If first anniversaries are traditionally celebrated with paper, then the paper trail of sales receipts for Nintendo's Game Boy(R) Advance SP might be the most impressive first-anniversary gift ever. In its first year, the Game Boy Advance SP has sold more than 6.5 million units in North America, the highest one-year sales figures of any video game system in history, including home consoles. It also helped propel the Game Boy(R) Advance line to the most successful year in the 14-year history of the Game Boy(R) series, which has sold more than 160 million systems worldwide.

"By moving from the base Game Boy Advance model to the SP, Nintendo took portable gaming from the realm of a common Volkswagen to a baby Benz," says Michael Pachter, director of research for Wedbush Morgan Securities in Los Angeles. "It elevated the nature of portable gaming, and gave a tremendous boost to the video game industry overall."

With innovations like a fashionable flip-top, a pocket-perfect size, a front-lit screen and rechargeable battery, the Game Boy Advance SP is a favorite with young and old alike. In fact, more than 35 percent of its owners are 18 or older. An icon of pop culture, the Game Boy Advance SP has been spotted everywhere from subways in New York City to waiting rooms in Kansas, and in the hands of actors, musicians, students and housewives.

Nintendo introduced the first Game Boy system in 1989, and expanded the line through the years to include Game Boy(R) Color, Game Boy Advance and Game Boy Advance SP. The Game Boy Advance SP, available at an MSRP of $99.99, comes in a variety of colors, including Platinum (silver), Onyx (black), Cobalt (blue), Flame (red) and a limited-edition two-tone model (Platinum base with Onyx top). More than 500 titles are available for Game Boy Advance and Game Boy Advance SP, and the Game Boy Advance line overall has sold more than 20 million systems in the United States.

The worldwide leader and innovator in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its popular home and portable video game systems. Each year, hundreds of all-new titles for the best-selling Game Boy(R) Advance and Nintendo GameCube(TM) systems extend Nintendo's vast game library and continue the tradition of delivering a rich, diverse mix of quality video games for players of all ages. Since the release of its first home video game system in 1983, Nintendo has sold more than 1.8 billion video games globally, creating enduring industry icons such as Mario(TM) and Donkey Kong(R) and launching popular culture franchise phenomena such as Metroid(TM), Zelda(TM) and Pokemon(R).

A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo's operations in the Western Hemisphere.

For more information about Nintendo, visit the company's Web site at http://www.nintendo.com .

Posted By: Adam Paoli - 74 Reads

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February 17, 2005