Support NeoGAF

[Lindsay]

So I was like cleaning off my other desk just now to make room for new stuff to display and what do I find? My E-Reader! Even though it's not that old it brought me some great memories!

This poor lil add-on had less of a lifespan (in the US) then even the Dreamcast if ya can believe it. In Japan it luckily lived on enough to get some 3rd party usage! So why'd it live on there and die here? Answer: NOA = dumb. ;.;


Gamecube games with E-Reader functions:

Animal Crossing - Used to great effect. The cards were fun to collect for the characters you liked and they were functional to get some hard to get items.

POKéMON Channel - New paint colors/palettes & pre-drawn pictures to upload and color yourself were great ideas. To bad the 3 cards that came with the game were the only ones ever released.


GBA games with E-Reader functions:

POKéMON R/S - New rare berries = yay. The trainer battle cards weren't a bad idea either but there were no rewards for beating them which kinda stank. Also one card let you unlock the Southern Island which is a plus.

Mario 3 Advance - The best use of E-Reader connectivity bar none. They were planning on giving us 50+ new levels which would basically amount to a new Mario game in and of itself! Sadly only a fraction of the level cards were released in the US. -_-; Scanning cards for infinite Hammer Bros suits was awesome to among the many other things these things did.


Not ta mention the NES games released onto cards & other stuffs. I really wish Nintendo had built a card reader into the DS. I'm sure it could have fit somewhere just above the bottom screen. It wasn't just the fun of using it to play old/new games from cards but also the fun of collecting the cards themselves.

Now I don't wanna see to much hate for it okay? Cards & Nintendo go hand in had ya know. So please be gentle ^_^?

 

[MrAngryFace]

E-Reader needed two screens.

 

[impirius]

Stupid thing kept finding the same thetan after I made sure I cleared it... oh, E-Reader

Yeah, the E-Reader was a great idea, but the execution was horrible. The thing was about as tall as the GBA itself. To get any items in SMB3, you had to have two GBAs, SMB3, an E-Reader, cards, and a link cable handy. Lame lame lame.

The tiny little dots were cool, and the idea of making game items and levels into cheap, physically tradable items was a great one. Let's just be kind to the designers and say it was an idea that was ahead of its time.

 

[Socreges]

Mario 3 Advance - The best use of E-Reader connectivity bar none. They were planning on giving us 50+ new levels which would basically amount to a new Mario game in and of itself! Sadly only a fraction of the level cards were released in the US. -_-; Scanning cards for infinite Hammer Bros suits was awesome to among the many other things these things did.

I remember criticizing Nintendo for depriving the cartridge of extra levels to promote the e-Reader. This was at a poor excuse for a Nintendorks offshoot. A bunch of people got upset and insisted that Nintendo would continue supporting releasing more cards in the future. I didn't buy it. Ultimately I was banned. But I believe I have won.

 

[Spiritreaver]

Was Mario Party-e any fun? It was about the only thing for the E-Reader that tempted me, but I felt it just wasn't worth it.

 

[M3wThr33]

Mario Party-e was fun.
The thing that pissed me off most about the e-Reader was the complete lack of G&W games outside of Manhole.

 

[Flynn]

I have a pack of Pikmin 2 E-Reader cards that a friend brought me from Japan.

Still haven't figured out what they do.

 

[Shard]

Did anybody ever try out the E-Reader with Metal Slug Advance?

 

[demi]

Did anyone try making their own e-reader cards?

http://users.skynet.be/firefly/gba/e-reader/index.htm

 

[cvxfreak]

I think Nintendo should have released an e-Reader that recieved cartridges. That way we could have avoided the second GBA altogether.

 

[soundwave05]

Cool idea for kids since most young boys like to collect/trade stuff like cards, comics, or Pokemon (which Nintendo hit the jack pot with).

The price of the thing and the incredible bulky nature of it really killed it though.

 

[jarrod]

Did anybody ever try out the E-Reader with Metal Slug Advance?

E-Reader functions were dropped from Metal Slug Advance.

 

[ge-man]

The idea was cool, but the implementation wasn't. I would've been nice if the machine came packed in with the GBA from the get go, or even have the functionality built right into the machine if at all possible. The bottom line is that addon's rarely catch on.

 

[Diomedeskun]

I bought one for a fraction of the original price exclusively for SMB3, but I still spent almost as much as I would have on purchasing a second Mario game. SMB3's e-reader extras are awesome, and the Japanese cards that never made it over here sound great (especially the enhanced difficulty) but it would have been a better idea simply to release a second cartridge with all the new levels. I was also mad that one level was only available at Wal-Mart and I only found out after buying my copy at Target.

