Online w/ Game Boy Color & Advance | Mobile Adapter GB | Collector's Corner

by Danny Bivens

Second time's a charm?

Despite being known as the weakest link when it comes to online services in gaming, Nintendo is actually one of the pioneers in this area. Of course, many of you know about the company’s foray into online with the Nintendo 64 Disk Drive. While limited in many ways, Nintendo did have a lot of great ideas for their service with the device that would live on in other platforms years later. There was one other device that Nintendo used to bring online capabilities to Nintendo gamers in Japan. And it’s a platform that you probably wouldn’t expect - the Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance.

Background Information & Release
The Mobile Adapter GB was unveiled to the world (or Japan at least) at Space World 2000 in late August 2000. It was originally scheduled to release day and date with Pokémon Crystal Version in Japan on December 14, 2000. In October 2000, Nintendo announced that they would have to delay the release of the adapter by a little over a month, pushing it back to January 27, 2001. No reason for the delay was given at the time. The idea behind the device is simple. By connecting a Game Boy Color (or later, Game Boy Advance) to the adapter and your mobile phone, gamers were able to take their games online via what was called the Mobile System GB service. While the functionality isn’t anywhere near as robust as what we find with online gaming today, there were still several things that could be done. Compatible games and software allowed users to download a variety of content for games, play others online, check websites and more.

There were some safety measures put into place so kids wouldn’t have free rein of the internet - something that we’ve seen Nintendo put into place with a lot of their online practices over the years. With this service, users were only able to access websites and information directly from Nintendo. These were all carefully crafted by Nintendo themselves to prevent kids from seeing or accessing things that they shouldn’t.

While it may seem a bit strange as to why this might be an attractive product to gamers or mobile users, it important to remember that even though Japan was ahead of the curve with mobile technology, screen size was still relatively small. One of the the appeals (from a Nintendo marketing standpoint anyway) was the ability to use email and check these websites on a larger screen on the go. Of course, other things like having access to additional content for games, playing with or against friends, online rankings and more were other benefits for gamers.

Models & Pricing
There were three different base models for the Mobile Adapter GB, each color coded - blue, red and yellow. Each of these colors were compatible with different phones/carriers throughout Japan. I’m not going to get into the minutia of the different technological aspects here, but just know, that simply put, Nintendo wanted to make sure that this device could be used by anyone who had mobile phone service. An interesting note here - the blue adapter (Digital Mobile Phone PDC version) was the most widely available. Why is that? Well, PDC phones made up about 90% of the mobile marketplace at the time. For collector’s purposes, you’ll be hard pressed to track down red or yellow versions.

The service itself required a system registration fee of ¥400 and then could be used for ¥10 per minute throughout Japan. Of course, users would also be responsible for other usage fees to their mobile carriers on top of these. Pricing on the actual content varied. For example, for Pokémon Crystal, access to the “Battle Tower” cost a one time fee of ¥10, whereas a monthly Pokémon news letter via the service could be had for a flat fee of ¥100 per month.

Each adapter came bundled with a card that had a login ID, email address and temporary password. After purchasing the device and entering the login information for the supported software, gamers could jump right in for free for a 15 day period (plus fees from their mobile carrier). During this 15 day time period, users could fill out the registration card and send it in, after which, they would be able to have access to the service afterward. (manual)

Similar to the safety measure put into place for kids with internet access that was mentioned before, Nintendo put in restrictions to keep users from spending too much on additional content. If service charges for content exceeded ¥10,000, users would not be able to receive any more content for the remainder of the billing month.

When released, the device sold for ¥5,800 plus the various fees associated with using the service. It could be picked up at various shops around Japan like Toys r Us, Tsutaya and even mobile carrier shops. Initial promotion for the device and service circled around (then) Japanese Seattle Mariners pitcher, Kazuhiro Sasaki and ran with the catch phrase, that not only adults, but “kids can also be challenged by this new world of gaming.” After only a few months on the market, the Adapter saw a ¥2,000 price drop bringing it down to ¥3,990.

