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One Reader's letter to Nintendo,
and Nintendo's response January 2002 by Menno
Hello!
Today i purchased a Gamboy Advanced, together with Super Mario Bros. Advanced.
I spent 196 dollars (177,- euro since i live in the Netherlands) on this purchase.
To my surprise the screen visibility was poor. Very poor actually.
I don't understand this; Nintendo, the console & game producer that always
assured consumers of it's fine quality, put a hand held console on the market
without a proper screen. A backlight would have been no luxury.
So, eager as i am as an concerned consumer, i surf to the Nintendo.com site
to check out the help/customer section about the GBA screen.
To my surprise, the number one FAQ about the GBA is the screen lightness!!
A lot of excuses and many more ways to enhance the view are found at that
section, and also this (amazing!) qoute:
'For players who want to play in low-light conditions, we currently do not make
a light attachment for Game Boy Advance. However, we are aware that there
are light accessories available which may help.'
Well, that's not the Nintendo i know since in bought my 8-bit NES in 1987.
Then, Nintendo was aware of pirate products ( official Nintendo prodcuts had the
seal of quality) and did everything they could to prevent people from buying
unlicensed goods
To my amazement, if found this qoute on your 'customer section':
Unlicensed products may not work with all systems, they may have compatibility
problems with certain games or accessories, and they could possibly damage the
system or game.
So, Nintendo first recommends 'third party products' and after that, is tells me to
not use 'third party' products.
The instructions manual of my GBA also states that use of unlicensed products may
cause the GBA to damage and that Nintendo won't take any responsibility for this.
I'm very confused... and very, very dissapointed in Nintendo....
Here's what i have to say about the screenlighting of the GBA:
The screen lighting is very poor. Even with normal daylight the images
are hard to see, something that really puts down the gameplay, entertainment
and enjoyment of the Nintendo Gameboy Advanced and its games.
I had to put up a halogen bureau-light near (30 cm.) my GBA to get proper
lighting on the screen.
Nintendo clearly states in advertisements that the GBA can taken almost everywhere.
But you can actually use it only nearby a very bright light source.
I think Nintendo really made a mistake by not including a backlighting system.
On your site you claim this sort of system would increase the costs of the
GBA. But how much? A backlighting system that was included in the SEGA Game Gear,
Atari Lynx 1 & 2, Neo Geo Pocket and Wonder Swan merely cost about $5,- in production
and materials.
Also, the fact that such as backlighting system would use more battery power is no
excuse. I'ts a fact, and no consumer would hesitate to buy a GBA because it would
use 4 AA- batteries instead of 2.
So what's the dig deal?
In your 'customer section' you make many excuses, even stating that non-backlighting
is very popular, since the Colour Gameboy was a great succes, and that system didn't have
backlighting.
Well, i think it's not a succes. I thinks it's a mistake or a misjudge Nintendo made in
the development of a otherwise great product.
And it's even more dissapointing that Nintendo first endorses unlicensed products,
and then states that the use of unlicensed product may cause break of the console,
which is not refunded. (this is also stated in the GBA instruction manual.
So, i'm now confined to the purchase of a unlicensed product to proplerly use
my licensed Gameboy Advanced, which may cause damage to my console,
which will not be refunded. That's just great.
I don't want to buy unlicensed products, but i also want to play my games properly on
my GBA, without getting a headache form looking very hard on the screen.
The statments Nintendo makes are simply confusing!
Would you please be so kind to let me know what Nintendo can do about my problem
and what Nintendo's opinion is about the GBA's poor screen lighting?
Please don't answer me with with answers such as described above and in your
customer section on Nintendo.com or, ever worse, with a standard 'we know the
problem, help yourself - this is an automated e-mail' message, because this
simply won't do.
With kind regards,
Menno Dijk
And here was Nintendo's response:
Hi,
We would like to be able to assist you; however, Nintendo of America Inc.
provides product support for the United States and Canada only. For
assistance in finding the authorized Nintendo distributor for your country,
please visit the Corporate area of our web site at www.nintendo.com. Click
on Company Connection, and then International Distributors.
Nintendo of America Inc.
editors note: *sarcasm* WOW, what an intelligent reply! */sarcasm*
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