23 years of the Game Boy Advance SP! The iconic flip-screen console with a built-in light that many of us still cherish today

 

When we think of Valentine's Day on February 14th, we usually imagine people sharing love, giving roses, or gifting their loved ones a '9-month surprise'. But in the gaming world, this date marks the day fans 23 years ago shouted 'I want one!' in unison.

That was the day a classic was reborn: the Game Boy Advance SP. It was the Game Boy Advance we knew, but in a portable clamshell design. Most importantly, it featured a built-in screen light that finally allowed us to play in the dark—something kids today might find hard to grasp.

So, let’s travel back to February 14, 2003—exactly 23 years ago—to revisit the legacy of the Game Boy Advance SP

For those who weren't around or are too young to remember the pre-2003 era, handheld consoles like the Game Boy and Game Boy Advance were worlds apart from today's devices. Back then, they ran on AA batteries and—most frustratingly—had no screen backlight.

Nintendo was well aware of this struggle, which is why they originally released the Game Boy Light. However, when the Game Boy Color arrived, the lighting feature was stripped away. Even the more powerful Game Boy Advance followed suit, launching without a lit screen.

This meant you couldn't play in the dark. You’d have to constantly angle the screen toward a light source or sit with your back to a lamp just to see the action. The only other option was buying clunky external light accessories.

Then came Nintendo’s stroke of genius: the Game Boy Advance SP. It didn't just solve the lighting issue; it featured a portable clamshell design and a built-in rechargeable battery, finally eliminating the need for spare batteries. It was truly the 'all-in-one' dream machine that every fan of that era had been waiting for

The origin of the Game Boy Advance SP traces back to Satoru Okada, the visionary behind the original Game Boy Advance. When Okada first pitched the idea of a slim, compact GBA powered by a rechargeable battery, the initial feedback from Nintendo’s executives was largely negative.

Undeterred, Okada took a bold step. He instructed a hardware engineer to create a prototype based on a single, ambitious goal: make it as small and thin as humanly possible, regardless of whether it could actually be manufactured at the time.

The result of that challenge was the iconic clamshell design of the Game Boy Advance SP. When Okada presented this new concept to the same group of executives who had previously shot him down, they did a complete 180 and accepted it instantly. The design was so stunning and revolutionary that GBA owners at the time felt a collective surge of 'FOMO' (Fear of Missing Out). It was, quite literally, the 'must-have' gadget of the era

When it comes to critical acclaim, media outlets at the time were highly impressed. IGN declared that the Game Boy Advance SP was 'a step in the right direction for Nintendo,' praising its design as a massive leap over the original model. They highlighted the illuminated screen and rechargeable battery as game-changers, despite a minor gripe regarding the lack of a headphone jack.

Engadget awarded the console a solid 84 out of 100, also applauding the new features and redesigned form factor while echoing the same concern about the missing headphone port. Meanwhile, Fresh Gear dubbed it 'nearly perfect,' with the absent headphone jack being its only real drawback.

Even PC Magazine strongly recommended it as a superior upgrade, hailing the backlight, the included charger, and the improved image quality. However, they did note one small caveat: players with larger hands might find the compact controls a bit cramped to use

In terms of sales, the Game Boy Advance family achieved a massive global total of 81.48 million units. Impressively, the Game Boy Advance SP accounted for 43.52 million of those—representing more than half of the total sales.

For those of us who lived through the transition from the original GBA to the SP, it felt like a quantum leap in design. As mentioned, the original model relied on AA batteries and lacked a screen light, which felt like a constant compromise. The GBA SP, however, provided everything we had ever asked for.

While the missing headphone jack was a slight annoyance, it was a tiny trade-off for such a revolutionary device. What fans truly fell in love with was the sleek, modern clamshell design. It didn't just feel like a toy; it felt like a piece of high-tech gear. That iconic 'cool factor' is exactly why so many gamers still cherish and collect the Game Boy Advance SP to this day