History and Development of the GBA - 1994 - 2001
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 มิ.ย. 2024
- Take a deep dive into the development history of the GBA, starting in 1994, and ending with its release in 2001! Find out about prototypes, dev kits, unreleased console variations and more! Enjoy.
Video contents:
00:00 Intro / Background
00:45 1994 - Arm and the Atlantis Project
05:48 1996 - Game Boy Life Support... / Competition Approaches!
06:31 1998 - Game Boy Color releases, GBA Development Begins!
09:44 1999 - Dev Kits Sent Out / Preparing For Launch!
11:33 2000 - Spaceworld / ECTS Reveals!
14:48 -2001 - The GBA Is Finally Here! Launch / My Memories
The Game Boy Advance is one of the most iconic handheld gaming consoles of all time. Launched in 2001, it was Nintendo's first 32-bit handheld and boasted an impressive library of games. But the GBA's development story is a fascinating one, with a rich history dating back to the mid-1990s.
In 1994, Nintendo began talks with British chip manufacturer ARM to supply new chips for their next generation handheld, codenamed Project Atlantis. The rumors at the time were ambitious, suggesting the console would feature a 32-bit CPU, 3D graphics rivalling the PlayStation and Saturn, and a 30-hour battery life. But after a while, the rumors began to fade away, and Nintendo continued to release upgraded versions of the classic Game Boy line.
By the late 1990s, however, the technology was looking outdated, and competitors were beginning to emerge. In 1998, the Game Boy Color and SNK's Neo Geo Pocket both released, prompting Nintendo to officially begin work on the Game Boy Advance. It took the next two years to develop and finish the GBA internally, and it was finally released to the public in 2001.
The GBA was actually the direct successor to the cancelled Project Atlantis, rather than the Game Boy Color. It also used an ARM processor, the ARM7DMI, which was an upgraded version of the 710 that was going to be used in Project Atlantis. The GBA also had four buttons instead of the GBC's two, with the X and Y buttons swapped for shoulder buttons instead.
Nintendo began sending out GBA development kits to potential developers in 1999, and by the end of the year, they had already sent out over 1,000 boards. Gaming news website IGN got a hands-on with one of these boards for an article at the time, giving us a glimpse of what developers would have been working with.
In 2000, Nintendo publicly announced the GBA at a conference at their own show called Spaceworld in Japan. The event spanned several days and was open to the public as well as the press. There were several unreleased color variants of the system shown off, including clear with blue buttons, silver with blue buttons, and clear purple with orange buttons. There was also a berry red variation, which while not shown off at Spaceworld, was given out with Dev kits.
Finally, in 2001, the GBA was launched worldwide. It was the first console many people got on launch day and had a library of games that many still hold dear today. Its legacy can still be felt in the world of handheld gaming, and it's a testament to Nintendo's ability to create consoles that stand the test of time.
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I just ordered an all white GBA! And trying to program my own game. Great video!
And one year later you made a 3D engine for GBA, kuddos to you 😁 I'd love to see a series of tutorials to setup a development environment and understand the basics of GBA development. Not being a low level developer, its hard to grasp. I'm not asking for it, I just felt like there is a need for it to inspire a new and great wave of GBA homebrew games. Wish you good luck with your project, its amazing to follow ❤
The Gameboy Advance has always been one of my favorite handhelds, I can't remember a time growing up where I didn't have my GBA SP in my pocket so it's nice to learn more about the development and history of it all!
It's so funny to me how different everyone's experiences are. I never had or even really knew about handhelds until about a decade ago. I had an N64 growing up but had never seen a Gameboy. I just got my first and only GBA last fall, and it's so fun to dig through other people's nostalgia to pick games to try.
What're your favorites?
Seeing Rayman on GBA blew my mind as a kid - I knew it was a PC game that shipped on a CD so seeing it in a cartridge was amazing
Looking forward to your DS history video! Its a subject I think is lacking on TH-cam
Gorgeous video !!!