Games
There were actually quite a few titles that were released for both the Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance that supported the Mobile Adapter GB. Most of the supported games have a blue stripe across the bottom that reads “Mobile System GB Support.” Here's a list of all of the games and release information chronologically:

Pokémon Crystal Version
Release date: December 14, 2000
Developer/Publisher: Game Freak/Nintendo
Platform: Game Boy Color
Retail Price: ¥3,800

Mobile Trainer
Release Date: January 27, 2001
Developer/Publisher: MissingLink/Nintendo
Platform: Game Boy Color
Retail Price: ¥5,800, included with adapter

Napoleon
Release Date: March 21, 2001
Developer/Publisher: Genki/Nintendo
Platform: Game Boy Advance
Retail Price: ¥4,800

Zen Nihon GT Senshuken (Top Gear GT Championship)
Release Date: March 21, 2001
Developer/Publisher: Vision Works/Kemco
Platform: Game Boy Advance
Retail Price:

Play Novel Silent Hill
Release Date: March 21, 2001
Developer/Publisher: Konami
Platform: Game Boy Advance
Retail Price: ¥5,800

Doraemon: Midori no Wakusei Doki Doki Daikyūshūtsu!
Release Date: April 27, 2001
Developer/Publisher: Mobile 21/Epoch
Platform: Game Boy Advance
Retail Price:

Mobile Golf + Mobile Adapter GB
Release date: May 11, 2001
Developer/Publisher: Camelot/Nintendo
Platform: Game Boy Color
Retail Price: ¥5,800

Morita Shogi Advance
Release Date: July 12, 2001
Developer/Publisher: Hudson
Platform: Game Boy Advance
Retail Price:

Net(to) de Get(to) Mini Game @100
Release Date: July 12, 2001
Developer/Publisher: Konami
Platform: Game Boy Color
Retail Price:

Mario Kart Advance
Release Date: July 21, 2001
Developer/Publisher: Intelligent Systems/Nintendo
Platform: Game Boy Advance
Retail Price: ¥4,800

JGTO Kōnin Golf Master Mobile: Japan Golf Tour Game
Release Date: July 26, 2001
Developer/Publisher: Konami Computer Entertainment Nagoya/Konami
Platform: Game Boy Advance
Retail Price:

Kinniku Banzuke: Kongō-kun no Daibōken!
Release Date: July 26, 2001
Developer/Publisher: KCE Studios/Konami
Platform: Game Boy Advance
Retail Price:

Mobile Pro Yakyū: Kantoku no Saihai
Release Date: July 26, 2001
Developer/Publisher: Mobile 21/Konami
Platform: Game Boy Advance
Retail Price:

StarCom: Star Communicator
Release Date: July 26, 2001
Developer/Publisher: Konami
Platform: Game Boy Advance
Retail Price:

Zero Tours
Release Date: July 27, 2001
Developer/Publisher: Amedio/Media Rings
Platform: Game Boy Advance
Retail Price:

Game Boy Wars 3
Release Date: August 30, 2001
Developer/Publisher: Hudson
Platform: Game Boy Color
Retail Price:

Daisenryaku for Game Boy Advance
Release Date: December 7, 2001
Developer/Publisher: Media Kite
Platform: Game Boy Advance
Retail Price:

Exciting Bass Mobile (ESPN Great Outdoor Games Bass 2002)
Release Date: December 20, 2001
Developer/Publisher: KCEO/Konami
Platform: Game Boy Advance
Retail Price:

Mail de Cute
Release Date: February 14, 2002
Developer/Publisher: Konami
Platform: Game Boy Advance
Retail Price:

Hello Kitty no Happy House
Release Date: March 2, 2002
Developer/Publisher: MTO
Platform: Game Boy Color
Retail Price:

Next up, here is some information about a select few games and what they did to utilize the Adapter the Mobile GB System service.

Pokémon Crystal (Game Boy Color)

Nintendo was hoping that the prowess of an entry into the Pokémon series would help drive the desire for the Mobile Adapter GB. While that obviously didn’t work out in the long run, there were a lot of interesting ideas put into place here. To promote the device, copies of Crystal even contained a small poster advertising the adapter and its upcoming late January 2001 release. In the game itself, once players get through the the introductory part of the game, they could access the mobile adapter features from the main menu or from a few different locations in the game - at Pokémon centers and/or the PCC (Pokémon Communication Center) in Goldenrod City (Kogane City). 

There were a lot of different things that Pokémon Crystal owners could do with the Mobile Adapter - Trade, battle, access an exclusive Battle Tower, get a special “mystery egg,” subscribe to a mobile only Pokémon newsletter and even access special content that can be used in Pokémon Stadium Gold/Silver/Crystal version on the Nintendo 64. Costs for these features started at ¥10 each, while the newsletter cost ¥100. 

The Battle Tower could be found in Olivine City (Asagi City). As long as the mobile adapter is plugged into your Game Boy, you can access the tower. Here, trainers can bring three of their best Pokémon and try their luck up to five times per day against some tough opponents. Each area is divided into levels starting at level ten. If you defeat your opponents, your username and a grade would be added to the room. 

