

 

[Mejilan]

I played the demo of DK KoS at the NWS, and turned right around to buy it with the Micro. Playing it now. I love it. It is a lot like Clu Clu Land, in a sense, only much better, IMHO.

Edit - GB Micro comes in slick packaging, with a neat little pouch too. That way I can keep it in my bookbag without it getting trashed.

I love the blue light up select and start buttons with the system is on, or when it's charging. (If it's plugged in and the lights shut off, that seems to indicate that the system is fully charged. Rawk.)

 

[DDayton]

If you are excited about the game being a spiritual successor to Clu Clu Land, you're going to love the fact that

Spoiler

Bubbles, the Clu Clu Land protagonist, is an unlockable bonus character.

 

[cvxfreak]

The Japanese name of King of Swing, "Bura Bura Donkey", is in the same format as Clu Clu Land, too.

 

[ChrisReid]

I've been wondering... Does the Nintendo World Store still carry the NES edition GBA SP's?

Don't think so. They mainly had red and blue Mario (and Luigi/20th Anniversary) style SPs when I was there a couple weeks ago. Got a hot black graphite DS though!

 

[Mejilan]

On display, though. Don't think that the Black DS is for sale.

 

[ChrisReid]

On display, though. Don't think that the Black DS is for sale.

I bought a black DS. I think it was $179. Full Japanese version. My friend in the black cap on the left has it during our DragonCon DS party. You have to ask for it, and they go in the back/basement to get it. And then they fumble around for a few minutes to figure out how to sell it because the UPC doesn't scan. I heard you can even get that gross Pink rhinestone/Nintendogs one for $500-600.

http://www.wcnews.com/articles/dcon2005/dc2005dayone30.jpg

 

[Mejilan]

Yer shitting me. Damn, I think I'll have to pick one up! I'll check next time I'm there, verify the price, and then put up my current DS for sale! Thanks for the heads up!

 

[cvxfreak]

$179 is basically a $50 mark-up, but still, must be VERY profitable for them.

 

[antispin]

I've played this one (King of Swing). Good fun in short bursts, the controls grow on you and there is a certain rhythm to it all -- the L, R, R, R, L, etc.

 

[cvxfreak]

It seems though as if the micro is the wrong GB for a shoulder-pad game, because in Yoshi's Island, I had to re-press the clicky shoulder pads on my Famicom micro to launch eggs due to their relative lack of response compared to the SP. Although, I did get used to it after awhile, so it probably won't be a problem in the future.

 

[antispin]

The micro's shoulders take some getting used to, but the system is ergonomic. Help me resist the urge to splurge on the Famicon micro. It's so shiny! And tiny.

 

[djtiesto]

If you are excited about the game being a spiritual successor to Clu Clu Land, you're going to love the fact that

Spoiler

Bubbles, the Clu Clu Land protagonist, is an unlockable bonus character.

Thanks, you totally just sold me on this game! Been waiting for a Clu Clu Land followup for years... Now if we can only get a spiritual successor to Wrecking Crew

 

[Bojangles]

I was excited for King of Swing. Is it as crappy as the last impressions I read made it out to be?

King of swing is a fantastic game. Anyone who doesn't like KoS either hates fun, or hates anything new.

 

[Soybean]

When can we expect the GB Micro to be in regular stores? Stopped by Target yesterday but no dice!

 

[Mejilan]

I had a problem with the Micro's shoulder buttons at first too. Then I realized that the "response zone" or whatever is that the very end of the shoulder button (towards the center of the system), and NOT at the very ends of the shoulder button, as they were on the original GBA, for example. Once I realized that, I never missed another shoulder button press.

 

[cvxfreak]

I had a problem with the Micro's shoulder buttons at first too. Then I realized that the "response zone" or whatever is that the very end of the shoulder button (towards the center of the system), and NOT at the very ends of the shoulder button, as they were on the original GBA, for example. Once I realized that, I never missed another shoulder button press.

Yeah, I realized that. So now it's intuition for me to just press toward the middle.

Still, great GB; no more SP for me unless I'm on a long drive. This thing is going to be a godsend for flying since it doesn't bog you down or making you feel heavier. Traveling light is good.

iPod nano + Game Boy Micro for the win!

 

[number386]

Can anyone give some screen impressions? My biggest concern is that in fast paced action games like Mega Man Zero, because the screen is so small it may be hard to see incoming bullets.

 

[Mejilan]

Actually, I'm a bit annoyed with the Micro.

I was content carrying around my PSP and DS, protected, in my bookbag, everywhere I go.

Now that I've seen the Micro in action, I just can't stand playing GBA games on the DS (similar to how I couldn't tolerate the SP after seeing GBA games on the DS screens.)

What now?

THREE f-cking portables everywhere I go... not counting my iPod and cell, of course. *sighs*

 

[Ironclad]

KoS looks like an absolute blast and it's resemblance to Clu Clu Land is what originally sold me on the game. I'm going to pick up KoS and Batallion Wars today and hopefully pick up my Micro before the end of the week or whenever my damn Gamestop gets it.

 

[Fuzzy]

Can this really be true? A GBA SP with a backlit screen of the same size? :drool

Today i saw a new gba sp box at superstore. I was the same as te older ones except that at the top it said something about having improved lighting and under that in samller letters it said it was backlit. No one seems to have heard of this, so am i hallucinating or is this some unoffical knock-off? It seemed official to me.



