What do you expect from the GBA2
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Megadrive1988
Veteran
I expect GBA 2 / GameBoy Next to be similar in performance to GameCube. somewhat weaker than GC in some areas, somewhat stronger than GC in other areas. much like how PSP compares to PS2.
I don't expect a Portable GameCube, like the TurboExpress was a portable TurboGrafx-16 or like Nomad was a portable Genesis.
one high quality, high resolution screen. 4 to 4.5 inches. resolution will match or exceed that of PSP. an ATI graphics processor. possibly a cut down Flipper that is enhanced in other areas. like PSP's GPU takes some stuff from Graphics Synthesizer with many new things added. if not based on Flipper, GBA 2's GPU will be something new, probably based on one of ATI's mobile GPUs. (no i dont expect PowerVR MBX)
again, the graphics performance will be comparable to Gamecube. another comparison: GBA 2 / GBNext's 3D graphics will blow DS's 3D graphics out of the water, much like how GBA blew away GameBoy Color's 2D graphics.
on the other hand, I can easily see why many gamers are skeptical of Nintendo putting out an impressive GBA 2 / GameBoy Next. Nintendo has never pushed the technological edge with GameBoy line. look at the GameBoy Color for instance. it came out years after the Lynx, TurboExpress, GameGear and Nomad, yet GBC was much weaker than any of those handhelds. basicly GBC was on par with the NES. maybe a little better, maybe a little worse, i dont know the exact specs on GBC but I'm pretty confident GBC was weaker than the Master System based GameGear. the GG was probably the weakest of the first 3 color handhelds.
the GBA came out in what, 2000 ? its basicly an SNES graphics engine, perhaps 2x SNES graphics at best. plus a faster CPU. sure it out-guns all the older heldhelds, but still not very impressive. imho the GBA should've been NeoGeo level. i know the NeoGeo has a slower CPU than GBA but NeoGeo has a much stronger graphics and audio which more than makes up for the CPU..
so I can see why people doubt Nintendo's willingness to put out an impressive handheld.
there, I took both sides 8)
I don't expect a Portable GameCube, like the TurboExpress was a portable TurboGrafx-16 or like Nomad was a portable Genesis.
one high quality, high resolution screen. 4 to 4.5 inches. resolution will match or exceed that of PSP. an ATI graphics processor. possibly a cut down Flipper that is enhanced in other areas. like PSP's GPU takes some stuff from Graphics Synthesizer with many new things added. if not based on Flipper, GBA 2's GPU will be something new, probably based on one of ATI's mobile GPUs. (no i dont expect PowerVR MBX)
again, the graphics performance will be comparable to Gamecube. another comparison: GBA 2 / GBNext's 3D graphics will blow DS's 3D graphics out of the water, much like how GBA blew away GameBoy Color's 2D graphics.
on the other hand, I can easily see why many gamers are skeptical of Nintendo putting out an impressive GBA 2 / GameBoy Next. Nintendo has never pushed the technological edge with GameBoy line. look at the GameBoy Color for instance. it came out years after the Lynx, TurboExpress, GameGear and Nomad, yet GBC was much weaker than any of those handhelds. basicly GBC was on par with the NES. maybe a little better, maybe a little worse, i dont know the exact specs on GBC but I'm pretty confident GBC was weaker than the Master System based GameGear. the GG was probably the weakest of the first 3 color handhelds.
the GBA came out in what, 2000 ? its basicly an SNES graphics engine, perhaps 2x SNES graphics at best. plus a faster CPU. sure it out-guns all the older heldhelds, but still not very impressive. imho the GBA should've been NeoGeo level. i know the NeoGeo has a slower CPU than GBA but NeoGeo has a much stronger graphics and audio which more than makes up for the CPU..
so I can see why people doubt Nintendo's willingness to put out an impressive handheld.
there, I took both sides 8)
Ok, it depends on several scenarios:
DS - failure, PSP - success
IMO, DS is the actual next GB, but due to its somewhat experimental nature, it doesn´t bear the name GB. If it fails to penetrate the market, then I expect Nintendo to pretend nothing happened, and seeing the next "proper" GB in 2007, with GCN-like specs. The device would be more expensive and more powerfull than Nintendo would have liked it to be, however.
DS - failure, PSP - failure
Now, if both machines fail (which is extremely unlikely, IMO), Nintendo will once again go by their own pace, and release a succesor to DS, a properly named handheld in 2007 in the earliest, more likely 2008, with sub GCN specs. DS was already a portable N64 of sorts (yes, I know it lacks several graphics features), so the next GB x}should be more powerfull than it, although not much more.
DS - success
Well, here it doesn´t really matter if PSP is a success or not (unless it´s a huge one that steals the mayority of the market from Nintendo, which isn´t likely), DS will play the part of the next GB, and follow a similar life cicle. Don´t expect a new GB until 2009 in the earliest.
