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The Game Boy Micro. Nintendo’s latest bid in the recently
re-opened war for handheld dominance takes the Game Boy series into
the extreme style territory. Pausing for only a moment to gasp at
the clarity of the tiny screen fused into the device, it’s the
size of the unit that gets you going.
Sporting a sleek, silver design at purchase, the Game Boy
Micro features customisable faceplates. Only four inches wide, two
inches tall and 0.7 inches thick, the Game Boy Micro is no bigger
than the average mobile phone and about the same size as the iPod
Mini. Weighing in at 2.8 ounces, “about the weight of 80 paper
clips” states the Nintendo press release, the Game Boy Micro
lives up to its name.
The system supports play of all Game Boy Advance
games, although it’s unlikely the system will be backwards
compatible with other Game Boy and Game Boy Color titles. The
backlit screen is only two inches wide, but delivers incredibly
clarity. The in-built lithium-ion
battery reportedly offers seven hours of gameplay – three less
than the Game Boy AdvanceSP, but still more than any train ride
your likely to take the system on (although  it would certainly
fall-short on the ten-hour plane ride the Electronic Theatre
staff had to endure to witness the machine’s unveiling and later
play on the device).
Featuring all the standard buttons seen on the Game Boy
AdvanceSP – although the jury at the Electronic Theatre is
still out on those L and R Triggers, which don’t seem to feature
the secondary click that the original Game Boy Advance and SP
models demonstrate – the Start and Select buttons now act as
clicks and shimmer with the same shine as the rest of the system.
The D-pad and buttons return to the original soft-pad design of the
Game Boy Advance, as opposed to the click function seen on the Game
Boy AdvanceSP and NintendoDS.
"We're making the gorgeous Game Boy Micro for
image-conscious folks who love video games, the ones who want the
look of their system to be as cool as the games they play on
it," says George Harrison, Nintendo of America's senior vice
president of marketing and corporate communications. "Because
of its diminutive size and industrial-hip look, Game Boy Micro
immediately identifies the person playing it as a trendsetter with
discriminating style."
While Nintendo’s target audience is clear, I can’t help
but feel they’re out-of-their-depth in a market with the PSP
sitting side-by-side the Game Boy Micro. There’s no denying
it’s a very nice looking piece of kit, however it’s nothing
particularly new. With no price-point currently available, I’d
worry about the viability of retailers stocking the product in the
UK
without a sub-£50 price-tag. A very nice product that very easily
could either expand Nintendo’s audience, or become their first
Game Boy-“N-Gage”.
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