For the connection to Pokémon Stadium and the Nintendo 64, users who owned both games and the mobile adapter could make use of data that could be transferred over to the N64 game and viewed in 3D on the big screen. Costs for this service were sometimes free, but could sometimes cost ¥20 each. On the topic of no additional cost, the Mystery Egg was also free of charge and contained a rare Pokémon that would be hatched over time. 

Interestingly enough, battles and trading via the mobile adapter could even take place after the service ended. This was done via “Friends and Mobile,” using a Peer to Peer connection via the adapter and mobile phones essentially calling each other. The Mobile System GB was not needed for that part of the service. 

Given that Crystal sold over six million units worldwide, it’s not particularly difficult to come by, even here in Japan. Of course, if you want to pick up a copy that contains all of the manuals and fliers, it will be a little bit more difficult, but it definitely won’t break the bank. 

Mobile Trainer (Game Boy Color)

This Game Boy Color cartridge was included with every Mobile Adapter GB. This served as a portal for using Mobile GB specific email, viewing Nintendo’s crafted websites, checking out new content as well as a way to manage your account. I have two adapters, and two copies of this software, but they both appear to have never been used so unfortunately there was no way to look at any of the saved websites or breach the previous owners privacy by checking out their old emails. Even with that said, between cross checking the instruction manual, various websites and the game itself, I was able to get a pretty complete picture of what was on offer here.  

There were three sections to explore once you got into “start” - Mail, Home Page and Help. In mail, you are able to check previously received mail, write emails and save contacts. You could only send one email at a time and receive up to 12 at a time. Saving email was a possibility, too, but again, you were limited to just 12. Heavy users would have to make sure that they had enough space to receive further emails. In the Address book, you were only able to save up to six friends. While it was possible to receive mail that didn’t originate on the Mobile System GB servers, not all mail could be read. No specifics were really given here in the manual. 

Choosing the Home Page option allowed users to view a variety of webpages crafted specifically for the Mobile Trainer software. Nintendo themselves created a specific Mobile website with various information that could viewed online. In the software, you were able to bookmark pages that you could jump to at a later time. Not only that, but in an effort to reduce costs, users were able to cut their connection and view websites after the page has been downloaded to the system. With that being said, even now, if a user were to have downloaded a webpage, it could be checked today. Unfortunately, like I mentioned above, my two copies appear to have never been taking online. 

When you are connected online, the software had a counter at the bottom of the screen to let you keep track of how long you’ve been using the service. Every ten minutes, the software would display a message letting you know how much time has passed in an effort to try to keep you, again, from racking up a huge bill. If you wanted to continue you could, however the message would still appear every ten minutes. Right now, there’s really not a whole lot that you can do with the cart or service. For me, it was still interesting to dive in to see the different animations, menus and the variety of information. 

Picking up a PDC version of the device is the easiest way to go for Collectors. I was lucky enough to have one (of my two) that came with everything - the Mobile Trainer cart, proper box inserts, plastic bags, manuals, registration form and few other slips of paper. These are still out in the wild and (right now at least) can be had for a reasonable price.

Mobile Golf + Game Boy Adapter GB Set (Game Boy Color)

Developed by Camelot and published by Nintendo, this was a simulation style golf game released exclusively in Japan. It’s very similar to Mario Golf on the Game Boy Color and even features a few characters from said title. The game even had a feature that allowed users to save entire replays of the holes they’ve played. When it came to online capabilities, Mobile Golf had several things for gamers and was really one of the marquee titles for the Mobile System GB service. New courses could be download for ¥50 each, extra mini games could be had for ¥10 and additional characters, including Mario, Peach, Yoshi and Blackie (aka Foreman Spike from Wrecking Crew) could be purchased for ¥10 a piece. 

Players could also compete in various competitions set up by Nintendo. From the game’s launch, these competitions ran from the day of the games release (May 11) all the way until the end of August in 2001. To participate in one round, players would have to shell out ¥50 per round of what was dubbed the Nintendo Open. Open at all times for the “Open Competition” and “Various Competitions,” users could participate for in these for ¥10. When connected online, players could also check comments of the participants as well as check on the points that they netted in competitions for free. 

A counseling service was also available for ¥10 per session. In these, players would be given advice in a “lecture” on how to better approach the various holes in the game. Setting up requests, seeing the most popular requests for counseling and checking competition rankings per hole were all available at no additional charge. 

