GBA

The Game Boy Advance (GBA) is a handheld video game console developed by Nintendo and released in 2001 as the successor to the Game Boy Color. It is part of the Game Boy family and introduced a horizontal design with a 2.9-inch color LCD, offering a richer 2D gaming experience than its predecessor.

Hardware and capabilities: The GBA uses a 32-bit ARM processor running at approximately 16.78 MHz, with hardware able to render multiple background layers and sprites for its tile-based graphics. The system supports a 15-bit color palette (up to 32,768 colors on screen) at a resolution of 240 by 160 pixels. It relies on cartridge-based games, with replacement cartridges supporting sizes up to about 32 MB. The console includes RAM for program operation and dedicated video memory for graphics, along with audio hardware for stereo sound. It is designed to be backward compatible with most Game Boy and Game Boy Color cartridges, enabling a large library of older titles to be played on the device.

Models and lifecycle: The original Game Boy Advance was followed by several revisions to improve usability and display. The Game Boy Advance SP introduced a compact, foldable design with a front-lit screen, and later revisions added a backlit display. The later Game Boy Micro offered a smaller form factor with a redesigned enclosure. The GBA line remained in production alongside Nintendo’s newer systems, continuing to attract third-party and first-party game support.

Impact and library: The GBA became one of the best-selling handheld platforms, with a diverse library that includes long-running franchises and many notable titles such as Pokémon, The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, and Advance Wars. Its combination of portability, strong library, and backward compatibility helped sustain Nintendo’s handheld ecosystem until the emergence of the Nintendo DS, which offered dual-screen gameplay and broader capabilities while maintaining backward compatibility with GBA software in its early years.