Game Boy Micro

The Nintendo Game Boy Micro was a major reconstruction and redesign of the Nintendo Game Boy Advance. This unit was designed to emphasise on the image conscious consumer and was small, as well as sleek. During development, the Nintendo Game Boy Micro was known as codename Oxygen.

This re-release of the Nintendo Game Boy Advance that was known to the world as the Nintendo Game Boy Micro, was officially available in 2005 at the E3 press conference. This unit was then later released in Japan, only a few months later, after the press conference. This was also released throughout North America and Europe and in China by the end of 2005.

As compared to the Nintendo Game Boy Advance SP, Nintendo Game Boy Micro was released for $20 more. Originally only available in two colours, which included black and silver, a 20^th anniversary edition would later be released in 2006. Throughout the lifespan of the Nintendo Game Boy Micro, there would be a total of 10 special release edition colours of this handheld game console.

The Nintendo Game Boy Micro, featured all the same functions as the standard Game Boy Advance SP, but the handheld unit was just an updated version. This handheld game console is only slightly larger than the Apple iPod mini but actually weighs two thirds the weight. This also featured a backlit screen, as well as a removable faceplate so that the consumers could customise the Nintendo Game Boy Micro to their own personal needs.

This release of the Nintendo Game Boy Micro is also capable of handling the Nintendo Game Boy Advance cartridges. The only major difference between the Nintendo Game Boy Micro is that it was known as backwards compatible with the Nintendo Game Boy Advance. What this meant was that it was not capable of playing games for the Game Boy or the Nintendo Game Boy Colour.

When the Nintendo Game Boy Micro was released in China, consumers actually purchased over 170,000 units in the first day alone. In North America, however, there are some major issues with the formal release date, as most of the stores actually ignored the release date and postponed the release of the Nintendo Game Boy Micro for 7 days.

When this unit was finally available to the consumers of the video gaming industry, it had great reviews. This unit featured a backlit screen, which was considered to be far more superior to the initial Game Boy Advance SP. It is also considered better as you are capable of adjusting the brightness more evenly and also it features a smaller dot pitch which improves the resolution of the backlit screen.

Although the Nintendo Game Boy Micro was highly praised, it also had some criticism due to the fact that it used a non-standard port. Of course the main reasons why this port was not standard, was the fact that this handheld game console was only slightly larger than the Apple iPod mini. What this meant was that none of the accessories were capable of being shared with the Nintendo Game Boy Advance SP. This also included the fact that there was no interchange ability between the power supplies of the Nintendo Game Boy Micro and the Nintendo Game Boy Advance SP. According to Nintendo, this handheld console did not meet Nintendo's expectations. Representatives of the Nintendo Corporation also stated that it was their fault for failing to explain the value and uniqueness of this handheld to their consumers.