Game Boy Advance Video is a format for putting video onto Game Boy Advance cartridges. The video is played using the game system's screen and sound hardware. These video cartridges are from Majesco Sales. The video cartridges are colored white for easy identification.

History

GBA video paks became available in North America in May 2004. In June 2004, Majesco had expanded its GBA video categories. In November 2004, Majesco started to sell GBA video paks featuring Disney Channel animated series like: Brandy & Mr. Whiskers, Kim Possible, Lilo & Stitch: The Series, and The Proud Family. Then in November 2005, Majesco started to sell GBA video paks with full length movies like Shrek 2 and Shark Tale. A special GBA video features the movies Shrek and Shark Tale combined in one cartridge, this pak costs US$29.99 as of April 2007. As of April 2007, the retail price of original GBA video paks lowered to US$9.95.

Copy prevention

GBA Video paks are viewable only on Game Boy Advance, Game Boy Advance SP, Game Boy micro, Nintendo DS and Nintendo DS Lite, as the owners of copyright in the television shows have requested that Majesco prevent people from using the GameCube's Game Boy Player accessory to record the shows onto VHS or DVD (Unlike Sony's PlayStation 2 and Microsoft's Xbox video game console, the GameCube can't output Macrovision gain-control copy distortion signals). The paks check for the Game Boy Player, using the same logo authentication method used by GBA games that support controller rumble, and freeze with the message "Not designed for Game Boy Player" if they detect the Game Boy Player. However, there are a few Action Replay codes for the Game Boy Advance that allowed some GBA videos to be view on the Game Boy Player.

Criticisms

Because of the low capacity of GBA cartridges (ranging from 4 to 32 MB) and the length of the video content (feature length movies), video is heavily compressed. The image quality has the appearance similar to early Cinepak compression, and the "quilting" and color bleeding effect present in many compressed video formats was rampant. Also, in the case of which the episode is available as a 45-minute two parter or a 22-minute edited version, the 22-minute version is used.

Some fans have criticized the video paks as being inferior to DVDs of the shows in several ways. For example, the paks only contain up to four episodes; a single dual-layer DVD can hold as many as twenty-six. Additionally, there has been criticism on the limited amount of shows featured in the collection, all of which are popular kids' cartoons from the time the paks came out. Also, the resolution of the shows was criticized for being low.

Also, many sites have weighed criticisms that GBA Video was only playable on a GBA and Nintendo DS,thereforeforcing consumers to pay twice for the same product to watch it on a full screen (Once on DVD/VHS, once again on GBAV). This is similar to the complaints lodged against Sony's UMD media format for movies.

Other Information

GBA video paks were the feature prize in Vol. 183 of Nintendo Power Magazine, as part of its players poll sweepstakes, in which five grand prize winners would receive a GBA SP and twenty GBA video paks. Most GBA video paks cost US$9.95 and feature 40 to 45 minutes of video content. Movie GBA video packs cost US$19.99 and feature a 90 minute movie.

Existing titles

Existing titles come from television shows such as:

Yin Yang Yo! (Coming in Spring 2008)

2 Stupid Dogs

The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius

All Grown Up!

Ben 10

Codename: Kids Next Door

Code Lyoko

Digimon

Dora the Explorer

Dragon Ball GT

The Fairly OddParents

Go, Diego, Go!

Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi

Happy Tree Friends

House of Mouse

Kirby: Right Back at Ya!

Krypto the Superdog

Pokémon

Sonic X

SpongeBob SquarePants

Strawberry Shortcake

Teen Titans

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Xiaolin Showdown

Yu-Gi-Oh!

Existing titles also come from movies, such as

Shrek

Shrek 2