Gaming How much should one pay for a backlit GBA SP?

[LoggerMan]

So after realising that buying a DSi XL and DSTWO is not the best way to play GBA games (despite XL screen being the perfect size for it, imo) because of faults in the emulation and speeds in some games, I've decided that what I really need is a GBA. I'd sold all my old ones years ago, sadly, and my original DS is kind of in pieces with a replacement shell with spongey buttons, so I need to buy a new one. The backlit GBA SP is said to be be the best Gameboy ever made and have the best screen (with the "deepest" blacks, or whatever).

I'll never be happy with emulation of these games anymore I think. They were intended to be played on real GBA hardware and it'll be a few years yet until we have displays with high enough resolutions to emulate the look of individual low resolution GBA pixels, or the ability to reproduce the games exactly as they were meant to be experienced on the GBA chips, controls or response time. Plus, I want to experience all the games as millions of other gamers did, for whatever reason I find value in these things.

But the backlit SP's seem to going for a little over $100 on eBay for very roughly used ones (in comparison, I only paid $100 for my as new XL).

 

[xist]

I paid a LOT. £80 for one in the UK which works out as EXPENSIVE AUD. Was it worth it? I don't know, but the difference between the AGS101 and the standard GBA is like night and day making it almost impossible to go back to the original, and it's become my get go portable gaming device since it's durable, and unlike my PSP and DS i can usually play it outside....

 

[Icealote]

I've paid mine on Ebay for 91 AUD...nothing compared to buying a micro lol

 

[raystriker]

Too bad for you guys.....On eBay India the price of a Gameboy Advance SP costs just as little as Rs 3149 (that is about 56USD)

Proof---

Spoiler

 

[Icealote]

But is that a AGS 101? Mine was custom made so I think it was worth getting it brand new with different coloured housings.

 

[raystriker]

You can also go for a gba clone that can play gba games as well as watch movies etc.
Like this one--
http://obscurehandhelds.wordpress.com/2011/12/22/the-k-team-gba-clone-in-action/

 

[raystriker]

The k1gba is your best bet
http://www.k1gba.com/

 

[Hanafuda]

Another option would be a DS Lite. It's got nice displays and native GBA support, plus obviously it runs DS games too which is a big plus. It's not quite as nice as an AGS-101 since GBA is not gonna be 'full screen' but at least the resolution is correct and with native support (not emulation) you're not missing anything.

We've got 2 AGS-101's here, a black one (mine) and a pink one (my daughter's). Here they are with our matching 3DS's and assorted schwag. Damned near priceless as far as I'm concerned.

 

[thaddius]

I was very lucky to get a charcoal AGS-101 in fantastic condition for $15 CAD at a garage sale.

 

[Rydian]

Yeah my last SP was a front-lit, and it was hard to play on at times after having used a back-lit one.

 

[DanTheManMS]

A few years ago I bought mine from eBay, used, for only about $30. I had to settle for the Pearl Blue instead of the Charcoal color, but unless prices have skyrocketed in the past couple of years, $100 is an insane price.

 

[Chaos Rush]

I got a used one in crappy condition from Amazon for only $40, and then I replaced the shell with my Cobalt AGS-001 that I got in 2004 (that I somehow kept in excellent condition), and now I have an excellent-condition backlit Cobalt AGS-101, despite the fact that there was never a Cobalt AGS-101 released

 

[LoggerMan]

Another option would be a DS Lite. It's got nice displays and native GBA support, plus obviously it runs DS games too which is a big plus. It's not quite as nice as an AGS-101 since GBA is not gonna be 'full screen' but at least the resolution is correct and with native support (not emulation) you're not missing anything.

We've got 2 AGS-101's here, a black one (mine) and a pink one (my daughter's). Here they are with our matching 3DS's and assorted schwag. Damned near priceless as far as I'm concerned.

DS Lite is a good point. Even in video game trading stores here they can be had for like 60 USD (at least I saw a baby blue Lite the other day for that), and buying preowned from retail here carries a massive markup. I'd always heard for years though that the best GBA was the backlight SP. The screens in your two SPs there certainly look very vivid anyway.

