GBASP Hits Japan

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Game Boy Advance SP Video Feature
IGNpocket's Craig Harris goes hands on with the just-released-in-Japan GBA redesign.

February 14, 2003 - The day is here. The Game Boy Advance SP, the redesign of Nintendo's insanely popular Game Boy Advance system, has been released in Japan. The system, internally, is almost close to exactly what's already available in the Game Boy Advance system, only it's far more than the original. The Game Boy Advance SP features a much more compact shape with its foldable design, and more importantly, it also contains an element that honestly kept a whole lot of gamers from enjoying all there is in the Game Boy library; it has a frontlight over the LCD screen so that its games can be played in virtually any lighting condition.
The system is selling out all over Japan, as retailers have been reporting brisk sales on the Game Boy Advance SP. While it won't be long before the Japanese stores restock the system, right now, unless you've prepurchased the game system, chances are slim that you won't be able to get your mitts on a GBA SP until at least next week. Thankfully, videogame import house Upstate Games was gracious enough to send over a few units of our own so we can finally put the Game Boy Advance SP system to the test.

We've already given our thumbs-up with the device in our early hands-on with the Game Boy Advance SP last month, and that hasn't changed with the new unit. However, we wanted to do something special, so IGN's own Craig Harris, Editor-in-Chief of IGNpocket, has put together a video feature showing just how freakin' awesome the Game Boy Advance SP really is. We suggest you make haste and download the video special now.