The Exigent Duality
Unique - 17:19 CST, 7/29/19 (Sniper)
I've been playing a lot of Game Boy Advance lately-- one which my father helped me "Afterburner" mod circa 2003, interestingly-- and it's fascinating how it satisfies a totally different want for me than the Switch; the Switch is enormous, sucks battery power like no tomorrow, and focuses on console-like experiences. In a lot of ways, I see it as a spiritual successor to something like the Game Gear.

By contrast, the Game Boy Advance is tiny: it's only 5.7 inches across, weighs a mere 4.9 ounces, and its 2.9 inch screen is smaller than a Post-it note. Even with my lighting mod cranked to full brightness, it runs well over 10 hours on just two AA batteries. Playing games on the system has a totally different feeling than anything else on the market today. And that's not even getting to the later, credit card-sized "Micro" model!



Also remember, adjusted for inflation the Game Boy Advance was only about 140 USD in today's money. And in spite of its age and low price-- by both today's and yesterday's standards-- it's amazing just how modern the system still feels; it can't do much in terms of 3d, but when it comes to 2d it can push a bucket load of sprites and simultaneous colors at high framerates. It is, after all, a 32-bit piece of hardware.

In fact, I don't have to stretch my mind much to imagine such a system coming out today, with the exact same specifications, selling for 50 USD, with games priced at about 10 USD each. The market segment for a true pocket handheld with low specs, simpler games, cheap price, and extreme battery life is simply not filled-- especially since the incoming "Switch Lite" is just about as massive and heavy as the full version!