As a mega fan of the GBA i really appreciated your work.
Nice !
I remember buying my GBA back in 2010, man I played soo much holy hell
I preferred the form factor of the original GBA over the SP.
The original is definitely comfier, but I do like the clamshell design too..
it seems to me that most people are fondest of the sp, between the two. i never had a handheld as a kid so i don't have nostalgia over any of the designs, and to me the sp actually looks more like a toy than the gba. (the metallic sparkle finishes probably have to do with that as well, i saw a dark grey one once, and it looked very nice, like a tiny 90s toshiba laptop)
I’ve had both the sp is more portable and sleeker and the OG advance is comfier for longer gaming sessions
And I’m one of the nutcases that prefers the Gameboy Micro😉
@@otterqueer a true mad lad
You are the best, thank you for these well scripted videos. I've said before, you really take a subject I have found off-putting and gate-keeping for years, and you make it not only digestible but fun and exciting. I so appreciate the way you break things down without getting into the weeds, and you keep things very easy to follow. Thank you for years of awesome videos. You're awesome possum. - Hannah
Thank you so much! It's actually extremely difficult to take all this information and structure it in an approachable way, so I'm glad the effort was worthwhile! :D
@@RetroBreak You do an amazing job on a very consistent basis. I felt overwhelmed and honestly annoyed by a lot of the video game content and even friends pushing games on me for a while, but you bring an honest and genuine joy to the discussion that I find so refreshing. To top it off, you put energy into doing a great job editing and like I said, scripting is the absolute best. I never feel like you've dumbed anything down, I almost always learn something, and you're very articulate in how you organize your ideas. Keep it up, sir, soon 30k shall be yours, then who knows what else.
Fascinating insight on the Atlantis project! And regarding design, I do think the regular Game Boy Advance looks the best and it´s also comfortable for my hands. Too bad about that dark screen though 😆
Thanks glad you enjoyed it! Wanted to talk about Atlantis for a long time! And yeah everything except the screen is great about the original GBA! Good thing is, there’s loads of cool screen mods these days! :D
It wouldn't all fit in the description, so here's all the websites I used to research for this video! Hope you learned something new, and enjoy these resources to find out even more!
References:
Nintendo's Portable History: Part 4, Game Boy Advance & Beyond
www.pocketgamer.com/history-of-nintendo/nintendos-portable-history-part-4-game-boy-advance-beyond/
Nintendo’s Original Game Boy Successor Was Not The GBA
mynintendonews.com/2016/04/19/nintendos-original-game-boy-successor-was-not-the-gba/
The development of the final GBA didn’t start until the Game Boy Color was released. It only took about two years.
Project Atlantis)
nintendo-online.de/upload/images/2016/03/09/110326906656e03cc6097c88-22465637.jpg
GDC
Masato Kuwahara talk
www.gdcvault.com/play/1442/The-Inspiration-Behind-Nintendo-DSi
sm64-conspiracies.fandom.com/wiki/Project_Atlantis
Arm710 Chip Development - By Dave Jäger
Video:
th-cam.com/video/_6sh097Dk5k/w-d-xo.html
Talking about Nintendo: th-cam.com/video/_6sh097Dk5k/w-d-xo.html
Worked with Nintendo in 1994!
