Nintendo Hints at Game Boy's End

[Crossblades]

http://gameboy.ign.com/articles/708/708063p1.html

In an interview with Reuter's yesterday, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata said there may not be a successor to the Game Boy Advance.

"I would have a second thought about using our resources on what would be the next generation of Game Boy Advance, considering the strong support DS is now enjoying," Iwata said. "The Japanese game market is now evolving around DS. We don't need to do something that will pour cold water on the situation."

The news is significant as the Game Boy is the longest-running game system ever. Launched in 1989, the Boy and its many iterations have sold over 120 million units.

At its E3 booth this year, Nintendo is not showing any Game Boy or Gamecube games.

[KentaRawr!]

Once the DS dies, there will probably be another game boy. In other words, once I'm around 75, we'll have a new game boy to sink our teeth into.

I understand what they are saying though. They have been having a great success with the DS. No need to make another handheld.

[Shoeberto]

DS is the generation of Nintendo handhelds succeeding the Game Boy - even though it lacks the monicker, I still see it as a spiritual successor.

Which is to say, I don't care about branding. Nintendo hardware is Nintendo hardware, so whatever they decide to call every generation after this doesn't matter, so long as it's good

[Captain Maxx Power]

Can't I just have a simple games console? I don't want to use a pen, or launch a controller around like a lunatic.

[KentaRawr!]

Can't I just have a simple games console? I don't want to use a pen, or launch a controller around like a lunatic.

Well, there are some alternatives. One would be getting a different type of console, but if you want to play regularly on a Nintendo console, there are some games for the Ds which only use the D-Pad and Buttons. Such as Super Mario 64 Ds, Mario Kart DS, Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, and some more. For the Wii? ... Well, Nintendo was trying to show off the controller mostly at E3, so the only game we know of for the Wii that is confirmed to not use the Wiimote is Super Smash Bros. Brawl. o.o

However, I personally like using a stylus pen. I like it equally as I do using buttons. So I don't mind the gameboys temporary or permanent death, because I like the DS's way of playing. o.o And the DS really is the successor of the Gameboy. Nintendo just doesn't call it the sucsessor.

[Necronopticous]

Uh...This thread and announcement confuses me. Saying, "The news is significant as the Game Boy is the longest-running game system ever" is ridiculous because Game Boy really has nothing to do with Game Boy Advance, just as much as Game Boy Advance doesn't really have anything to do with the DS. They are entirely different handheld consoles, so this news really isn't important at all. Basically this is a pretentious way to announce "Our hand held consoles aren't going to be called Game Boy anymore." Who cares?

[Kawaii Ryûkishi]

When Nintendo first announced the DS they made some kind of statement that it wasn't supposed to be the next Game Boy, which sort of bred the belief that they were just going to do this dual screen song and dance for a bit before moving on to the Game Boy Next or whatever. But the DS has now turned out to be such a ridiculous success that it would clearly be a bad move to abandon the concept and that it would be much more promising to bring out the DS2 instead.

What I am saying is that this news should not surprise anyone.

[Ichimonji]

I think the DS is the Gameboy's successor. I mean, why else would it be able to play GBA games on it? It's basically a glorified upgrade of the Gameboy. All Nintendo's handheld consoles have been upgrades to its predecessor, except for the Micro of course.

[Nick Schovitz]

Stop lying Crossblades, it's not ending DS is too high so no one's buying it, and at E3 I saw Final Fantasy games for it and Yoshi's Island 2.

[Del Murder]

DS is the generation of Nintendo handhelds succeeding the Game Boy - even though it lacks the monicker, I still see it as a spiritual successor.

Which is to say, I don't care about branding. Nintendo hardware is Nintendo hardware, so whatever they decide to call every generation after this doesn't matter, so long as it's good

I agree. To me they're all Game Boys.

[Crossblades]

Stop lying Crossblades, it's not ending DS is too high so no one's buying it, and at E3 I saw Final Fantasy games for it and Yoshi's Island 2.

Excuse me, but I'm not the one who wrote the IGN article. The Final Fantasy game were shown at Square Enix's booth, NOT Nintendo's. And Yoshi's Island 2 is a DS game, NOT a GBA game, so it's your problem if you don't believe the article.

And the DS is doing a lot better than the PSP is, so yeah everyone is buying one

[jason913]

They really have no erason to make another Game Boy or portable anytime soon. A lot of people thought the DS was nothing more than a gimmick at first, designed to slow sales of the PSP until Nintendo could release their next Game Boy type portable, but the DS has proven it's worth in the marketplace.

[Roto13]

DS is the generation of Nintendo handhelds succeeding the Game Boy - even though it lacks the monicker, I still see it as a spiritual successor.

Which is to say, I don't care about branding. Nintendo hardware is Nintendo hardware, so whatever they decide to call every generation after this doesn't matter, so long as it's good

Nicely put. My thoughts exactly.

You know, I've been a fan of the game boy since I was 6. I've always had a Game Boy. This news doesn't make me at all sad. It's really just the death of a name, since the DS is Nintendo's current handheld.

[Sephex]

It doesn't matter to me. As long as Nintendo puts out a solid handheld with killer games, I am fine.

[Craig]

I don't see how it matters. It's just a name.

Can't I just have a simple games console? I don't want to use a pen, or launch a controller around like a lunatic.

Yes you can. It's pretty simple really. Just buy a Sony or Microsoft console.