Interview with the developers of Game Boy Advance

Creating the Processor

How long did the development of the Game Boy Advance take?

Shuichi Shigawa: About two years.

Please tell us about the development process.

Shuichi Shigawa: First, we need to choose a processor. For this, we had to determine the size or resolution of the screen. The resolution of the GBA is 240 x 160 pixels. The Game Boy Color was only 160x144, so the Advance is much larger. And since the screen size depends on the resolution, we also immediately determined its size.

So you immediately knew you needed a screen of a certain size?

Shuichi Shigawa: LCD screens have a very economical size. They are cut from a special LCD plate, so we need to choose a size that would occupy the entire plate and leave no free space. If this is not done, the price will increase. We made several templates and chose the one that best suits games.

What happened after you decided on the screen and processor?

Ryuji Umeji: First of all, it takes time to finalize the processor specifications. During development, we make such board samples (shows one to the editor). Then we get feedback from employees and software developers. They look and say: "We want this..." or "We don't need this...". Then, depending on their opinion, we change the processor specifications.

Approximately how long did it take to finalize the processor?

Ryuji Umeji: More than a year.

So, about half of the development time was spent on choosing the processor?

Ryuji Umeji: Yes, when they tell us: "We need this feature," we usually have to include this feature in the CPU. At the same time, to add different features to the processor, we have to change its design. Adding features is not a quick process, so new features won't appear tomorrow. It takes several months to change the specifications and manufacture a new processor. During development, we made one major change to the CPU, but there were also a couple of minor ones. Three people (Shigawa, Umeji, and Nakajima) worked on the processor, so we had to constantly study what each of us did and draw many different diagrams.

Were there any impossible requests?

Takanobu Nakajima: There were various requirements for the internal CPU program. We added changes gradually. Finalizing the processor was not easy.

Case Design

Why did you choose a horizontal design?

Kenichi Sugino: At first, we considered a vertical design, but with a screen of this size, a vertical design would make the overall size of the device too large. The Nintendo Game Boy had a vertical design for 12 years, but for portable gaming systems, it is more important to be compact. So we used a horizontal screen design.

Masahiro Oota: In addition, with a more powerful processor, it will be easier to port console games. So we decided to use a screen closer in size to a TV screen.

When did the idea for the "Left" and "Right" buttons (referring to the L and R buttons) come up?

Kenichi Sugino: This idea came from software developers. They have always been in favor of increasing the number of buttons. And this time, we decided to increase the number of buttons, considering that there will be new types of games. After talking with software developers, we settled on the L / R buttons.

What colors will the device be?

Kenichi Sugino: At the Spaceworld presentation, we showed four colors - a silver base with orange, a silver base with blue, transparent, and transparent purple. However, which colors will be used in production has not yet been decided.

The Game Boy Advance seems very light in weight. Are you using any special materials in the manufacture of the device?

Masahiro Oota: These are the same materials as the Game Boy Color, but the weight is better balanced, so it feels lighter. The harder part was deciding where to place the batteries.

Ryuji Umeji: We created several models before arriving at this design. Although I am just an amateur, I even made a few models myself.

Kenichi Sugino: Just because it's a portable gaming system doesn't mean it's enough to just make it small. It needs to be well controlled so that it's comfortable to play games. As people who have been making portable gaming systems for a long time, we are really proud of this work.

Approximately how many design samples did you make?

Kenichi Sugino: Considering sketches... quite a lot. We tried to make a device with a lid, like the Game Watch. But with a lid, the block becomes thicker, which increases the overall size. And if it's too thick, it won't fit in your pocket. (laughs).

Masahiro Oota: I was very worried about what to do with the thickness of the device and the placement of the batteries. This time, the battery compartment is located in the center of the device, but there is a cutout on the printed circuit board to make room for it. So we managed to make the GBA a little thinner than the Game Boy. We're talking about 1-2 mm. The A and B buttons are the same size as the Game Boy Color, but we worked hard to change the inside to make the overall unit smaller.

Kenichi Sugino: At the sketch stage, we told the printed circuit board production staff: "You have to make it this size." I was very surprised when they actually did it. (laughs).

Masahiro Oota: There's nothing special about cutting part of the printed circuit board, but because it's so small, things like component placement were inconvenient. Placing all the components so that they don't interfere with each other and create obstacles was not easy. We also developed a battery compartment that could accommodate both regular and rechargeable batteries.

