GBA:SP or DS?

Malakhov

Malakhov

Banned
I think I'm gonna get a portable gaming system for travelling. I do about 1h30-2 hours of Bus and Metro travelling everyday and I'm getting sick of listening to music, it would be a great alternative.

The thing is I'm hesitating between the GBA:SP and the DS, what would you suggest, is it still worth it to purchase a GBA? For how long Nintendo is gonna support the GBA?

One advantage the GBA has is the insane library wich is why I'm hesitating right now. No backwards compatibility right?
 
Jeez. I had a GBC for fun back in the day (living over seas), but since I moved to New York and the GBA came out, I've been using it pretty much every day, first the GBA, then the SP, for my roughly 3 hours daily commute (that includes back and forth.)

Sure, I use my iPod also, and read a lot, but it's been 4 years since I moved to NY, and I can't live without my GBA.

You can get the SP for half the price of the DS, and you can get one today. That's a big bonus.

If you can wait two weeks, and money isn't too much of a big deal (and you're primarily going to be a solitary gamer while commuting), I'd wait for the DS, since it will be able to play all single player GBA games out of the box.

Edit - to clarify, the NDS will not be able to play GB or GBC games, and will not be able to hook up to other GBAs or the GCN for GBA games featuring connectivity of any sort.
 
The DS can play GBA games.

There are still some good GBA games coming in 2005, but support won't get very far into the year.

Get a DS.
 
if you're mainly interested in gba games, the sp might have its advantages. the ds looks physically unwieldy, gba games won't even fill one of its screens, and of course it costs twice as much.
 
Awesome then, I'll wait and get a DS. So what if it's not gonna play GB and GBC games, I don't really care since it's GBA games I was interested in getting ie: Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, FF1&2 etc.. Woot!
 
drohne said:
if you're mainly interested in gba games, the sp might have its advantages. the ds looks physically unwieldy, gba games won't even fill one of its screens, and of course it costs twice as much.
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Hmm now you're making me think twice about it. I could get the sp and 2 games for the price of a DS.
 
CVXFREAK said:
The DS is the way to go.
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Yup. GBA is going to be dead next year, no point in buying an SP now. Malakhov, it may be true that you can get an SP and two games for the price of a DS, but when there's no new games coming out that are worth it (and there are few left coming out for the GBA even now), there's just no point, especially when the DS plays GBA titles.
 
It is my understanding that the DS looks bigger in pics than it is in real life. Craig C in that NDS thread lower down on this page has handled it on multiple occasions and claims that it is not heavy or uncomfortable to hold the NDS in one hand, when using the stylus with the other.

And you can CHOOSE which of the two screens GBA games will be displayed on. How badass is that? ;p

Edit : And don't forget Zelda Minish Cap in a few months! Rumor has it that there'll even be exclusive content only available when played on a DS!
 
Mejilan said:
Edit - to clarify, the GBA will not be able to play GB or GBC games, and will not be able to hook up to other GBAs or the GCN for GBA games featuring connectivity of any sort.
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You mean the DS, didn't want anyone to get confused...

If you're never going to be interested in DS games, just get the SP. If you think there's some chance you're going to want to upgrade in the future after seeing a DS title in action, get the DS. Either way, you can't really go wrong. Personally I would get the DS as many of the GBA's game series are continuing on the DS, so why not think ahead? If you find yourself like Advance Wars, FFI+II, etc, it won't be fun to not be able to play the latest of those (AWDS, FFIII, etc) when they arrive on the DS.
 
If you're not interested in anything on the DS, then now is the perfect time to buy an SP. They're at an excellent price.

And just to add (because I'm a slow fucker), who cares about new games when you have such a backlog of perfectly good GBA games?
 
I still had some old carts of gb games like tetris though so I couldnt play them on my DS. Urgh I don't know what to do.
 
kirby's pinball land, donkey kong '94, and tetris >>>>> the entire ds lineup. preemptively.

actually, those games are better than virtually anything on gba. :/
 
Any news on Final Fantasy III yet? Is it coming to North America for sure?

