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After only a year of release, the Game Boy Micro has been thrown into the vault of shame, next to the other ugly ducklings such as the infamous Power Glove and Nintendo 64 disc-drive, and has officially been abandoned. The Game Boy as a whole is seeing its demise in the land of the rising sun, and its steam in the United States is beginning to wear thin. So even after being the most successful game device of all time, with over 120 million units sold, is Nintendo really willing to just leave the Game Boy behind them? Truth be told, it sure appears that way. Nintendo President Satoru Iwata showed uncertainty in an interview with Reuter’s at E3 2006 stating the following, “I would have a second thought about using our resources on what would be the next generation of Game Boy Advance, considering the strong support DS is now enjoying. The Japanese game market is now evolving around DS. We don’t need to do something that will pour cold water on the situation.” Weird, I could have sworn Nintendo said something about a third pillar strategy…

The prototype of the GameCube portable

But in a business sense a successor to the Game Boy really doesn’t make much sense at all, so Iwata’s words aren’t all that surprising. With a new philosophy in the game industry, a traditional style handheld device would go against their new stance of “innovation is the key to success.” And of course another Game Boy would only cannibalize on what initially replaced the Game Boy in the first place - the Nintendo DS.

Don’t get all teary eyed quite yet. 2006 should send the old Game Boy off right with quality games like Juka and the Monophonic Menace, Final Fantasy V and VI Advance, Yggdra Union and Polarium Advance, all of which are coming out in the near future. And of course the Game Boy library is filled with hundreds of high quality titles that no gamer should go without, as stores begin to clear out Game Boy Advance software to make room for the next generation of gaming, you just might find some great deals.

So Nintendo, as you close the casket to over a decade of fond memories, make sure to cue the 3-volley salute because the Game Boy was one damn fine solider.