Game Boy Advance Finally Unveiled
www.ign.com/articles/2000/08/24/game-boy-advance-its-finally-unveiled
Game Boy Advance History
en.gbasp.ru/historygba.html
Game Boy Advance Development Kit Revealed
www.ign.com/articles/2000/08/22/game-boy-advance-development-kit-revealed
Hard4Games GBA Dev Kit Video:
th-cam.com/video/ezffQA6Ir38/w-d-xo.html
Behind The Code IS AGB Dev Kit:
th-cam.com/video/US2UwNcLXnY/w-d-xo.html
GBA Dev Team Interview:
www.ign.com/articles/2000/09/14/game-boy-advance-developer-team-interview
Prototype Spaceworld 2000
www.gameinformer.com/2020/09/16/rare-gameboy-advance-prototype-pops-up-during-auction
Rare Gameboy Advance Prototype Pops Up During Auction - Game Informer
Spaceworld 2000 footage
th-cam.com/video/vAENsimS65o/w-d-xo.html
Hard 4 games prototype console: th-cam.com/video/A--RJU9Q-gc/w-d-xo.html
(28) FOUND! Game Boy Advance Space World Prototype! - TH-cam
TS2 Dev board / prototype
www.retroreversing.com/game-boy-advance-development-kit/
www.retroreversing.com/game-boy-advance-development-kit/
August 2000 - IGN Dev kit:
www.ign.com/articles/2000/08/22/game-boy-advance-development-kit-revealed
IGN first hands on: web.archive.org/web/20000510085911/pocket.ign.com/news/18966.html
Wide-boy 64
nesworld.com/n64-wideboyagb-1.php
devkits.handheldmuseum.com/GBA_Wideboy.htm
Hard4Games:
th-cam.com/video/LqnFZR0Dn8U/w-d-xo.html
Purple GBA prototype
th-cam.com/video/DeHubrEFxt0/w-d-xo.html
A History of The ARM Microprocessor | Dave Jaggar
th-cam.com/video/_6sh097Dk5k/w-d-xo.html
Satoru Okada:
www.nintendo.co.jp/nom/9902/b_box/staff/index.html
Interview with Game Boy Color Project Manager (nintendo.co.jp)
Japanese interviews site:
www.nintendo.co.jp/nom/0009/01/index.html
This is the Game Boy Advance!! ~Announcement of topical specs~ (nintendo.co.jp)
GBA Dev:
www.nintendo.co.jp/nom/0009/03/inter_01.html
This is how Advance was made! ~Game Boy Advance Developer Interview PART2~ (nintendo.co.jp)
ESCTS 2000:
www.rllmukforum.com/index.php?/topic/294475-found-some-old-photos-of-ects-2000/
Nintendo - Project Atlantis
Alternatehistory.com
www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/nintendo-project-atlantis.433361/
GBA Widely
www.ign.com/articles/2000/04/13/gba-wide-boy-advance-in-the-works
GBA Dev Kits:
www.retroreversing.com/game-boy-advance-development-kit/
twitter.com/_behindthecode/status/1367609733138550794?s=61&t=a6D3ZPLKk8q8BlWMtxb6mA
Hard 4 games clear purple prototype:
th-cam.com/video/DeHubrEFxt0/w-d-xo.html
Red GBA dev unit:
consolevariations.com/variation/prototype/game-boy-advance-dev-kit-red-edition
IS Dev kit video:
th-cam.com/video/US2UwNcLXnY/w-d-xo.html
ECTS 2000
www.eurogamer.net/ects2k-diary
www.rllmukforum.com/index.php?/topic/294475-found-some-old-photos-of-ects-2000/
Gamestars Live (Nintendo magazine DVD)
th-cam.com/video/R1cpLVUKuVE/w-d-xo.html
Wideboy64 - Hard4Games (again!)
th-cam.com/video/LqnFZR0Dn8U/w-d-xo.html&t=1s
Early wide-boy version:
www.nesworld.com/n64-wideboyagb-1.php
Wonderswan advert:
WonderSwan (Launch) Japanese Commercial
th-cam.com/video/Qyxv2KRikec/w-d-xo.html
Retroversing
www.retroreversing.com/game-boy-advance-development-kit/
Hope you all enjoyed the video! If you want more handheld history, check this new book out! www.lostincult.co.uk?aff=27
(Affiliate link)
I think I like the Atlantis title over Advance, but the Game Boy Advance SP is my top GB ever! To this day I only travel with my GB Advance SP. All my other handhelds stay home. No more batteries was a huge moment for me. This was an awesome history of my favorite Handheld of all time! As always, thanks for the Retro Break!