If you're a Final Fantasy fan, and FFIII is for sure coming to NA, then go for the DS.

How expensive are old Game Boy Color units? You could always pick up one of those. Would require a diet of AA batteries, though.
 
I think I'll go with the GBA:SP and get some games with it. I'll have enough of a backlog catalog of games to keep me well entertained until the DS goes down in price anyways.
 
Yeah Wufei, Beezy, I meant the NDS, sorry.

fallout said:
If you're not interested in anything on the DS, then now is the perfect time to buy an SP. They're at an excellent price.

And just to add (because I'm a slow fucker), who cares about new games when you have such a backlog of perfectly good GBA games?
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Because, with a NDS, you can have all of those awesome GBA games, and whatever awesome NDS games are likely to come out.

It's not fun buying a system that has no future support, imho. *remembers the Nomad*
 
Also a sound strategy.

They're charging $200 for a DS in Canada - there's plenty of room to go down, especially with the dollar as it is right now.
 
Malakhov said:
I think I'll go with the GBA:SP and get some games with it. I'll have enough of a backlog catalog of games to keep me well entertained until the DS goes down in price anyways.
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As long as you're sure you won't feel like an idiot about it the first time you see some DS game you'd REALLY like to play. I doubt it'll last all that long before such an incident occurs. Wait the two weeks and allow yourself access to the best of both worlds.
 
Well, personally, I'm getting a DS at launch. But that doesn't mean that everyone should. It all comes down to your situation and the preferences that come from that situation. I've played a ton of great GBA games while Malakhov has not. And the major factor of price still remains.

I'm not saying anything against the DS, but I figure that the safer bet would be an SP if you don't really know anything about the DS.
 
How is the NDS going to be $100 more than the SP, as someone mentioned in this thread. $79.99 or $149.99, right?
 
fallout said:
Well, personally, I'm getting a DS at launch. But that doesn't mean that everyone should. It all comes down to your situation and the preferences that come from that situation. I've played a ton of great GBA games while Malakhov has not. And the major factor of price still remains.

I'm not saying anything against the DS, but I figure that the safer bet would be an SP if you don't really know anything about the DS.
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Sure, I do understand. And technically I'm biased, I own a GBA and a GBA SP and have been enjoying them for years, collectively. It's just that Malakhov is essentially going to be using his handheld exactly how I'll be using mine. If I were in his position, even NOT knowing what kind of NDS games were coming out in the future, I'd be inclined to get the NDS over the SP thanks to its guaranteed backwards compatability.
 
Mejilan said:
How is the NDS going to be $100 more than the SP, as someone mentioned in this thread. $79.99 or $149.99, right?
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If I remember correctly, Malakhov is Canadian.
Up here, it's $99.99 for a SP and $199.99 for a DS.
 
explodet said:
If I remember correctly, Malakhov is Canadian.
Up here, it's $99.99 for a SP and $199.99 for a DS.
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Gotcha... gotcha. It's always irksome when multiple countries use the same currency symbol. :)
 
Mejilan said:
Sure, I do understand. And technically I'm biased, I own a GBA and a GBA SP and have been enjoying them for years, collectively. It's just that Malakhov is essentially going to be using his handheld exactly how I'll be using mine. If I were in his position, even NOT knowing what kind of NDS games were coming out in the future, I'd be inclined to get the NDS over the SP thanks to its guaranteed backwards compatability.
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Yeah. It's like getting a PSone instead of a PStwo. It makes little sense aside from price factor.
 
Hehe yeah sorry, I forgot to mention that I was canadian. The SP is $99 and the DS $199. The DS is $149 in the states so I find the Canadian pricing absolutely ridiculous.

I'm pretty sure now I'll go with the SP. A friend of mine works at walmart and next week they're getting a 20% discount so I'll get the SP at $80 instead of $99 and from there I'll be able to buy 3 or so games for the same price of a DS. Zelda ALTTP, FFTA here I come ;)
 
CVXFREAK said:
Yeah. It's like getting a PSone instead of a PStwo. It makes little sense aside from price factor.
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Particularly when the price factor is pretty much equivalent to only two games or so. It's a shame, really. But then again, not everyone has 100 or so GBA games!
 
