Nintendo’s cash cow saw lots of green in 2003, selling 8.1 million units—enough to make it the No. 1 dedicated game hardware over GC, PS2, and Xbox for the year. Connectivity has begun paying off as games that require it—Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles, Pac-Man Vs., Pokémon Colosseum—hit stores. And the e-Reader…well, it even managed to be a little bit useful, providing new levels to Super Mario Bros. 3.
After a string of hits in ’03, the GBA is so far off to a slow start this year, with just one major release—February’s Metroid Zero Mission.
Extended Forecast
Although Nintendo swears that its DS portable will not affect GBA sales, there’s one thing that definitely will…Sony’s PSP. But that won’t stop at least a few excellent GBA titles from hitting in ’04, including perhaps the biggest in years—a new portable single-player Zelda adventure from the folks who brought you last year’s link-cable melee Four Swords. Also of note will be U.S. releases of the Pokémon remakes that just recently hit Japan.
Oh, and if you’re wondering when you’ll finally get that maize GBA you’ve always wanted…don’t worry. More GBA colors are in the pipeline.
