March 2001: Dawn Of The Game Boy Advance

In March 2001, twelve years after they launched the first Game Boy in Japan, Nintendo unfolded Game Boy Advance (GBA), a pocket-size, handheld console with a bright colorful look to it. But apart from its fun appearance, it was, above all, packed full of technology. It weighed less than 150 grams but was as powerful as the earlier-generation home models like N64, PS One, etc.

This little machine actually has a complete list of games, all the more because it is compatible with all those that came with the earlier Game Boys. The publishers have their act together, as many cult games are regularly adapted for the Game Boy Advance. Mario, Rayman, Bomberman and Crash Bandicoot are just some of the characters on the Nintendo system. But the GBA also has versions of many games which are released at the same time on Xbox, PS2 and GameCube. Furthermore, it can also be used as a pad for GameCube. If you have the GBA and GameCube versions of the same game, you can exchange data between the two machines and win bonuses.