When Reggie reached into his jacket at the Nintendo Press conference, many people thought they knew what to expect. Rumors of a revamped GBA with added multimedia capabilities had been floating around for a while. When they saw it, they were surprised… and then underwhelmed. Impressions around the web seem to be ‘Yeah it’s cute, but my SP serves its purpose fine.’ No doubt the smaller screen and lack of screen protection or hardware modifications make this GBA nothing ‘new’ per se. However, it’s still a very important product for Nintendo, and it makes a bold statement about the future of the Game Boy platform.

The main feature of the unit is obviously its size, about the size of an iPod mini. This comparison is vital. The Micro is Nintendo’s move to try to get into your pocket, all the time. My pocket is always filled with 2 gadgets… my cell phone and my iPod. The GBA:SP is small, but it’s not small enough to carry all the time.

The Micro solves this problem. The Micro is Nintendo’s answer to cell phone games, it’s the GBA you can always carry with you. When I take my DS on the road, I know I’m going to be playing with it. The purpose of the Micro seems different; it’s for when you are stuck somewhere, bored, with nothing to do. It’ll always be there, in your pocket, unnoticed until you need it.

Its size also allows it to be a bit more conspicuous than almost all portable gaming units before it. Sure the SP looks nice, but it’s still kind of awkward to pull out in public… especially in more populated places. There have been a couple of times where I haven’t wanted to pull out the SP that I had in my pocket because I didn’t want to seem ‘rude’… I don’t think I’d have the same qualms with the Micro. When released, my pockets will now have my phone, my iPod, and my GB:M. Three devices that do what they do well, and fit it into a small package.

Perhaps more importantly, the Micro solidifies the GBA as a separate entity from the DS. Developers are going to look at this new hardware launch and realize that the DS is truly not the new Game Boy, and I assure you that this announcement has guaranteed at least a few more years of GBA support. As Nintendo has always said, new technology is expensive, and the Micro allows for cheaper GBA development to continue and be viable. The Micro looks like its going to single handedly solve the GBA drought that we have been seeing lately.

Wireless play, MP3 support… these things are nice… but that is really what the DS is for. The Micro is there for pure, unadulterated Game Boy bliss…in the cutest, little package possible.