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Game Boy Advance SP
41X3B28XR7L
A Platinum (Silver) Game Boy Advance SP in frontlit (AGS-001)
Release Date JP February 14, 2003
Canada March 22, 2003
EU March 23, 2003
NA March 28, 2003
IND: March 2003
AU: April 10, 2003
CHN December 1, 2003
KO: January 18, 2004
Discontinued BRA: 2008
JP: November 18, 2008
EU: October 16, 2009
NA: December 9, 2009
AU: 2009
CHN: 2009
KO: 2009
TAI: 2009
IND: 2009
Predecessor Game Boy Color (1998-2003)
Game Boy Advance (2001-2009)
Successor Game Boy Micro (2005-2009)
Nintendo DS (2004-2014)

The Game Boy Advance SP is a redesigned version of the Game Boy Advance released in 2003. It features a built-in frontlight, a "clamshell" design, and a rechargeable battery.

In 2005, the system was re-released in North America and Europe with a backlit screen, the second such handheld in the series and the first to be released outside of Japan (the 1998 Game Boy Light was sold in Japan only). It remains one of the most popular systems in the Game Boy line.

Physical[]

  • The Game Boy Advance SP has a clamshell design, which was introduced by the Nintendo Game Watch series many years back. It has a standard Game Boy Advance Link Cable port on the top, along with a new style charging port (this port was also on the original DS, and chargers are cross-compatible). On the left side is a volume slider, on the bottom is the cartridge slot that accepts Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance game cartridges, and on the right side is an on/off switch. The buttons on the GBA SP were changed to a micro-switch style, similar to the buttons on the more modern 3DS family.
  • The GBA SP came in two different variations, the first being the front-lit model AGS-001. This model has a lit screen, although the colors appear washed out. The front light could be toggled on or off. The second variation was backlit, with significantly improved contrast and colors, and this was model AGS-101. Unlike the 001 model which the front light could be toggled on or off, the brightness on the 101 model could be toggled in "stun" or "kill" modes, which "stun" was low and "kill" was high, respectively. The AGS-101 model is known for being significantly more sought after than the 001 model, and thus can fetch high prices. The 101 model's backlight screen is similar to the backlight on the Game Boy Micro screen though the SP's backlit screen is larger.
  • The 001 (frontlit SP) models came in silver, blue, crimson red, and black. For the 101 (backlit SP) models came in graphite black, pearl pink, and pearl blue.
  • There were special edition colors released, such as a yellow Pikachu edition with a print of Pikachu on the lid, a red and white Famicom edition released only in Japan, and an NES themed NES edition.
  • The two different models can be told apart by A) looking at the information sticker on the bottom of the system, B) the color (the black variants are different, the 101 in black has a more cool tone than the 001) or C) by looking at the screens (turned on, the 101 looks significantly better, turned off the 101 screen is a deep black while the 001 screen is a yellow-gray color).

Special Edition Variants[]

Tribal edition:

Tribal

NES edition:

Gbasp nes classic

Famicom edition:

Famicom

Zelda edition:

5444445

Trivia[]

  • The Game Boy Advance SP was released in North America on the day that the Game Boy and Game Boy Color were discontinued.
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