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Game Boy Advance SP Australian Limited Editions
Nintendo also made its presence felt in Australia, where a subsidiary, Nintendo of Australia, was established.
When it comes to limited editions of the Game Boy Advance SP, Australia had its own unique offerings. While worldwide (except for China) most versions of the console were themed around games (featuring Mario, Zelda, or related to games like Naruto, Boktai, Final Fantasy), Australia released two consoles related to sports: Rip Curl and All Blacks.
Overall, very few limited edition consoles were released in Australia, but those that were have become very rare and highly sought after.
Game Boy Advance SP All Blacks
In 2003, the Rugby World Cup was supposed to be held in two countries: New Zealand and Australia. However, due to disagreements between the New Zealand Rugby Union and the tournament's organizing committee, all games were moved to Australia.
It was for this championship that Monaco Corporation, the official distributor of Nintendo products in New Zealand, wanted to release a limited edition console.
They based the design on the uniform of the New Zealand national rugby team, known as the All Blacks. Rugby-15 is the national sport of New Zealand, and the team is even nicknamed the All Blacks.
This name comes from the fact that the team plays in all black. And that's why the team has been given this name.
Over time, the black uniform was complemented by a single element of another color - a fern.
This is how the famous logo came to be.
This team is so famous that even those who are not familiar with rugby-15 have heard of them. For example, I first learned about this team around the 2000s because of their equally famous dance called the haka ka-mate.
At that time, a funny whiskey commercial for William Lawsons was airing on TV, and that's how I remembered it.
Initially, I thought that this console was sold in both Australia and New Zealand, but when I looked into it more, I realized that it wasn't. This version of the Game Boy Advance SP was only sold in New Zealand. Because the relationship between fans of the two countries was, to put it mildly, not very good. It's similar to how football fans of two teams can be quite hostile towards each other.
So strictly speaking, this console is not directly related to the Australian region, but because it has an Australian label and box, we won't separate it into a different region.
Sales of the console started on September 19, 2003, and its price was $142 USD.
You can see more about the Game Boy Advance SP All Blacks in our article: «Photos of Game Boy Advance SP All Blacks».
Game Boy Advance SP Rip Curl
Rip Curl is a designer who founded the company of the same name. In 1973, this company became a sponsor of one of the tours (Bells Beach Surf Classic) of the WSL World Tour competition. Accordingly, the name of this tour changed to Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach.
Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach is the oldest stage of the World Surfing Championship, held for over 50 years. Bells Beach was named after John Calvert Bell, who was a pastor in the 1840s. Initially, surfers had to wade through mud and bushes to get to the beach, but in the 1960s, local surfers hired a bulldozer and cleared a path to the beach. And in 1962, the first surfing competition was held here. At first, it was held in January, but then it was moved to Easter. Since then, this championship has been held every year.
Bells Beach Cape, where the Rip Curl Pro tournament is held every year.
For winning the championship, a trophy in the form of a bell is awarded. However, the trophy remains with the organizer, and the winner receives a smaller copy.
This competition has become very popular among surfers worldwide. From a local championship, Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach has become a truly iconic event for surfers.
In 2004, Nintendo became one of the main sponsors of the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach championship. They agreed with Rip Curl to release a limited edition of the Game Boy Advance SP console.
On April 6, 2004, this console appeared on store shelves, and in my opinion, it is one of the most interesting limited editions of the Game Boy Advance SP.
You can see more about the Game Boy Advance SP Rip Curl in our article: «Photos of Game Boy Advance SP Rip Curl».
Game Boy Advance SP Tribal
If Mario were to get a tattoo, it would look like this.
Note that this console was released in Australia in two versions: AGS-001 and AGS-101 (the difference is only in the box and the model number on the label).
You can see more about the Game Boy Advance SP Tribal in our article: «Photos of Game Boy Advance SP Tribal».
Game Boy Advance SP Green
A very strange version of the console. On one hand, it was released to celebrate the launch of Pokemon Emerald, and on the other hand, in Japan, this console had a design, while here it was just green.
You can see more about the Game Boy Advance SP Green in our article: «Photos of Game Boy Advance SP Green».
