Others say...

"The Game Boy without the Batteries"
OVERVIEW:

The Game Boy player was no doubt intended to draw the masses to the waining Gamecube. The strategy was in how to use the popularity of the GBA handheld, to get consumers to also consider the Gamecube console. Nintendo actually had created a Super Game boy device for the Super Nintendo some years ago. So this is nothing original however, but is vastly improved upon from the previous device. Technically the Game Boy player is a literal Game Boy Advance system without the ability to load GBA carts on it's own. It has been manufactured to match the measurements of the Nintendo Gamecube exactly and is equipable to the Nintendo Gamecube's high speed port located directly below the machine. 4 bolts can be fastened down with a coin to secure the Game Boy player. The device adds just 1 inch in height to the Gamecube and is programmed to accept all regional Gameboy Advance games as well as most Game Boy color and original Game Boy games just like the original Game boy Advance handheld. This gives gamers greater than 1,000 options making it a very large library of games to play with. No batteries are required since the Game Boy player powers off of the Gamecube anyway meaning it becomes more cost efficient than the handhelds were. The Game Boy player accepts Game Boy cartridges near the bottom and has a sliding ejection switch located on the right side of the player, used for popping game carts out when desired. The player itself requires a boot disc found packaged with the device in it's own protective hard case. The disc is exactly the same size as a common Gamecube disc, (3 inches in diameter) and must be placed in the Gamecube along with the GBA cart being placed in the player, before powering on the system. Once on, the disc can be removed at will without the need for disrupting gameplay. In fact, players can opt to load a Gamecube disc into the Gamecube during gameplay, shut down the Gameboy player via a menu, and load up the gamecube disc all without ever actually turning off the console itself. The same action can be applied when gamers decide to play a different Game Boy game pak. So no need to reboot a second time unless you shut the system down. The Gameboy Player was designed to behave in most every way like an actual Game Boy Advance unit. It supports most Game Boy Advance accessories like the Nintendo E-Reader device which is used to scan cards. It can accept the Game Boy Advance Game link cable for multiplayer purposes though a second Game Boy Advance will still be required. You may access the cable link port right in the front of the Game Boy player device. Simply plug the game link cable to the Game Boy player port, then plug the other end of the cable right into a Game Boy Advance unit. Check your manuals for GBA titles that may require more than one game pak as well before attempting this of course! Actually the Game Boy player fully supports the Game Boy Advance wireless multiplayer adapter as well. Gamers can plug up a common Gamecube controller in port 1 or use the Game Boy Advance/Gamecube connectivity cable along with a Game Boy Advance or even a Gameboy Advance SP to serve as a controller. While the Gamecube controller is usable, the button layouts are unique given the complexity of the controller versus the simple button layout on the Game Boy units. Both the Y and X buttons found on the Gamecube controller for example, are mapped to the select button on a Game Boy unit. A menu option will allow the player to choose between a few different button control layouts with the Gamecube controller, though I have found it best to leave it as is. You get used to it believe me. The Analog stick will function along side with the directional pad on a controller as a character movement tool. pretty cool stuff. The Game Boy player has an options menu accessable with the tap of the Z button at any time during game play. Be warned however as this function will not pause actual game play. From here players may choose new button control schemes, toggle between normal and full screen views, play with a screen filter for richer picture during on screen action segments, even set an in game timer of up to 60 minutes, choose from over 20 different wallpaper views in normal screen mode, and are able to quit the current game. The game screen itself is roughly half the size of the actual TV screen, and is presented in a centrally located box complete with a decorative wallpaper hanging over the background. players have over 20 wallpaper options to choose from but if the wallpapers aren't for you, you can always stretch the image to full screen via the Game Boy player menu options. You'll loose some clarity however and the images on screen become a bit blurry. They still look nice however and it probably won't bother people too much once you get used to it. There is a screen filter option offering three levels of filtering; sharp, normal, and low. This option set on sharp will keep images looking crisp and nice while players are moving around on screen or during chaotic action sequences where there may be quite a bit going on on screen. this comes at the cost of frame rate and in some cases can drastically slow the game down. Actually this will never happen much as most games never have these lag issues on the Game Boy Advance anyways. Some people may NEVER incure these problems so it's really no problem at all. The timer is there just for fun. You can set it to count how long your playing in some games or use it to have the children share time on it...just to name a few a suggestions. The Game Boy player unfortunately will not work with the Nintendo Wii as the Wii lacks the high speed port found at the foot of the Gamecube. Besides, the size and shape of the player in comparison to the Wii would be impractical. There are also some minor cases where certain Game paks are found to not work right in the Game Boy player. Namely it's the unique titles that require certain conditions for gameplay to work properly. Games like Yoshi Topsy Turvy required players to tilt the game left to right to have the character move on the screen. You probably won't be in the mood for hefting the entire Gamecbue left and right all day as this might get a bit heavy LOL!There is the Boktai series on GBA as well which required solar energy for certain gameplay settings, meaning you'll need sunlight. Also there are a few GBA game garts with a unique shape to them. Considering that game carts are loaded at the bottom of the player, this would mean that the Gamecube would have to sit on top of the game pak to work. In this instance however, if you simply tilt the Gamecube part ways over a table surface so that the cart can lean over a ledge, you might remedy that issue entirely. These rather bizarre incompatibility issues are few and really nothing to worry over as most Game Boy games are played in the conventional since. An issue involving Game Boy Advance movie series game carts is also present. For copyright purposes, Nintendo disabled the Game Boy players' ability to view these special cartoon shorts. They feared that people could somehow burn copies of the toons from thier TV's. Also incompatible with the Game Boy player is the Game Boy Micro hand held. you can't use the Micro as a controller because it's ports for cable connections have been reworked for the purpose of "proprietary conversion" to a consumer product. So the Micro cannot connect with the GBA/Gamecube cables. If you purchase the Micro/GBA conversion cord from Nintendo's web site, you could use the Game Boy Micro as a second player in multiplayer titles by hooking the micro conversion cord into the GBA game link cable, then plugging THAT into the Game Boy player device. Having said all that, The Game Boy player DOES offer a unique rumble pak like enhancement using the Gamecube controller in select titles like Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga for example. Too bad only a hand full of games supported that feature though. The Game Boy player comes in jet black color only in the US. However, in Japan I here they had platinum, Indigo, and Spice colors to match the colored variety of Gamecubes respectively. (Japan has a Spice or yellow colored Gamecube also not found in the states) The Game Boy player was available for retail around 2003 and was priced at 50.00$ US currency. So if your looking into this item try and use this MSRP price as a basis to go on so you won't lose too much money on a bad deal... Game Boy player units have since been discontinued and are becoming increasingly harder to find as the years move along so I suggest quick action if the product really excites you.