I've also been noticing a LOT of pink SPs on eBay and most of them look like the front lit model, but many others are hard to tell. I don't think a lot of sellers are aware of the distinction.

I still remember when the SPs were new, and there was that tribal tattoo one, and the special NES edition one. This was back when Pokémon Red and Green were released for GBA. It feels like so long ago now.

 

[LoggerMan]

and unlike my PSP and DS i can usually play it outside....

I'm actually especially interested in this. I have iPhone, iPad, laptop and 3DS. And they are all amazing, but they are all hard to use in direct sunlight. I feel like they are great portable gadgets, but best viewed at night time only. I use them all for study and organisation anyway, which means no studying under a tree on a nice day

I guess I'd better get a backlit SP before they become even more uncommon or I get hit by a bus.

 

[TripleSMoon]

I got a used one in crappy condition from Amazon for only $40, and then I replaced the shell with my Cobalt AGS-001 that I got in 2004 (that I somehow kept in excellent condition), and now I have an excellent-condition backlit Cobalt AGS-101, despite the fact that there was never a Cobalt AGS-101 released

Funny how you say that... I just looked up the AGS-101 model on Amazon, and the first one that came up was a cobalt 101, said to be customized such, likely the same way as you did.

http://www.amazon.com/Nintendo-Game-Boy-Advance-Ags-101-Brighter/dp/B007P866SU/ref=sr_1_2?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1340193599&sr=1-2&keywords=ags+101

 

[xist]

and unlike my PSP and DS i can usually play it outside....

I'm actually especially interested in this. I have iPhone, iPad, laptop and 3DS. And they are all amazing, but they are all hard to use in direct sunlight. I feel like they are great portable gadgets, but best viewed at night time only. I use them all for study and organisation anyway, which means no studying under a tree on a nice day

I guess I'd better get a backlit SP before they become even more uncommon or I get hit by a bus.

It's not like it's the best thing i've ever used in sunlight, it's just that when i had a choice between DS, PSP and GBA ultimately i didn't have much of a choice as the GBA was the only one i had any chance at all of using.

 

[Catastrophic]

I bought a custom colored backlit SP a while back for 99$ and it was definitely worth it! Only problem I've had with it is that the sound sometimes makes cracking like noises and it has a lot of static when using headphones.

 

[TripleSMoon]

Only problem I've had with it is that the sound sometimes makes cracking like noises and it has a lot of static when using headphones.

That would drive me nuts, honestly.

 

[Catastrophic]

Only problem I've had with it is that the sound sometimes makes cracking like noises and it has a lot of static when using headphones.

That would drive me nuts, honestly.

it's only a tiny bit though. I can only actually hear the static when there's nearly no sound effects playing at all. The crackling is also a minor issue and I've only noticed it with high pitched sounds.

edit: forgot to mention that the static is only low with GBA games. The static when playing regular gameboy games is unbearable...

I heard the Gameboy and Gameboy Advance line in general had static but I don't quite understand why the crackling and the unusually high static are there

 

[Hanafuda]

Another option would be a DS Lite. It's got nice displays and native GBA support, plus obviously it runs DS games too which is a big plus. It's not quite as nice as an AGS-101 since GBA is not gonna be 'full screen' but at least the resolution is correct and with native support (not emulation) you're not missing anything.

We've got 2 AGS-101's here, a black one (mine) and a pink one (my daughter's). Here they are with our matching 3DS's and assorted schwag. Damned near priceless as far as I'm concerned.

DS Lite is a good point. Even in video game trading stores here they can be had for like 60 USD (at least I saw a baby blue Lite the other day for that), and buying preowned from retail here carries a massive markup. I'd always heard for years though that the best GBA was the backlight SP. The screens in your two SPs there certainly look very vivid anyway.

Actually the GB Micro screen is a little better than the AGS-101 screen, but it's also smaller and GB Micro acquisition has its own issues (faceplates are all but unobtainable, and I don't see the supply of batteries lasting anywhere near as long as they will for SP). As for the AGS-101 screen, on the bright setting I'd say it's about 90% as bright as a DS Lite. It's very nice.