DS - failure, PSP - success
IMO, DS is the actual next GB, but due to its somewhat experimental nature, it doesn´t bear the name GB. If it fails to penetrate the market, then I expect Nintendo to pretend nothing happened, and seeing the next "proper" GB in 2007, with GCN-like specs. The device would be more expensive and more powerfull than Nintendo would have liked it to be, however.
DS - failure, PSP - failure
Now, if both machines fail (which is extremely unlikely, IMO), Nintendo will once again go by their own pace, and release a succesor to DS, a properly named handheld in 2007 in the earliest, more likely 2008, with sub GCN specs. DS was already a portable N64 of sorts (yes, I know it lacks several graphics features), so the next GB x}should be more powerfull than it, although not much more.
DS - success
Well, here it doesn´t really matter if PSP is a success or not (unless it´s a huge one that steals the mayority of the market from Nintendo, which isn´t likely), DS will play the part of the next GB, and follow a similar life cicle. Don´t expect a new GB until 2009 in the earliest.
Megadrive1988
Veteran
I think regardless of DS' sucess or not, the next GameBoy will be out by 2007.
Megadrive1988 said:
I dunno about the other systems but the GBC is actually in some ways better than the GG/SMS, close to it in most and worse in some ways, IIRC. I was in a discussion with Fox5 that revealed this a while back. I linked to it recently so I'll go dig up that post to get the link.
Edit: http://www.beyond3d.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10937&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=100 Scroll down to the last post. Links there.
Pink buttons. And furry Start button.
archie4oz said:
GBA Color.
Evil_Cloud
Veteran
They might integrate GBA2 in N5...
Fafalada said:Reading this...
I seriously wouldn't expect a GBA2 in any near future... ~2008 maybe
Anyway, for what's worth I expect it to be the first Nintendo hybrid portable... days of dedicated gaming portables are just about over...
Not if you want cutting edge graphics, cheap price, low heat, and a small size. By 2008 we can have a gamecube quality portable in gba type case for $100 probably, but the next gen will look much better, and I predict it will take until at least 2020 till we can even consider graphics being at a point that's "good enough."
I think by 2010-2015 we will have realtime graphics that won't limit graphics artistically. Maybe even earlier. Anyway back to GBA2: IMO graphics better than GC (or PSP for what matter) are not even necessary on such a small screen. Not enough room to show and see all the details anyway.
I expect the successor to DS to be a specification and a piece of firmware - rather than one single machine - that can be licensed an integrated into various portable products. A bit like the Nuon chip, but with the weight of Nintendo behind it. Nintendo will still produce portable hardware, but it will only be one choice among many compatible devices.
Also, I expect (easily) removable media for handheld products, to be abolished entirely. Instead Nintendo’s hardware specification will demand a certain fixed amount of memory for storage of downloaded games, and other data and applications.
Hardware performance will be somewhere in the region of the current generation, but controls will be simplified to say, an analog pad and tree buttons. Touch-screen will be mandatory though.
Both foldable clamshell designs with two screens, and single screen designs, will be allowed for in the specification. A few games will require the second screen, but most games will have both one and two screen modes.
Also, I expect (easily) removable media for handheld products, to be abolished entirely. Instead Nintendo’s hardware specification will demand a certain fixed amount of memory for storage of downloaded games, and other data and applications.
Hardware performance will be somewhere in the region of the current generation, but controls will be simplified to say, an analog pad and tree buttons. Touch-screen will be mandatory though.
Both foldable clamshell designs with two screens, and single screen designs, will be allowed for in the specification. A few games will require the second screen, but most games will have both one and two screen modes.
Megadrive1988
Veteran
yes indeed you are correct. GBC is in fact somewhat better than SMS/GG in several areas. which also makes GBC conciderably better than NES also. of course, the GBC still cannot compare to the Lynx or TurboExpress
but at least it's better than GG. well, that boosts my hopes that Nintendo might come out with a fairly impressive next gen GameBoy.
I wonder if Nintendo is working on a sucessor to the DS right now, seperate from the next gen GameBoy. If we can take what Nintendo has said at face value, DS will remain a third, seperate line of systems. apart from console and GameBoy.
Portable market is about to be flooded with hybrid portable machines that all double as a 3d gaming console. From phones, to PDAs, UMD players... you name it
Now maybe all the companies that are diving into this new market are going to fail as miserably as Nokia did thus far, and by 2008 the idea of these devices will be nothing but a repeatedly failed experiment.
But I somehow doubt that.
As for Nintendo, even monopolies have to adapt to the market - they just have the choice to do it at their own pace.
Portable gaming has to first find a way around screen limits before we can talk about anything "good enough". Maybe by 2020 we'll all wear goggles to play on the go, who knows.