MTV Multiplayer › GBA

This isn't really a Lunchtime video. This is the second part -- the video part -- of my Funeral for the Game Boy Advance. Please also check out part one, which explains how the GBA shaped my gaming life: Funeral For The Game Boy Advance [Part 1]

(Videos not viewable by users logging in from Canada or the U.K.)

The announcement from Tokyo of the new Nintendo DSi promises all kinds of new features to Nintendo  gamers, including photo-taking and downloadable applications.

But DSi owners won't have a Game Boy Advance slot. What will they lose?

More than you might think... Read more...

With rumors swirling that Nintendo could be announcing a revised DS later this week, some people have wondered if it's just too soon for that to happen. The DS Lite is still selling well in Japan and selling even better in the U.S.

History shows that the time is actually perfect for Nintendo to announce and release a new portable gaming device.

The company may have waited seven years between its first two iterations of handheld hardware, but, since then it's been barely two years between each handheld hardware release. Sales success hasn't slowed Nintendo before, it seems.

Check this list of Nintendo handheld hardware released in America and then decide whether it would be stranger for Nintendo to announce a new portable this week... or for it not to.

Nintendo Handheld Release Dates In U.S.
07/21/89 Game Boy
09/03/96 Game Boy Pocket
11/18/98 Game Boy Color
06/11/01 Game Boy Advance
03/23/03 Game Boy Advance SP
11/21/04 Nintendo DS
09/19/05 Game Boy Micro
06/11/06 Nintendo DS Lite

Time for something new in 2008, no?

(Above: Nintendo portable hardware release dates, from the Nintendo of America press site)

Throughout the past three years, Multiplayer editor Stephen Totilo has offered me recommendations on games that he thought I really needed play.

Most of them were titles I either hadn't heard of, were released outside the United States, or I had simply overlooked. Holding his opinion in high regard, I kept a running list of his recommendations, and made it a point to try as many of them as I could.

I put together a short list of some of the games that Stephen has recommended, and whether or not the games ended up being as good as he said they would be. I rated each of his recommendations on a scale of one to five, one being bad, and five being great. See if you agree...

"Cubivore" (GameCube)
Why it was recommended: It's one of the most creative, and unique games ever released on the GameCube.

Reason I missed it originally: A quirky game about evolution, published by Atlus for the GameCube only. The better question: how was it originally noticed by anyone?

How good was the recommendation? 3/5 Read more...