Complete details: 32-bit, thousands of colours, backward compatibility, and, yes, the release date

Nintendo have announced the successor to their immensely successful Game Boy handheld. The tentatively titled Game Boy Advance is currently being prepped for a release by the end of 2000.

Game Boy Advance will be a backward-compatible 32-bit handheld, utilising a RISC CPU developed by the Cambridge, UK-based ARM Corporation - a company responsible for developing CPUs for cellular phones. The system will feature a non-backlit, reflective TFT colour LCD screen, and the capacity to display up to 65,000 colours on screen at once. All Game Boy and Game Boy Color games will play on the Game Boy Advance, but software developed exclusively for the Game Boy Advance will not work on older models.

Not only are Nintendo planning to make the Game Boy Advance a powerful handheld, they also have big plans for connectivity. The system will be able to connect to cellular phones to access the Internet, which will enable gamers to download games, participate in multiplayer action, chat and exchange email with friends. Nintendo are also planning to release an advanced version of the Game Boy Camera, which will let other gamers see the face of the person they're playing.

Nintendo will set up a development studio, with staff from both Nintendo and Konami, to create software that will take advantage of the connection capabilities between the Game Boy Advance and the upcoming 128-bit Dolphin console, also due out at the end of 2000.



Courtesy of IGN.com