Gamestop to stop buying GBA systems and games in April

by Griffin McElroy on Mar 11th 2011 10:00AM

If you've been waiting to snag that copy of Final Fantasy VI Advance from your local Gamestop until its price gets cut, you might want to stop putting off your purchase, as that price is about to go down from $22.99 to "We don't have any copies anymore." According to a number of our tipsters and a handful of retail locations, the store is set to stop accepting Game Boy Advance games and systems as soon as April 2.

As Gamestop doesn't really get new copies of Game Boy Advance games in anymore, it seems this measure is the first step in phasing out the handheld. We've got our fingers crossed that this new policy will come with a fire sale on some of our favorite GBA titles, which we've lost while sailing the unforgiving seas of time. By which, of course, we mean we left them in our jeans, and sent them through the washing machine.

Tags: ds, game-boy-advance, gamestop, gba, nintendo, retail

Reader Comments (51)

This makes me feel so old. I remember when when I upgraded to the SP. I was in awe with the fact that the screen lit up by itself. That thing was a piece of art.

@PrimetimePragz

You think that's bad? I remember upgrading to a Gameboy Pocket, thinking it was the best looking portable screen I'd ever see. And the Pocket Camera.. my first digital camera. I remember I actually thought it would replace my regular camera for my picture taking.

@Shockwave

The GameBoy Pocket was a great machine. I was always jealous of the other kids who had one, but I made up for it by being the first with a Color :D

@PrimetimePragz Still the best handheld I've ever owned. I wouldn't sell mine for the world. It will last until the end of days.

I keep it in my car in case I break down :p

@PrimetimePragz

You want to hear bad? I remember the gameboy!
Thats it.
Just the fact that you could swap cartridges was enough
to make my head asplode.
My friend had one, I was so jealous.

@Shockwave

i remember buying a GBpocket too and thinking how crisp and clear the screen was. Then remember upgrading to a GBC just to be able to play Pokemon in color!

@PrimetimePragz

I remember the day I bought the GameBoy with Tetris in 1989 with my dad.

We went to nearby Burger King and I showed him how it works. "You can swap games?"

That might be the happiest childhood memory I have.

Gameboy, you were good to many children.

It's somewhat ironic that they will accept and sell NES/SNES/Genesis games/systems (at least the last time I was in one), but are stop selling GBA games and systems.

@Drakkenfyre
They don't accept those games.. when was the last time you went into a GameStop..?

P.S. - Epic fail on my other post..

@Drakkenfyre Last time you were there...

when was that, 10 years ago?

Considering I have avoided GameStop for awhile, it's been awhile since I was in one.

One of my local ones used to have an entire bin with NES, SNES, and Genesis games. And systems for $25-$40.

@Drakkenfyre

In 1999, yes.

2011, no.

@Drakkenfyre
You sure it was a Gamestop and not....Funcoland?

They don't accept those games.. when was the last time you went into a GameStop..?

. . . and just as I was going to trade my GBA in.

I just bought a GBA SP NES edition on eBay. Loving it!

Haven't had anything to play my GBA games on since I upgraded to the DSi...

@Optimus Rhyme I still think a Gameboy Micro is the best option for playing GBA games. The screen and feel is superior to any GBA screen and the (built in) battery life is just crazy.

@Dark Archon PSN Archonik XBL Dar

Pointlessly small and easily scratchable screen, tiny ass buttons.

Pass.

@jynxycat
Excuse me? Buttons on the Micro are the exact same size as on the GBA SP which are a little above 7mm in diameter (half a mm larger than those on the DS lite). The D-Pad actually reaches out of the system and thus is alot easier to handle than that of any other Nintendo handheld to date. The shoulder buttons work really well after you get used to them having the "click" towards the center of the system rather than on the edges, so your fingers don't cramp playing it. They also don't have that loose feel to them like those of the GBA SP or the DS.
About the screen: It is very well lit and crystal clear, so you won't have any trouble reading menus and stuff despite the size. I've never got a scratch on either of my 2 micros, too. But the good thing is, if you DO scratch the screen, you can just swap the faceplate along with the display lense. It's never been easier to get rid of screen scratches than with the micro.
The GBA SP screen is great (the AGS-101 screen at least), don't get me wrong, but the micro screen still looks alot better in action.
And playing GBA games on the DS (lite) is an absolute nightmare because of the button mapping.

@sparkster

It may have been quality, but I've seen one in person, and I'm not squinting at that tiny screen for any length of time.

Couple that with the fact that the Micro can't play older GB and GBC games and the SP really is the definitive Gameboy.

Three cheers for the Sexy Pocket!

@Optimus Rhyme

Awesome. That's still probably my all time favorite handheld.

I recently bought someone's "pearl blue" GBA SP on ebay, tore out its guts, and swapped them in to the shell of my NES styled SP. I'd loaned it to a friend a while back (always an awful idea) and he sat on it, blowing out dozens of pixels with the pressure from his ass.

Now, its magnificent in all its backlit glory.

Well that sucks...

What kind of trade in value were Gamestop giving for GBAs ?

@oOWallaceOo

The lint in their pockets.

@Shadowbender

Thats more than they gave me from Dragon Age 2

Awwww! The SP, I remember getting that for Christmas. I wanna go play mine now just because of that picture.

@Miranda Lawson

I remember getting mine for Christmas as well. The Red model, to be exact.

And then a GameBoy Color before that. Good times.

@Shadowbender Mine was Silver, and I got a Spongebob game with it. Oh the nostalgia.