Thanks for watching, glad you enjoyed the history! I agree Atlantis is a great name!
23 years ago Game Cube was released 20 years ago GBA / GBA SP was released we’re getting old
12:40 🤤🤤🤤
The GBA is my absolute favourite handheld console! As a kid I never owned one but as an adult 20 years later I finally bought a modded one 😂 This is the first time I‘m seeing this colour way, clear shell and blue buttons, and now I‘ll mod my GBA to this colour way for sure.
The original GBA is my first video game console/handheld
Amazin video!! Great work , love it.
Great video! Thank you so much for everything you do
This video has some excellent quality. Wish you the best to get more views! Your passion is evident in all your videos I've seen so far, keep it up!
Glad you enjoyed it! :D I hope this video will pick up over time, I'm planning to make more of these history videos, so hopefully once there's a good playlist, I'll keep getting new views
I LOVE the design of the original gba, it is so much more comfortable to hold than the sp
when I play gba games nowadays, I use a modded (backlit) version of the original gba
Thanks man here's interesting video and lot of new Ingrid that I don't hear somewhere else :)
That's a cool retrospective, it really brought back the memories of seeing the GBA being announced and waiting for it to finally release!
Thanks so much for your informative input that was really great. Over the years I’ve had most of the different hand helds and still have most of them but I was always a bit disappointed by the lack of backlighting. I loved collecting all the various games and types though and found my favourite was the GBA SP. I hated playing GBA games on the DS as it just didn’t work for me having one blank screen felt all wrong. As a Pokémon fan I have always wanted a Japanese Pikachu version of the GBA SP and yesterday I managed to purchase a re-shelled one where Pikachu’s cheeks light up on a sensor, it’s called a Cheekachu GBA SP. This one features a bright adjustable backlit screen so I’m really hoping that it will be a pleasure to play my collection of GBA cartridges on. It’s a shame that Nintendo didn’t feature or make any of the handhelds with the backlight as it made gameplay very difficult. I think they eventually released one that did have a backlight but I don’t think it was very bright and was also quite limited to get hold off. These past few days I have been playing my GBA carts on a GameCube Player on the big screen and it’s been really fun but original Gameboy games and Gameboy colour games don’t translate very well in my opinion. I wish Nintendo would revisit the GBA SP with today’s technology I bet they could recreate it with some brilliant features with their iconic and timeless clam shell design which in my opinion was definitely the best in the series. I do enjoy playing on my switch but it’s quite big and bulky just to slip into your pocket to carry around for a quick game fix. As for the shows and expos I went to the launch of PlayStation 2 in London and it was very similar to your footage. I was definitely an adult in a sweet shop and had already spent a ton of money as soon as I stepped foot in the door and received a carrier bag of free demos.
Great video Nick! Very informative 🕹️
Great video dude really enjoyed it
This is a really cool different type of vid, can’t wait for more of these!
There's more coming! :D Currently working on a DS one! And WonderSwan too! Hope you look forward to them
I remember in a game magazine we had, they said that because the GBSA was horizontal, it would surely fail.
Awesome video on my favorite handheld. I prefer the ergonomics of the original GBA and have modded a couple of them for use today with basically all new parts except the main screen. I has 2 unmodded SP's as well, but I gave one of them to a friend. Please keep up the awesome work!
Great videos I was at the UK show and my pic was in EDGE playing the GBA.
That's a really cool history lesson on the gba😃very well done Nick🙂
Thanks! 😃 glad you enjoyed it!
Great video!
Awesome channel!
The Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance were two handheld gaming consoles released by Nintendo between 1998 and 2001. The Game Boy Color was an upgraded version of the original Game Boy, featuring a color screen and enhanced processing power. In contrast, the Game Boy Advance was the successor to the Game Boy Color, boasting even more processing power and a higher-resolution screen.
