The GBA: Alive, well and living in a developing market near you

When Nintendo revealed the DS all those years ago it spoke about a grand 'three pillar' strategy; the idea was that the DS would not be a replacement for the ridiculously successful Game Boy Advance and instead would exist alongside it and the GameCube, giving the company a trio of potential sales platforms.

Such a move was probably a good indication of Nintendo's telling lack of faith in the DS, but with months of launch it was clear that the machine WOULD replace the GBA as the portable console of choice. The poor old GBA was quickly forgotten about, despite the release of the adorable GBA Micro.

So yeah - the GBA is ancient history, right? Time to file it along with the Turbo Express and Game Gear, wouldn't you say?

Not quite.

Kotaku contacted Nintendo regarding the status of the GBA - which has never been officially declared 'dead', even though no more software is forthcoming - and the company revealed that 420,000 units were shipped to retailers in the previous financial year, mainly in 'emerging markets'.

Not bad for a console that everyone considers to be six feet under, eh?

[source kotaku.com]