Timeline
The GBA chronicle
From the 1999 announcement to the last cartridges and the digital afterlife — the hardware, the moments and the games, year by year.
- announced
- 1999
- Japanese launch
- 2001
- units sold
- 81.51M
- games in the collection
- 1,733
1999
- Game Boy Advance announcedNintendo reveals a 32-bit successor to the Game Boy Color, with a wider colour screen and backward compatibility.
2000
- Final design unveiledThe landscape design with shoulder buttons is shown to the public, along with launch dates and the first line-up.
2001
218 releases
- Sports 34
- Platformer 33
- Puzzle 28
- GBA launches in JapanModel AGB-001 goes on sale in Japan. The screen has no light — players learn to sit near a lamp.
- North American launchLaunches at US$99.99 with titles like Super Mario Advance and F-Zero: Maximum Velocity.
- European launchThe PAL release completes the worldwide launch within three months of Japan.
- e-ReaderA card-scanning add-on that reads dot-code cards to unlock levels and mini-games; North America follows in 2002.
2002
384 releases
- Platformer 68
- Sports 62
- RPG 42
2003
282 releases
- Platformer 42
- RPG 36
- Action 30
- Game Boy Advance SPA clamshell redesign with a front-lit screen and a built-in rechargeable battery. North America and Europe follow in March.
- Game Boy PlayerAn add-on that sits under the GameCube and plays Game Boy cartridges on the TV; the West gets it in June.
2004
298 releases
- Action 50
- Platformer 47
- Casual & party 34
- Famicom Mini / Classic NES SeriesNES classics re-released on GBA for the Famicom’s 20th anniversary, alongside a Famicom-coloured SP.
- iQue Game Boy Advance in ChinaThe official mainland China release by iQue, bundled with Chinese versions of Mario and Wario games. An iQue SP follows in October.
- Nintendo DS launchesThe dual-screen successor keeps a GBA cartridge slot, so the GBA library lives on.
2005
236 releases
- Platformer 68
- Action 36
- Casual & party 23
2006
158 releases
- Platformer 32
- Adventure 21
- Action 17
- Nintendo DS LiteThe slimmer DS still has the GBA slot — for many players, the last way to play GBA carts on new hardware.
- Mother 3One of the late classics of the system, released in Japan only.
2007
46 releases
- Platformer 16
- Simulation 8
- Action 6
2008
- The last North American releaseNew retail releases wind down; the final North American game ships in February 2008.
- DSi drops the GBA slotNintendo’s next handheld no longer plays GBA cartridges, closing the era of native GBA play.
2010
- 81.51 million soldNintendo’s final tally for the GBA family, across the original, SP and Micro.
2011
- 3DS Ambassador ProgramTen GBA games are given to early Nintendo 3DS owners as a thank-you.
2023
- GBA on Nintendo Switch OnlineGBA games join the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack library.