During this period, many game developers sought to release their games on both consoles, taking advantage of the different capabilities and audiences of each. Some games were exclusive to one console, while others were released for both.
However, there was a drawback exclusive games only released for Game Boy Color became popular in titles like "Pokémon Crystal", "Super Mario Bros. Deluxe", "The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages/Oracle of Seasons", and "Wario Land" games that cause sequels to go on the Game Boy Advance causing a rift in graphics and storylines.
These games utilized the different capabilities of the two consoles, offering more advanced graphics or additional features in some versions.
The release of both the Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance expanded the range of games available for Nintendo's handheld consoles and played a significant role in the success of future handheld gaming systems. However, the introduction of the Game Boy Advance in 2001 presented a new challenge for Nintendo, as it threatened to make the Game Boy Color obsolete. To address this challenge, Nintendo continued to support both systems for several years, releasing new games for both and introducing the Game Boy Advance SP, a redesigned version of the Game Boy Advance with a backlit screen and a foldable design.
The release of both the Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance within a short period presented both challenges and opportunities for Nintendo. The Game Boy Color upgrade in 1998 allowed Nintendo to extend the life of the Game Boy brand and maintain its dominance in the handheld gaming market. However, the significant leap forward in handheld gaming technology represented by the Game Boy Advance threatened to make the Game Boy Color obsolete.
Nintendo successfully navigated these challenges by continuing to support both systems for several years and introducing the Game Boy Advance SP. This redesign with a backlit screen and foldable design helped to extend the life of the Game Boy brand and ensure that Nintendo remained the dominant player in the handheld gaming market.
Overall, the release of both the Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance expanded the range of games available for Nintendo's handheld consoles and played a significant role in the success of future handheld gaming systems. Nintendo's continued support for both systems and the introduction of the Game Boy Advance SP allowed the company to maintain its position as the leader in the handheld gaming market.
Thank you for the video, really interesting. I love handhelds and the GBA is one of my favourites with such a great format and massive library. I was hoping that Geeks-line would do some handheld books but alas, but at least they recently reprinted their GameCube book, one of my favourite home consoles.
Hopefully they do some handheld books in the future! :)
I remember the silver Space World models which Hard4Games also showed at some point from magazines at the time.
Always wanted one of those, eventually I got the clear purple one which we sold after mom got me the metallic blue GBA SP.
For that, I still have the indigo one, however some batteries leaked years ago, I can no longer use it :(
Loved the GBA GameCube connectivity too!
Thought that feature was so cool!
oooooh a documentary style video.nicely done.
I genuinely think that the GBA has one of the most important libraries in video game history, and the GBA SP is Nintendo's most important revision
GBA is the beginning of modern Nintendo in my opinion. A massive shift in design philosophy and modernised a lot of old ideas
Great content as always, man. I suggest to give a look to the Game Boy Player history. It is awesome too. Form SNES (two versions of GB player there) to GameCube. 🤗 (Looking forward for the DS history video.)
Thanks! I'm actually planning a video on ways to play GB / GBA games on a TV! (There's some really interesting unofficial ways too!) So the history of Super GB and GB Player will be made... one day! :D DS video first thought I think!
@@RetroBreak, awesome! I modded some of my game boys with IPS screens and also HDMI out. After the experience playing it on HDMI TV I suggest everyone to play on Game Boy Player and emulators.
Wonderful video. I love the passion. Personally I prefer the GBA because of the horizontal setup. The GBA SP is just too cramped.