Deg said:
GBASP is just better. Huge library of games and classics. Also cheaper and more compact.
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It doesn't make any difference when the DS plays GBA games and is still small enough to fit into your pocket.

This is a stupid discussion. The only thing better about the SP is its price. :P
 
I'm not even that high on the DS, but I know it would be a better investment. Any games you're interested in on the GBA (just FF?? there's much better than that) will have successors in the DS, plus the rest of the DS lineup itself. Which, while not immediately satisfying, has a good future, I'm sure. Lots of inevitable franchises and such.
 
Lyte Edge said:
It doesn't make any difference when the DS plays GBA games and is still small enough to fit into your pocket.

This is a stupid discussion. The only thing better about the SP is its price. :P
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Yep. That's what I was trying to say, in a nutshell. I like your nutshell better than mine, however. ;p
 
Lyte Edge said:
It doesn't make any difference when the DS plays GBA games and is still small enough to fit into your pocket.

This is a stupid discussion. The only thing better about the SP is its price. :P
Click to expand...

you'd rather play GBA games on a GBA. Plus you have multiplayer games which DS will not support. GBA is also much smaller and cheaper and has a better battery life.
 
Deg said:
you'd rather play GBA games on a GBA. Plus you have multiplayer games which DS will not support. GBA is also much smaller and cheaper and has a better battery life.
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Actually, I suspect that the battery life of the DS when playing GBA games will be largely the same as the SP. No wi-fi, no touch screen, and the 2nd screen won't even be powered on, for that matter.

Folded up, the NDS is about the size of a standard GBA, I believe. Certainly bigger than a folded up SP, but still small enough to fit in a pocket.
 
I'll have the SP for $80 instead of a DS for $199. Also, I've waited this long on getting a SP so I doubt I'll want another portable system THAT soon. I'm sure I can hold on until the DS is $100 or so.
 
Believe me, I completely understand the pros to buying a DS. I'm just trying to throw in some perspective on why it might not be the ideal purchase.

And besides, the SP has connectivity!

... stop laughing ...
 
fallout said:
Believe me, I completely understand the pros to buying a DS. I'm just trying to throw in some perspective on why it might not be the ideal purchase.

And besides, the SP has connectivity!

... stop laughing ...
Click to expand...

I'm a fan of connectivity. I put in my fair share of Four Swords Adventure, Crystal Chronicles, and even the gimmickier implementations such as Return of the King, Prince of Persia, Metroid Prime, etc.
 
Malakhov said:
I'll have the SP for $80 instead of a DS for $199.
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DS isn't $199; it's $150.

also it's worth mentioning that the backlighting on the DS screens makes it look quite a bit nicer for GBA than the frontlighting on the SP screen, IMO.
 
ferricide said:
DS isn't $199; it's $150.

also it's worth mentioning that the backlighting on the DS screens makes it look quite a bit nicer for GBA than the frontlighting on the SP screen, IMO.
Click to expand...
$199 Canadian.
 
Four Swords is one of the reasons I won't sell any one of my two SPs.

Nintendo DS seems like a safe bet unless you wanna be playing link up GBA games. If you want multiplayer, DS will be more accessible in that arena too. No extra purchases. Just user-friendly wifi goodness!
 
Mejilan said:
Oh oh. Worst reviewer evar!!!! didn't read the whole thread... [/sing-song] :D
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jesus christ you guys are fast. =P i was actually trying to edit my post but the forum didn't load quickly enough to get there before THREE replies. youch.

anyway to clarify i've actually played a fair bit of DS now and it really does look nicer for GBA games.
 
He's Canadian.

Anyway, it looks like you've already made up your mind, but if in the end the extra $100 Canadian isn't as big an issue as you originally thought you should grab that NDS. You've got a better screen for your GBA games (and two to choose from at that), stereo speakers built in for better GBA sound seperation, an (IMHO) better looking system, and you can play whatever kick ass NDS game at your leisure, without regret.
 
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