Fascinating idea, bad implementation that ripped off buyers, miserable failure.

 

[sprsk]

it was meant for card gamers.

not for us.

 

[Folder]

Just got an E-Reader last week for wifey's Animal Crossing obsession.
When it works, it's amazing. I picked up a shitload of AC cards from a buddy who had a load of new seies 4 going cheap. The Nintendo set up in the bedroom looks a bit crazy now. GameCube sitting on GB Player with two SPs connected, one with an E-Reader. It looks like the GameCube contracted Dutch elm disease or something!

 

[Wellington]

I loved the e-Reader idea but held off on buying it. Nintendo hasn't had the greatest track record with peripherals on the Gamecube. If I can find one on the cheap I would scoop it up immediately for Animal Crossing.

 

[belgurdo]

Nintendo has a nice long track record of not supporting peripherals for more than two or three games at one period of time, so I wasn't really surprised that Nintendo dropped the e-reader stuff after six months.

And don't cry for the lost Mario 3 levels-knowing Nintendo, they'll come up with some "Mario allstars DS" bullshit that'll probably come with the extended versions of the NES games or something

 

[Ignatz Mouse]

The cheap NES games were what got me to buy it. Unfortunately, it seems more lucrative for Nintendo to release them on cart for $20.

Oh, and the thing was huge. Gah.

 

[Daigoro]

E-Reader functions were dropped from Metal Slug Advance.

they were never there in the first place. the reference was to E-cards which were findable "cards" in game that unlocked bonuses. they were just poorly named or translated.

 

[jarrod]

they were never there in the first place. the reference was to E-cards which were findable "cards" in game that unlocked bonuses. they were just poorly named or translated.

Yeah, it was likely just a bad translation on SNK USA's part. They did specifically say E-Cards though.

 

[LowTecky]

It should have been built into the side of the SP or something.

 

[SomeDude]

How many extra levels were released for SMB3? I heard that there were along the lines of 50 new levels or something.

 

[Lindsay]

Yeah, the E-Reader was a great idea, but the execution was horrible. The thing was about as tall as the GBA itself. To get any items in SMB3, you had to have two GBAs, SMB3, an E-Reader, cards, and a link cable handy. Lame lame lame.

Cha! Which is why having a card reader built into the handheld itself would've soooo rectified this prob and maybe have gotten peoples to hate it less.

I remember criticizing Nintendo for depriving the cartridge of extra levels to promote the e-Reader.

Whyyyy? Ya paid for Mario 3 & to a lesser extent SMB classic. The World-e stuff is more or less downloadable content.

Mario Party-e was fun.
The thing that pissed me off most about the e-Reader was the complete lack of G&W games outside of Manhole.

Ya I was way disappointed when NoA canned the G&W-e series ;_; Manhole-e was the first G&W game I ever played and it hooked me!

it was meant for card gamers.

not for us.

Nuh uhhhh! I don't like TCG's one bit but there is much fun in collecting cards. The Animal Crossing ones are way cute!

The cheap NES games were what got me to buy it. Unfortunately, it seems more lucrative for Nintendo to release them on cart for $20.

That's why I never buy into the NES Classics stuff why should I when I paid only $5 to get them on cards?

 

[DDayton]

The eReader was a concept with piles of potential... imagine if Atari/Infogrames had started selling packs of "Atari Retro Games."

 

[soundwave05]

I dunno, I thought the potential for this product lied more within the trading card aspect.

Imagine having baseball or basketball or hockey cards and being able to scan the image into the GBA SP and see various images/stats of the player.

Or stuff like Marvel Superhero cards, that you could then swipe into your Game Boy and have them battle each other.

I figure kids would go crazy over that, but the e-Card reader was hideously bulky and expensive.

 

[Jumpman Jr.]

I liked the E-Reader. It had potential for home-brewed games, or official games inserted in magazines (Like the Kirby sliding puzzle FoxBox tie-in found in some mags).

I could never figure out how it inserts into a SP though.

The Animal Crossing cards were a slight disappointment because they was more common furniture than rare.

Mario 3 Advance E-Reader boards are worth it. Clever designs that sample characters and features from all the Mario games, including Yoshi's island, so it helps to be familiar with the Mario universe.

Must of the NES cards are 1 penny at Best Buy. Donkey Kong has the conveyor belt board (which the GBA version doesn't). Clu Clu Land and its sequel holds up pretty well, too. I must had forgotten how dull DK3 was, though.