All of the online aspects of the game could be checked under a section labeled “Network.” Once enter, you are in a club house has desks for all of the above mentioned online features. A nice little touch. For collectors, this game is pretty common as of right now and can be had for relatively cheap. The game commonly can be found as part of a set with the Mobile Adapter GB. I bought my copy years ago with the adapter and it came with the game, manual and included leaflets.

Play Novel Silent Hill (Game Boy Advance)

An unlikely choice for a portable system, Konami brought the Silent Hill series to the Game Boy Advance right at launch (March 2001) with this novelized version of the original game. Officially dubbed Play Novel Silent Hill, the game puts users through the story via text, still images, animated images and the occasional compressed FMV shoved into a GBA cart. The FMV was reworked from the Playstation original down to 256 simultaneous colors to work on Nintendo’s handheld. Pretty impressive for the time. The game features two different scenarios - one for Harry Mason and another for Cybil Bennet, with the latter being playable after clearing Harry’s mission. There are even digital cards that could be collected throughout the play through. 

As for the mobile content, Konami offered new scenarios that were exclusive to the Mobile System GB service based around the in game character Andy. These were broken down into seasons - spring, summer fall and winter. The content was released in May 2001, and were an additional ¥20 each (on top of the charge for the service and mobile phone charges). Interestingly, the data could not be saved to the cart itself (manual). Similar to how NES games from Animal Crossing worked on GBA, the scenarios were would remain on the system as long as sit was turned on. The scenarios were saved temporarily on the GBAs RAM. They would have to be re-purchased if you wanted to play them after shutting the system off. 

Playing through these extra scenarios were the only way to collect a full set of the in-game digital trading cards - four could only be found there. Since these scenarios were only available in a temporary fashion, there’s not way to access these (as far as I know) from the cart. We only have memories of gamers from yesteryear and the official guide for the game to fill us in on the details.

Mario Kart Advance (Game Boy Advance)

Sometimes regarded as one of the weakest links in the Mario Kart series, Mario Kart Advance, known as Super Circuit in the West, raced onto the Game Boy Advance in the summer of 2001. Like the games in the series before and after, Advance/Super Circuit offered a Grand Prix, Time Trials, Quick Run, Versus and Battle Mode, the latter of which offered 4 player multiplayer with friends. While gamers in the west would still enjoy the game, the mobile features locked away to the Japanese version slightly set it apart. 

From the main menu of the Japanese version, an option called “Mobile” would be the way to access the mobile features of the game. In the Western version, this third option was replaced with “Ghost Data” (as you can see here). After entering in your login credentials, you could access rankings, ghost data and a mobile GP mode. Rankings were pretty robust - players could see the top ten racers on a given track, the ten players closest to their time and even see  how their ghost data ranks all over Japan. The Ghost data section allowed players to download the ghost data of others. Players could download up to two “ghosts.” The mobile GP mode allowed users to race specific courses where their times would be stacked up against other racers around the country. While there was no head to head competition, there was certainly a lot that could be done using the mobile adapter. 

For collectors, Mario Kart Advance is a fairly common game. The design differs slightly from the Western releases, featuring the same Mario asset in a kart on a white background with the Mobile Adapter GB strip across the bottom. The game came with a post card that could be used to order a mobile adapter as well.  

Closure of Service

In May of 2002, Nintendo announced the closure of the Mobile System GB service which was set for December 14, 2002. Users who used the DION Mobile GB Course would have a few extra days to use the service, as it ended on December 18. All other service, such as downloadable content, etc, would come to a close. The Nintendo Mobile Magazine as well as email addresses created on the service would also come to a close. Nintendo thanked users for using the service and asked gamers to prepare for the closures of connected emails accounts. 

Conclusion

The Mobile Adapter GB again shows another interesting attempt of Nintendo getting into online, which was unfortunately met again with failure. Even with some of the biggest franchises pushed for the service in Pokémon and Mario Kart, Nintendo’s best wasn’t enough to draw gamers in. The reasons behind the general disinterest in the product can only be speculated. Was it a problem with the messaging behind the product? Was it just too difficult for people to set up? Was it just not worth the extra cash? Taking a look at the early marketing - “a new world for kids” in the gaming sphere? I think it was a bit too early and complicated for that, especially when adults didn’t even buy in. Regardless, The Mobile Adapter GB and Mobile System GB service remain a fascinating look into Nintendo’s online past. This failure coupled with the failure of the Nintendo 64DD could very well be the reasons as to why Nintendo has been so hesitant to dive deeper into online gaming not only in the early 2000s but also now.