The accessory came out in June 11, 2001. I have my Game Boy Advance since October 2001, when I lived in Texas. Now 22 years later, I still own it and play it. It was my 3rd Game Boy console and 3rd handheld gaming console, after the Nintendo Game Boy and Game Boy Color. The accessory lets me play all Game Boy Advance games, Game Boy and Game Boy Color games. Super Mario Advance on the GBA blew my mind and I beat the game. I know it was a port of Super Mario Bros. 2, based on the Super Mario All-Stars remake, also contains a remake of Mario Bros. I still have my GB, GBC, and GBA games. I didn't get a Game Boy Advance SP but not yet (It will be in my room one day, along with my GBA, the original GB, Game Boy Pocket and Game Boy Color). That was about 20 years ago, but I'm just trying to get back in the into the GB, GBC, GBA library and developing my Game Boy/Game Boy Advance family line, and playing my Game Boy, and Game Boy Color games on TV one day.
Why though ?
I had gameboy, gameboyadvance and gameboy advance SP back then.. I love those system even it not powerful at their time but huge game library..
This is excellent timing for me, I just got back into the GBA library. I'm about to break out the soldering iron and finish my original GBA mod so my backlit screen has adjustable brightness and my shoulder button switches are replaced with super clicky ones. Golden Sun is up next after my quick run through of A Link to the Past.
Nice! Good luck with your mod!
The PSP is the reason that pushed the GBA into early retirement with the release of the Nintendo DS. At the time, prior to GBA, Nintendo essentially had a monopoly on the hand held market, as rivals were no where selling close to what gameboy/GBC were doing.
New here cool video 😎 do you mess with Sonys handhelds like the psp or vita? Would you ever do a history video on those?
Glad you found me! Yeah I enjoy Sony’s handhelds too! Maybe I’ll do a history video at some point for them :)
@@RetroBreak that would be sweet. great video i recently got back into the gba again and your channel showed up on my home page. Cheers 🍻
I don’t mean to be rude and give unsolicited advice but this video would have had so many more views if you had a better title! Such a deep and interesting story, really well explained and documented. This is the first I’ve ever heard of the Atlantis!
Any idea what title I could use?
@@RetroBreak I don’t think you’re a click baity style creator but an example of what made me comment is Thoughty2 titles. That channel has really figured out thumbnail + title to get clicks (in sort of a cringey way but I think there’s a way to find influence from them without going full click bait). Their content is usually pretty good but not as juicy as the title makes you think.
I just felt like this video had so many interesting details, especially the potential timeline-changing aspect of launching such an advanced product like the Atlantis at that time.
@itsamegrabbins so do you have any ideas for titles? I’d be happy to change it if you can think of anything better..
@@RetroBreak I have some ideas! Going to email you from the contact page on your site.
@itsamegrabbins thanks just seen the email! I’ll give it a proper read in the week, thanks for the advice! :)
I bet the TH-camr Dawn & Dusk would be down to do a translation of that Japanese only video of prototypes. He’s a one piece TH-camr who is a native Japanese speaker and professional media translator.
The ARM talk is about external memory. In the end the GBA had cache. ARM 7 from 2000 only needs half the number of transistors than a 68k from 1980. So you could use all the rest for cache. The 32 bit in ARM are packed with information. Maybe improve the compiler instead to cripple the CPU?
They should have used a hardware decompressor when the code is loaded from the cartridge.
I’m no expert on how chips work, but in the talk he mentioned creating a layer called Thumb which reduced the instruction set down to 16bit, while maintaining 32bit overall, so it could be cheaper to run on a mobile chipset, I think that’s something that helped the GBA games run in a smaller memory size
@@RetroBreak The sad thing about this is that SEGA already had SH2 chips from Hitachi in 1994 with smaller code than even Thumb. There was no mode switch. So the developers don't have to decide what they convert to thumb and what not. Sega 32x from 1994 had small, fast RISC code.
Great video on the gameboy advance. I was thinking about picking one up and adding it to my retro collection. I have never heard anyone explain what the shoulder buttons are used for though. Are they really needed to play games?
yeah, lots of games use it for L and R. Mario kart uses it for items and drift. There is Drill Dozer that uses it to control your drill, which is your weapon on the game.
@@izzy4492 I'm probably just going to look for one that I can restore then. I have seen where a lot of people have the shoulder button issues so I will just replace them first thing then.
