| Game Boy Advance Video | |
| Type: | Video recording media |
| Capacity: | 32MB & 64MB |
| Owner: | Majesco Entertainment |
| Use: | Home video, feature films |
| Released: | 2004 |
| Discontinued: | 2007 |
Game Boy Advance Video is a format for putting full color, full-motion videos onto Game Boy Advance ROM cartridges. These videos are playable using the Game Boy Advance system's screen and sound hardware. They were all published by Majesco Entertainment, except for the Pokémon Game Boy Advance Video cartridges, which were published by Nintendo. Most cartridges were developed by DC Studios, Inc., except for the few labelled "Movie Pak" which were developed by 4Kids Entertainment's subsidiary 4Kids Technology, Inc.[1] The video cartridges are colored white for easy identification and are sold as Game Boy Advance Video Paks; these offer the same 240×160 resolution as standard Game Boy Advance games, except for the Shrek and Shark Tale pack, which is at 112p.[2]
The product was originally announced as GBA-TV in 2003.[3] Game Boy Advance Video Paks first became available in North America in May 2004. In June 2004, Majesco had expanded its Game Boy Advance Video licenses into other categories. They had also expanded the library to include shows from Nickelodeon, Nick Jr, Cartoon Network, and Funimation, in addition to the existing 4Kids cartridges. In November 2004, Majesco started to sell GBA Video Paks featuring several Disney Channel animated series, including Brandy & Mr. Whiskers, Kim Possible, , and The Proud Family. In November 2005, Majesco began to sell GBA Video Paks featuring full-length animated films from DreamWorks Animation including Shrek 2 and Shark Tale.[4] A special GBA Video Pak containing the films Shrek and Shark Tale combined into one cartridge was released in 2006.[5]
Game Boy Advance Video Paks are viewable only on Game Boy Advance, Game Boy Advance SP, Game Boy Micro, Nintendo DS, and Nintendo DS Lite systems, as the owners of copyright in the television shows requested that Majesco prevent people from using the GameCube's Game Boy Player accessory to play and record the shows onto VHS tapes or DVDs. However, the low resolution and mono sound would result in a low-quality video output on a TV regardless. Unlike Sony's PlayStation 2 and Microsoft's Xbox video game consoles, the Nintendo GameCube cannot output Macrovision gain-control copy distortion signals. The GBA Video Paks perform a check when inserted into the Game Boy Player, using the same logo authentication method used by Game Boy Advance games that support controller rumble, and will freeze with the message "Not compatible with Game Boy Player" if they detect the Game Boy Player in use.
Because of the low capacity of Game Boy Advance cartridges (normally ranging from 4 to 32 MB, though the video cartridges can reach sizes of 64 MB) and the length of the video content (generally feature-length movies and episodes), GBA Video Paks are heavily compressed, with visual artifacts marring nearly every frame. The image quality has a similar appearance to early Cinepak compression, and the "quilting" and color bleeding effect found in other compressed video formats is also present. The opening theme for Pokémon is also slightly shortened. Also, in cases where certain videos are available both as a 45-minute two-part episodes or a 22-minute edited version, the 22-minute version is used. The proprietary codec created by DC Studios is described in detail in the Majesco patents.[6]
Game Boy Advance 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 Game Boy Advance SP and twenty GBA Video Paks. Most GBA Video Paks cost US$9.95 and feature 40 to 45 minutes of video content. GBA Video Movie Paks cost US$19.99 and feature up to a 90-minute movie.Some GBA Video Movie Paks came packaged with headphones.
The following titles and episodes were released on Game Boy Advance Video:[7]
Three feature-length movies and two compilations were released:
All movies are rated PG by the MPAA. Individual movie cartridges retain the full credits sequence with music, while on compilations, credits are text only and accelerated.