Challenges

Were there any issues related to the portability of the device?

Shuichi Shigawa: Of course, we can use technology used for cell phones to reduce the size of the device, but the Game Boy series needs to be mass-produced, so if we use some special technology, we won't be able to make very many consoles. And we aimed for a product that even children could buy, so we limited ourselves to using parts that are readily available. Using only widely available parts is the hardest part.

Ryuji Umeji: Even if we know that there are small, high-quality products in the world, products that can only be produced in quantities of 100,000 units per month, we can't use them. Game Boy sales worldwide have exceeded 100,000,000 units. It currently sells 2,500,000 units per month worldwide, so we use parts that can be mass-produced.

Ryuji Umeji: It was difficult to try to do something new within these constraints. For example, we knew that if we could increase the number of pins on the CPU, we could increase the capabilities of the console. But the current number of pins is the maximum possible. Now the hardest part is assembling all the components.

Expectations

There was a lot of attention from the whole world on you due to the release of the new Game Boy.

Ryuji Umeji: The same team worked on the Game Boy Color, but this time we had more freedom.

Kenichi Sugino: Moreover, expectations within the company were also quite high.

Do you listen to the opinions of foreign employees?

Kenichi Sugino: Yes. We listened to ideas from designers at Nintendo of America. This is a product of a Japanese brand with international recognition.

Ryuji Umeji: We listened to all the suggestions from software developers. They advised us to increase the memory capacity, use high-speed connections for network games, etc. We tried to take this into account when creating the product.

Kenichi Sugino: In gaming hardware, software is the first thing that can run on it. But we are not software developers, so the opinions of these developers are so important to us. Only developers know what things turn out poorly when creating software, so we try to find out as many opinions as possible.

3D

The most important thing in the development of the GB Advance is probably the 32-bit processor. But what about 3D screens?

Ryuji Umeji: No, it's not 3D. There isn't enough processing power for that, and it would lead to rapid battery drain. With today's technology, it's difficult to try to make 3D on portable gaming systems. However, we are trying to make 2D images look like 3D. For example, screens that display physical objects and rotate them first become three-dimensional. Then, by placing it on the screen, it looks like simulated 3D. We don't do anything complicated in terms of specifications, but by doing it this way, we can get games that look more advanced.

But externally, it looks like 3D, doesn't it?

Ryuji Umeji: Many people mistake this graphics for 3D polygons when looking at the image. We added many movie-like patterns (lots of animation frames) to make everything look like 3D.

Even though the device is made in 2D, it seems like it can do things that the Game Boy couldn't...

Takanobu Nakajima: Yes... things like transparency and multi-layered screens. In addition, you'll notice that it can do some things that the Super Famicom couldn't, like zooming in and out.

Ryuji Umeji: Actually, it can be said that 3D and pseudo-3D are not that different, but 2D is much easier to program. Programming in 3D takes much more time and money. On the other hand, simulating 3D is simple and easy to produce.

But externally, it looks like 3D, doesn't it?

Ryuji Umeji: Many people mistake this graphics for 3D polygons when looking at the image. We added many movie-like patterns (lots of animation frames) to make everything look like 3D.

Miscellaneous

Another question. Was it difficult to maintain backward compatibility with Game Boy / Game Boy Color?

Ryuji Umeji: We tested all previous Game Boy games for compatibility. There are many Game Boy games, so it was very difficult.

Do you test all released games?

Ryuji Umeji: Correct. All Nintendo employees, including support staff, are constantly busy testing all games.

Was the sound improved?

Takanobu Nakajima: Sound is really one of the things we improved. It's best heard when using headphones. Compared to the regular Game Boy, the sound on the Advance is closer to home consoles.

It's very interesting to see what games will come out.

Ryuji Umeji: Yes, this time we distributed game development kits to developers in advance. How many do you think we distributed?

Hmm... from 50 to 60?

Ryuji Umeji: No, the first time we sent out 500, the second time - 1000.

So many?!

Ryuji Umeji: Exactly! This shows how many people are involved in developing games for the Game Boy Advance. The new Advance has a number of advantages, such as the ability to play four-player network games and a beautiful wide screen. We tried to make it as easy as possible to create great games that use these features. And we are also looking forward to what games will appear in the future.