Gaming Anyone Interested in a GBA Game Club?

[Bart Lemming]

It really saddens me that the GBA seems to be pretty much forgotten in any practical sense. Everyone's all about the original GB these days and all the flashcart/homebrew interest is on the DS. There aren't even that many GBA reviews on Youtube (though there are playthroughs but they're dull!). So, I thought maybe if there are enough souls floating around here thinking the same as me we could start a Game of the Month Club or, for older arcade games, a High Score Club. What do you guys think? Is it worth bothering with?

 

[FAST6191]

I am not sure I can agree with an assessment of the GBA is forgotten. At some level maybe some of the games are but its legacy will be felt for years to come, in some ways perhaps more than the DS. On the GBA and youtube... I never really had problems finding reviews/footage for the game of the week/GBAtemp book game club stuff. The problem might be more that the GBA was ending just as youtube was rising; internet wise other than IGN nothing else from the GB era internet (which also had dead tree as a thing that still mattered mind you) but plenty of the GBA stuff from the time, from just after and beyond still exists.

Also GBA emulation is great, cheats are common enough to help speed things up, the video itself is in a nice aspect ratio for such things, video editing is easier than ever, it happened in the internet era so info is still easy to come by (try to track down what happened to some Amiga devs (at least those not responsible for big companies or big games) some time.... there are some 2200 English games, so by the time you dropped dupes, added in non English games you can still play, added in ROM hacks, added in the extensive library of homebrew you are at that or more.

Likewise no flashcart/homebrew interest.... now I willing to grant many people could have got along with things and maybe also used a 3 in 1 (the DSi and the "must have the newest" notion putting an end to that) but the amount of EZ4 support, finding and fiddling I have done over the last year and a bit compared to the points from late 2009 until then has been far higher.

 

[Bart Lemming]

^
So, I take it that'll be a no then?

I don't really want to get into a debate here as it wasn't the intention of the thread but if it's not 'forgotten' how come there are only ever the same half dozen faces popping up in the GBA forum? I admit there are people who drop in and make a couple of posts but they're usually about either flashcarts ('cos there aren't any!) and screen upgrades for GBC's. I'm being a little facetious but hopefully you get my point. On any number of retro forums there are lots of posts about every other system but there are rarely any regarding the GBA that actually go anywhere. Take (for the convenience of my point!) the Retrocollect forum. The GBA Collectors thread was last posted in 2 years ago!

As for the Youtube situation; there is lots of video content but so little of it has any real substance. I admit it's kinda similar for the GB range in general. Hours of LP's and lots of 90 second snippet vids but there's nothing talking about GBA games in the same way people dissect, say, SNES games.

Maybe the system's still a little too young... Once all the GBA players or yore hit their 30's maybe we'll see a little more 'meaty' content.

I could go on and on and I'm pretty sure you could too so I'll just leave it there.

So, would you take part in a HSC or GOTW thing? If you would that would make a whole two of us so far!

 

[FAST6191]

As for the Youtube situation; there is lots of video content but so little of it has any real substance.

In context, out of context... it works either way.

As for the rest I am afraid I would rather not opt into something where I get to have a schedule.

 

[skagon]

If I may weigh in here... even though I'm the noobiest of noobs when it comes to the GBA... I've seen this with a lot of other retro forums. I've got quite some experience with retro computers of the '80s... try Sinclair QL, SAM Coupe, Spectrums, Amstrads, Acorn BBCs, Amigas, Ataris, the lots. Basically, there are two groups: one is the really popular machines that have thousands of users (like *eye-roll* the Amigas and the Commodores) and then there's the 'rare' division, with the most prominent example being the QL, where the situation is like you just described it: a few users making all the posts and then passer-bys (or is it passers-by?) that just come in, ask a question or two, some even make some grandiose statement about reviving the "community" single-handedly and then disappear as quickly as they came in.
Of course, I'm talking about computers and, by definition, their versatility is orders of magnitude bigger than a hand-held game console, as is their ease of programming. That's why we're still talking about a computer 30 years old, when the GBA is not even 6 years (from discontinuation) old and it's already getting into the 'retro' realm.
Having said all that, I can see some parallels between the GBA and the 'rare' retro division. There are few truly knowledgeable people around and even those have other things to do rather than keep developing for an old platform or keep answering the same old questions over and over again.
Even the youtube situation... when you've got loads and loads of """""reviewers""""" out there, some of them even kids with a webcam, one wonders if it's worth the time and effort to do the same thing -- even if the quality is light years ahead. The internet and its "freedom" also have downsides, one of which is... quantity often drowns out quality.
All in all... the GBA is a game machine; as such, the majority of its users will move on to greener pastures, sooner or later, after it's been discontinued. It's the same thing with the 'retro' computers, but even worse, since with games, the "latest and greatest" notion is even more prevalent. People want new 'stuff'... they get bored playing the same games over and over... they want newer games with better graphics and better sound and new features so, if there are no new releases, they'll just move on to newer platforms that have them.
For better or worse... that's how things work... :/