When did they stop trade-ins for original Xbox? A while back, right? But why so soon?

@Shadowbender
Sales obviously don't make enough sense to continue taking up the space.

@Shadowbender
I'm pretty sure when a system has backwards compatibility (Wii playing GC games, etc), they would still carry the older games (in this case, GC). So when they figured the 360 was going to stop releasing backward compatibility patches for the original Xbox games, they will stop accepting Xbox consoles and games.

Older systems (NES, SNES, etc) is pretty much what xTetheredWingsX said.

CEX here in the UK stopped buying and selling GBA games about a year ago; I only found out six months later.

Subsequently, I missed out on the grand, dirt cheap sell off, which included, allegedly, multiple copies of Riviera: TPL, a game I've spent years looking for.

@Nigeria great game too. its a collectors item now? I shouldve never traded mine in...

@Nigeria I still have that game. One of the best on the system it is worth searching for.

So...I better get over to Gamestop and buy my GBA copy of Sim City 2000, eh?

I wish gamestop would actually keep older games as well.
Would be cool if they had a retro corner where you could see buy older games from all eras of gaming.

But that's to much work I guess

@Jawmuncher
Too much work for not enough profit. It's a very small market. Do stores still sell computers from 10 years ago? TV's from 10 years ago? I know car lots do, but then again you'd probably complain if Gamestop paid you $0.05 for your GBA game and sold it for $5.00

There is a big, BIG difference in computers ten years old and consoles. Computer ten years old are only good for limited stuff, like making into servers. They can't run anything modern, and they aren't old enuf to be considered really retro. Not including some from even further back, for retro purposes, which have a market.

An old console, however, is still very useful to play it's games, and retro video games are always in fashion.

@JIAGPOS It would be a whole bin of Bulls vs Blazers and NHL 1994. All the good stuff would be snatched up as soon as somebody traded it in. Who do you know that has held on to their NES, SNES etc games THIS long and is only now thinking, gee, I'd like to trade it in to gamestop? For the most part, the people that still have the stuff still want it, and if they don't they'll do Ebay first.

GBA SP...you were the beautiful birthday present I received on a birthday marred with a horrible Little League outing...

RIP GBA! You beautiful thing.
Its only recently that I think the DS had overtaken the GBA in terms of high-quality games, and still ahead of the PSP (some absolute brilliant games, just not enough).

next needs to be ps2, hopefully sooner than later

I still have my GBA SP, it was a great Xmas present brings back good times.

Thats strange. 3 Gamestops in Rockford, IL where I live, stopped taking GBA stuff 2 weeks ago.

Hmm, looks like it's time to stock up on all the good GBA games I haven't played yet. I have (or have played) the first three Super Mario Advance games, Wario Land 4, bot Wario Ware game, the first two Donkey Kong Country games, both Metroid games, both Zelda games, all three Castlevania games, the first Golden Sun, Mario & Luigi, Final Fantasy IV-V, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis, and Riviera: The Promised Land. What am I missing?

@gatotsu911

I recommend both of the GBA Fire Emblem games.

@thedisagree
I actually used to have the first one, and beat it. That said, like Golden Sun, I wasn't a huge fan and never felt the need to get the second one.

Hehe, I have a local store that specializes in non current gen systems/games....speaking of which, need to go grab that virtual boy from them before they sell it >_>

If only there was some other way to buy and sell gameboy advances and gba games...........if only!!!!!

This act officially makes the GBA dead.

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Gamestop to stop buying GBA systems and games in April

Reader Comments (51)

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 10:08AM PrimetimePragz said

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 11:05AM Shockwave said

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 11:21AM quiggy said

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 11:52AM Jack Kevorkian said

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 12:05PM Istari Spartan said

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 12:45PM PR0F3TA said

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 1:04PM CaptainProtonX said

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 10:10AM Drakkenfyre said

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 10:12AM xTetheredWingsX said

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 10:34AM jynxycat said

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 11:18AM Drakkenfyre said

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 1:09PM CaptainProtonX said

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 6:44PM Nolan North said

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 10:11AM xTetheredWingsX said

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 10:15AM That Burning Sensation said

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 10:16AM Optimus Rhyme said

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 10:33AM Dark Archon PSN Archonik XBL Dar said

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 10:35AM jynxycat said

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 11:32AM sparkster said

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 12:37PM RedRaptor82 said

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 10:24PM Chareth Cutestory said

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 10:26AM The black suit said

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 10:30AM oOWallaceOo said

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 10:35AM Shadowbender said

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 11:17AM oOWallaceOo said

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 10:31AM Miranda Lawson said

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 10:34AM Shadowbender said

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 11:02AM Miranda Lawson said

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 10:32AM Shadowbender said

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 10:39AM xTetheredWingsX said

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 12:04PM Dao Jones said

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 10:35AM Nigeria said

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 11:07AM bshido said

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 11:54AM Jack Kevorkian said

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 10:41AM Vroushie said

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 10:51AM Jawmuncher said

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 11:11AM JIAGPOS said

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 11:21AM Drakkenfyre said

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 12:47PM Hoops said

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 11:12AM religiousjedi said

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 11:17AM VeeDeeVee said

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 11:22AM clericrufio said

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 12:02PM Urbz1988 said

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 12:33PM Karate Tortoise said

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 1:06PM gatotsu911 said

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 2:43PM thedisagree said

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 2:52PM gatotsu911 said

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 1:08PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 3:31PM tylerh1701 said

Posted: Mar 11th 2011 5:02PM ecco6t9 said

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