Game Boy Advance SP

Clamshell redesign with a frontlit screen, a rechargeable lithium-ion battery and no 3.5 mm headphone jack.

Satoru Okada, who had led development of the Game Boy Advance, pitched a small, thin model with a rechargeable battery. Nintendo's leadership rejected it at first, so Okada had an engineer build a mock-up as compact as possible without regard to manufacturing. The result was the clamshell design, which won over the same executives. It launched in Japan on February 14, 2003 and in other regions in March.

Folded, it is about half the size of the original Game Boy Advance. It was the first Game Boy with a rechargeable battery, a lithium-ion pack, and its screen has a frontlight that can be switched off. In exchange it lost the 3.5 mm headphone jack: it needs dedicated headphones or an adapter that uses the charging port. Reviewers liked the light and battery, though several outlets regretted the missing jack.

Models: AGS-001