 

[Ozito]

It really saddens me that the GBA seems to be pretty much forgotten in any practical sense. Everyone's all about the original GB these days and all the flashcart/homebrew interest is on the DS. There aren't even that many GBA reviews on Youtube (though there are playthroughs but they're dull!). So, I thought maybe if there are enough souls floating around here thinking the same as me we could start a Game of the Month Club or, for older arcade games, a High Score Club. What do you guys think? Is it worth bothering with?

So what exactly did you have in mind? My first Game Boy was the Advance even though i was drooling for the DMG when it first came out, i got to wait until i was 12 before finally receiving one of the GBs.
I "only" owned 8 games during the active period of the GBA.

Now that I"m in my mid twenties i have been collecting games that i've missed (that's alot of missed games) and would more than gladly finish the games and share my experience with equally interested people.

TL;DR
I'm interested! Maybe we don't have to be extremly commited and just start out something light just like FAST said.
Schedules are no fun.

 

[Darkipod]

Hm, maybe just have like a game of the week? Everyone with a FlashCart and get it and play it real easy.

 

[SpasticXanaX]

It really saddens me that the GBA seems to be pretty much forgotten in any practical sense?

pls, no, just no,

i play it like every day, and yes i do support the idea of a gba game club tho lets start one! also
even if the console is forgotten the emulation wont be, just checkout
the pokemon rom hack sub reddit, its ALL GBA, and these arent hacks from ancient times(well some of them are, but not all) most of the people there play a new emerald hack called pokemon glazed (check it out, its worth it), and there are some pretty new pokemon hacks, for example glazed came out VERY recently, and its getting alot of attention from gba and pokemon fans, also GBA4IOS 2.0 and GAMEBOID just resuscitated the GBA community and brought in some new fans as well, as you can see the GBA community is alive and well

 

[Funyarinpa]

I am down for this.

 

[SomeGuy2988]

It seems sad to me that the GBA is gets far less support and attention than the SNES and NES as far as (actually good) flashcarts, rom hacking, hardware clones, and such. The better models of the GBA can be very expensive, and hard to find in general. I'm very lucky to have two AGS-101's that I got for less than $80 each. Portable emulation of the GBA is few and far between, (ex. PSP, Revo K101, GCW Zero) and there is yet to be a solid portable that emulates GBA, NES, SNES, and Genesis at original quality with a simple GUI at a reasonable price. uuuhhh... Just rambling now aren't I? Anyway, yes, I definitely agree.

 

[opt2not]

I'd be down for a GBA club as well.

 

[duffmmann]

Well considering Pasta allows for us to play injected GBA VC games, we can now play all our favorite GBA games at what seems to be full speed, nearly the entire top screen and a beautiful backlight, it kind of feels like the GBA has been given a new and legit leash on life. Can't tell you how cool it feels to have an English translated copy of Mother 3 running full speed on an official Nintendo Handheld.

 

[caboyzcoti]

I would also join that club in a heart beat! Hopefully this topic picks up some steam and we can gather a nice group.

 

[SomeGuy2988]

I know, but I'm working on making my own portable GBA emulator. If I can find an old controller for parts, a 720 x 480 or 480 x 320 LCD that would fit on a handheld, a fitting shell, and a Raspberry Pi, I could create a custom handheld to emulate GBA, GBC, GB, SNES, NES, and Genesis perfectly. But that's a lot of if's.

 

[hippy dave]

Sounds like a nice idea, would be interested if someone kicks it off

 

[HaloEffect17]

Yes, this would be awesome! The 'Game of the Week' idea sounds appealing to me in particular.

 

[regnad]

I'd be down. How will we select the Games of the Week?

 

[JPN25]

I'd be down, sounds like a nice idea