| Title | Runtime | Episodes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Show | Title | Number | ||
| Volume 1 | 44:00 | Ed, Edd n Eddy | "Stop, Look and Ed" | 21b |
| Courage the Cowardly Dog | "Magic Tree of Nowhere" | 14a | ||
| Johnny Bravo | "The Perfect Gift" | 10b | ||
| The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy | "Crawling Niceness" | 19a | ||
| Volume 2 | 44:00 | "Operation T.U.R.N.I.P." | 4a | |
| Courage the Cowardly Dog | "Courage the Fly" | 19a | ||
| Johnny Bravo | "Balloon Platoon" | 32b | ||
| The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy | "Mandy the Merciless" | 16a | ||
| Limited | 44:00 | Ed, Edd n Eddy | "Key to My Ed" | 20b |
| Courage the Cowardly Dog | "The Queen of the Black Puddle" | 9a | ||
| "Operation M.I.N.I.G.O.L.F." | 4b | |||
| Dexter's Laboratory | "The Big Sister" | 6c | ||
| Platinum | 44:00 | "Operation T.O.M.M.Y." | 10a | |
| The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy | "A Grim Surprise" | 9a | ||
| Courage the Cowardly Dog | "Cowboy Courage" | 23b | ||
| Ed, Edd n Eddy | "The Luck of the Ed" | 36 | ||
| Premium | 44:00 | Dexter's Laboratory | "Double Trouble" | 4a |
| Courage the Cowardly Dog | "The Shadow of Courage" | 2a | ||
| Johnny Bravo | "Cookie Crisis" | 4c | ||
| Ed, Edd n Eddy | "A Glass of Warm Ed" | 10a | ||
| Special | 44:00 | Ed, Edd n Eddy | "Oath to an Ed" | 12b |
| Johnny Bravo | "Beach Blanket Bravo" | 8a | ||
| The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy | "Billy and the Bully" | 11b | ||
| Dexter's Laboratory | "Dexter's Rival" | 3a/12a | ||
| Title | Runtime | Episodes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Show | Title | Number | ||
| Volume 1 | 44:00 | Lilo & Stitch | "Slushy" | 27 |
| Kim Possible | "Ron the Man" | 20 | ||
| Volume 2 | 44:00 | Lilo & Stitch | "Poxy" | 32 |
| Kim Possible | "Rufus in Show" | 27a | ||
| Brandy & Mr. Whiskers | "To The Moon Mr. Whiskers" | 4 | ||
| Title | Runtime | Episodes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Show | Title | Number | |||
| Volume 1 | 45:02 < | -- with intro --> | SpongeBob SquarePants | "Pizza Delivery" | 5a |
| The Fairly OddParents | "The Big Problem" | 1a | |||
| All Grown Up! | "Chuckie's In Love" | 6 | |||
| Volume 2 | 45:02 < | -- with intro --> | SpongeBob SquarePants | "Nature Pants" | 9a |
| SpongeBob SquarePants | "Opposite Day" | 9b | |||
| Rocket Power | "Big Air Dare" | 19a | |||
| The Fairly OddParents | "Odd Ball" | 36b | |||
| Volume 3 | 45:02 < | -- with intro --> | SpongeBob SquarePants | "Squeaky Boots" | 8b |
| The Fairly OddParents | "Tim Visible" | 12a | |||
| Danny Phantom | "Attack of the Killer Garage Sale" | 4 | |||
The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius
The Fairly OddParents Volume 1
The Fairly OddParents Volume 2
| Title | Total runtime | Episodes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title | No. | Runtime | ||
| Volume 1 | 44:00 | "Bubblestand" | 2a | 11:05 |
| "Ripped Pants" | 2b | 11:05 | ||
| "Jellyfishing" | 3a | 11:05 | ||
| "Plankton!" | 3b | 11:05 | ||
| Volume 2 | 44:00 | "Mermaid Man & Barnacle Boy" | 6a | 11:05 |
| "Pickles" | 6b | 11:05 | ||
| "Hall Monitor" | 7a | 11:05 | ||
| "Jellyfish Jam" | 7b | 11:05 | ||
| Volume 3 | 44:00 | "Texas" | 18a | 11:05 |
| "Walking Small" | 18b | 11:05 | ||
| "Hooky" | 20a | 11:05 | ||
| "Mermaid Man & Barnacle Boy II" | 20b | 11:05 | ||
| Total Runtime ! | Episodes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Runtime | |||
| Volume 1 | 41:29 | "A Hot Water Battle" | 20:43 | |
| "For Ho-Oh The Bells Toll | " | 20:46 | ||
| Volume 2 | 41:31 | "Playing with Fire" | 20:48 | |
| "Johto Photo Finish" | 20:43 | |||
| Volume 3 | 42:35 | "Pokémon, I Choose You!" | 21:17 | |
| "Here Comes the Squirtle Squad" | 21:18 | |||
| Volume 4 | 43:13 | "Beach Blank-Out Blastoise" | 22:06 | |
| "Go West, Young Meowth" | 21:07 | |||
| Reference: [8] | ||||
Volumes 1 and 2 consist of episodes from , with one exception: "A Hot Water Battle" is from .
Volumes 3 and 4 consist of episodes from .
Dragon Ball GT Volume 1
Lizzie McGuire 2: Lizzie Diaries Game + TV Episode
Sonic X Volume 1
Strawberry Shortcake: Summertime Adventure Special Edition
Strawberry Shortcake Volume 1
Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go! Volume 1
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Volume 1
Yu-Gi-Oh! Volume 1
The following Game Boy Advance Video titles were planned, but never released to the public.
The episode list is unknown. Nintendo later released Kirby: Right Back at Ya! episodes on subsequent systems:
Sonic X Volume 2
Episodes "Missile Wrist Rampage" and "Chaos Emerald Chaos" were planned to be released on Game Boy Advance Video.[9]
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Volume 2
The two-part episode "The Shredder Strikes" was planned to be released on Game Boy Advance Video.[10]
Yu-Gi-Oh! Volume 2
The two-part episode "Noah's Final Threat" was planned to be released on Game Boy Advance Video.