Looks like you're getting a sneak peek at the newest GBA rumor going around: Nintendo is, apparently, changing out the front-lit LCD screens on the Game Boy Advance SP systems in favor of much improved, sharper, and brighter backlit ones. According to the rumors, the company's getting a better deal using the newer LCD technology since it's already being employed in the Nintendo DS and the Game Boy Micro. So, watch for improved SPs hitting shelves very soon.

And to answer the inevitable next question: no, I'm pretty sure Nintendo won't have some sort of deal to trade in an older SP in favor of a backlit one.

-- Craig

Source: http://gameboy.ign.com/mail/ (September 19)

 

[Mejilan]

Interesting, but will it feature a backlist SP screen, or a Micro screen?

 

[Fuzzy]

Interesting, but will it feature a backlist SP screen, or a Micro screen?

It would only make sense using the bigger SP screen (but this time backlit) or else they would have to make adjustments to make the smaller Micro screen fit nicely.

 

[Mejilan]

So, how DOES the Micro screen work?

It must be the same resolution, since it has the same amount of pixels going up and across, right?

Yet, the screen is smaller and the graphics sharper. How?

 

[Fuzzy]

So, how DOES the Micro screen work?

It must be the same resolution, since it has the same amount of pixels going up and across, right?

Yet, the screen is smaller and the graphics sharper. How?

The pixels are either closer together or are smaller.

 

[Mejilan]

I figured as much. I just guess I didn't realize that this was possible... though, in hindsight, I can't imagine why not. Technically, it IS the same resolution still, right?

 

[Hero]

I was in Wal-Mart today and saw the 'new' GBA SPs. The box art is slightly different, and either had a sticker or on the box said 'new brighter screen' or something along those lines.

 

[ChrisReid]

I figured as much. I just guess I didn't realize that this was possible... though, in hindsight, I can't imagine why not. Technically, it IS the same resolution still, right?

Yeah, this isn't really a foreign concept. You have the same resoluton on your 14 and 36 inch (non-HD) tvs. 1024x768 is still 1024x768 whether it's on a 15 inch or a 21 inch monitor.

 

[jooey]

Yeah, the new SPs are backlit.

We got in them at work today and I saw the front which mentioned "new BRIGHTER backlit screen!" backlit, huh...of course Nintendo always said "side-lighted" so I was suspicious. Since the Micro wasn't going to be out for another week and I had the money, I bought the Graphite, turned it on in the car and sure enough the fucker's backlit. What was once the "light on/off" button in the middle now just switches between two brightless levels a la the PSP's brightness button.

Way to alienate, Nintendo!

 

[Mejilan]

Yeah, this isn't really a foreign concept. You have the same resoluton on your 14 and 36 inch (non-HD) tvs. 1024x768 is still 1024x768 whether it's on a 15 inch or a 21 inch monitor.

*smacks forehead* Of course.

 

[cvxfreak]

Yeah, the new SPs are backlit.

We got in them at work today and I saw the front which mentioned "new BRIGHTER backlit screen!" backlit, huh...of course Nintendo always said "side-lighted" so I was suspicious. Since the Micro wasn't going to be out for another week and I had the money, I bought the Graphite, turned it on in the car and sure enough the fucker's backlit. What was once the "light on/off" button in the middle now just switches between two brightless levels a la the PSP's brightness button.

Way to alienate, Nintendo!

LMAO. And here I was all this time thinking the Micro wasn't the last GBA revision we've seen.

I guess this kinda counts, right? :lol

 

[jooey]

LMAO. And here I was all this time thinking the Micro wasn't the last GBA revision we've seen.

I guess this kinda counts, right? :lol

4th time's a charm!

 

[Companion Cube]

The new SP's still have no headphone jack right?

 

[jooey]

ACTUALLY...!! No, they don't.

 

[junkwaffle]

 

[Matlock]

Junkwaffle: I've got a bone to pick with you--pm me your email

 

[Synbios459]

I bought a black DS. I think it was $179. Full Japanese version. My friend in the black cap on the left has it during our DragonCon DS party. You have to ask for it, and they go in the back/basement to get it. And then they fumble around for a few minutes to figure out how to sell it because the UPC doesn't scan. I heard you can even get that gross Pink rhinestone/Nintendogs one for $500-600.

http://www.wcnews.com/articles/dcon2005/dc2005dayone30.jpg

Where'd you get so many friends that play videogames!? I don't know ANYONE else who plays anything other than Madden, much less owns a DS.

 

[Synbios459]

Well, GB Micro and new SP +1 (or 2, however you look at it). Wait, is the NES SP available with new screen? If so, I will trade it in for a new one.

 

[cvxfreak]

Well, GB Micro and new SP +1 (or 2, however you look at it). Wait, is the NES SP available with new screen? If so, I will trade it in for a new one.

Mario's 20th U.S. anniversary comes up soon, so maybe so. An ideal time to release an NES faceplate and/or micro system, to.

Spoiler

This is a theory kthxbyuue

 

[Lyte Edge]

WTF is up with Nintendo? A new backlit SP that comes out right before the Micro? I think the Micro has a much better d-pad and buttons compared to the SP, and the size makes it even easier to carry around in your pocket, but the backlit SP has the bigger screen and plays older GB/GBC games.