I prefer the form factor of the original GBA. Less hand cramps. All it needed was a backlight and it was perfect. I did purchase the backlight kit for mine. I wish Nintendo had stuck with the GBA longer. I preferred it over the DS family.
What is that 3ds cover? Where do you get it!? at 3:00
I agree when you hear anybody say that the original GBA design is the best, I did pick up a GBA SP later and even though I think it looks really cool, it was not my favorite to hold and play on..
I slaughtered/sacrificed my original GBA for the Intec Gaming HD kit. Sadly the kit's video quality is so terrible and the bluetooth controller support disconnects so much that it's useless
Damn, that sucks :( I remember seeing it on kickstarter and thinking it was a cool idea!
just noticed but i think your copy of fire red at 7:00's a reproduction
it's got a translucent red shell
this video was still an amazing watch that i seriously enjoyed!
Makes me mad to this day that the states never got the gameboy light. A front light gameboy would've been great. I wonder why the color and horizontal advance not have front lit screens when the gameboy lite was a thing?
What's the name of the website with the timeline?...
I love(d) the look of the original GBA, but a friend had it and it was virtually unplayable with the unlit screen. I did buy the SP when it came out, and used it a lot in public transport. On the hand I’d still like to own a GBA with backlight mod, and also a Micro. But at the same time I know that I wouldn’t really use them. Emulation is so much more convenient!
Im playing Grand theft Auto Advance right now and its so sick lol
The phone that was designed looks very similar to the ones used in the matrix
3:09 Not really. Obviously it has to be big to have that large display.
the pose 😂😂😂
Would Nintendo Alantis release a TV tuner as well if the screen was backlit.
It might have done! The Game Gear had one!
Considering the time it was developed, the Atlantis would have probably launched at a ludicrous price and/or with a terrible battery life, two factors that killed so many of their competitors on arrival. Plus the flop of the Virtual Boy must have given them cold feet on releasing new handheld.
The GBA got a lot 3d games but the batteries got not drained. The GBA copied the AtariJaguar. The latter has two linebuffers so that it can display SuperScalar games using minimal memory. On the former the LCD has no vertical retrace, so no dedicated time slot to draw sprites. None of it can draw polygons fast.
True, the GBA did have quite a few 3D games, but it was all done in software as far as I’m aware. It was built as a 2D machine first and foremost. Have you seen the Raylight studios 3D games and demos? Super impressive stuff! And 3DSage is doing some cool GBA 3D programming here on YT too!
@@RetroBreak Software needs more energy per frame as dedicated hardware. Dedicated video decoder hardware lets me binge watch through the night, while software decoders spin up the fan. I think that it is great that Nintendo has support for the 2d tile base backgrounds because almost every (2d) game uses these.
3d is memory hungry, but SEGA used tile based rendering on Dreamcast as did Apple in their iPhone. Here the fast CPU would check which tile (of the background) is (partially) covered by a polygon. For low poly the result fits into GBA memory. Then the hardware would draw row of background tiles.
GBA has such a low number of pixels. Nintendo could have included a core fragment shader from the N64 ( which ran at 70 MHz in 1996?? ). The rasterizer could just write tupels into a buffer ( texture-coords -> x,y (within the tile), z, light). We don't need complicated shaders. Then MergeSort by x, y, z. Then per pixel render front to back with alpha and fetch textures on demand. Sort avoids the expensive dynamic memory management. Even FSAA within a pixel and ClearType would be possible ( no sub pixel z sort though ).
U couldn’t even see the screen
It's getting old, give us an upgrade.....
Nintendo..... How about the same, just with a slightly different screen?
Rinse and repeat
Argh! Stop pronouncing SNES as a word! It's "es en ee es" or "Super Nintendo."
That’s only how people in America say it for some reason
@@RetroBreak I know it's really not that big of a deal, but for some reason it really triggers me 🤣