PROS:

...Overall the Game Boy player really is a value and a pleasure to own and to play. The picture quality on your TV set looks very nice even at a seemingly disproportionate size. The ability to power itself off of the Gamecube means zero batteries. And that means this becomes very cost efficient if your still running your original Game Boy Advance unit. There are more options available to the gamer in regards to controller use with the Gamecube controller offering one more way to play your games. The ability to see everything without having to squint is obviously a welcome addition. Espescially true for text heavy titles like Final Fantasy and when it comes to people that have troubles seeing small text. I liked the way the Game Boy player allows you to switch between game carts and even into using the Gamecube on the fly a bit more easier than powering down the hand held all the time. Volume works on the TV speakers now rather than those tiny little things you spot on the GBA device too.

CONS:
It limits use of some unique games due to the shape of the cart or certain gameplay factors like requiring solar energy or motion sensitive titles. Some games really look terrible on your TV and it's not the Game Boy player's fault! The programmers sometimes don't pay attention to detail work and boy does it ever show up on a TV set! Game Boy Advance sound is enhanced on the TV because of the speakers. But it's overall quality is lackluster in many titles. This is apparently true on older Game Boy or Game Boy clor titles where all those bleeps and blurbs will drive you batty. Some folk will find it annoying to say the least. Game Boy movie carts are a no no on the device due to fear of some happy hacking rascals out there. [RANT ON] Really, who the heck wants to steal RUGRATS or FAIRLY ODD PARENTS cartoons? And don't they understand hackers are likely going to just rip off DVD versions anyways? HERE'S YOUR SIGN! [RANT OFF]

OVERALL:
Realistically this product is worth the price of admission. It retailed cheaper than a Game Boy unit and yet functions just as well as one in most respects. It's hard to knock this stellar product even if it were Nintendo's way of wanting you to maybe think about it's Gamecube too in that cheesy little way. A word to the wise... this device works best on 32 inch TV's or below. Anything bigger and the picture gets a little uglier than some may be able to deal with. It never gets too bad though. It's easy to afford, install, and use. If you own a Gamecube that your shelfing due to the Wii console here's one good reason to shine up the cube and keep it around a bit longer. Even if you own multiple game boy units or the DS, The Game Boy player still holds it's own as a unique experience. And I doubt the Wii will ever recreate another similar device. All said and done I have to recommend this device, it's really worth it.

"Love this thing"
If you have a GBA and a Gamecube and wish you could play your games on a bigger screen, well then look no further. Nintendo released the Gameboy Advance Player to anwser those same wishes. The fact that you can just hop your Gamecube on top of this and screw it in and never have to worry about misplacing it or losing it (unless you lose the whole Cube) is great. It also will play the older Gameboy and Gameboy color games as well as Gameboy Advance games. The one thing that Nintendo did to improve on the player was include the multiplayer plug-in, one thing that they never included with the Super Gameboy on the SNES (for those of you who remember it,) so allready an improvement from what they had relesed in the past. Some of the features that they put in with this is the options you are presented with when you start it up. You can change the backround wallpaper, slightly adjust the controller scheme (you can switch the Select button with the placement of the L/R buttons,) set the screen to full or normal (the full screen is like is says it is. While the normal screen is a little smaller,) Set a timer (A blessing for parents that might have kids that fight over who has been playeing for longer. You can set the timer all the way up to an hour and after the set time is up is will make a chime to let you know when time is up,) and the last option which is GREAT is the Change cartrige feature. You can play a game and without turning the whole system off you can switch the game out for another and continue playing without having to reboot the whole system. The only few negetive things that I would say about the GBA player is not being able to play the GBA videos on it (probably whole bunch of leagal matters on that) and needing the disk that comes with it in oder to use it. Disregaurding those two smaller "Flaws" this thing is great and I love it!!!

"Buy now!"
If you haven't already you should buy this especially if you own Advance Wars it will save you money on batteries.

"not worth the purchase"
i bought this game mainly for my gba advance games to be played on the gamecube. it's not that cool. gba games were meant to be mobile. this would be a nice thing to have altogether but useless in my opinion.

"gameboy player "
It works Great .... and it is really good to be able to put alot of the gameboy games on the tv to see them better ....