Game Boy Micro or Adv SP?

[pmc]

My 8-year old daughter wants a GB for Xmas.

Which is the better move? Looks like they are about the same price (Amazon has the Micro at $70 and the Advance SP for $80). DS is overkill I think (and it's not what she asked for).

Looks like the Advance SP plays all the old software but the Micro doesn't. Micro has a headphone jack (good) but a smaller screen. Micro size looks better for a child's hands? GBA doesn't have a headphone jack?

Don't have any other GB software and won't be connecting to others. The GBA library looks plenty big enough I think. I don't expect to buy more than a few games for it over the next year.

I'm leaning toward the micro I think. Whaddy'all think?

-pmc

[crashwg]

I have both and I'd suggest the SP. 

The micro is cool 'n all, but the screen is a little small.  Only reason I have the micro is that it fits in my pocket better for when I have a free minute or two to play some Ms Pac-Man or Galaga.

The SP is touted as having a 40% larger screen than the micro and believe me, it makes a big difference.  Pun intended...

[SithMaster]

SP doesnt have a headphone jack?

[ChadTower]

It has a proprietary jack.

[sphetr2]

I would say the Micro. But only because it's your eight year old daughter. Think about it:

Small hands, small size (as you said)
Native head phone jack (do you really want to listen to her games?)
Small screen doesn't really bother young children. Just the older folks. So SP loses one advantage.
You have no GB games, so there goes the other GBA SP advantage.

Unless you want to play it occasionally, I would go with the Micro.

And if you ever want to play older GB games, you can just buy a small flash card and emulate with Goomba. But your daughter probably isn't interested in that.

[pmc]

I would say the Micro. But only because it's your eight year old daughter.

[...]

Unless you want to play it occasionally, I would go with the Micro.

That's why I was leaning toward the Micro. Seems like I can't really goof this up.

The other reason to get an SP is because it's like all the other kids' Gameboys. The Micro might be strange enough that she isn't as thrilled with it.

And if you ever want to play older GB games, you can just buy a small flash card and emulate with Goomba. But your daughter probably isn't interested in that.

When she gets bored with it, you know I'll want to hack at it. That's one reason why I didn't go with a GameCube or another console. I know I couldn't keep myself from modding it. The Gameboy, on the other hand, is very personal and she can control it 100%. It hers and I'll respect that. That's another nod towards the SP I guess.

It has a proprietary jack.

Yeah, I did some research. I guess they combined it with the AC connector. Wierd, but I guess it was required due to the form factor. Man, that thing must be tight inside.

-pmc

[NIVO]

I have a micro and love it. But being your daughter is 8, I think the SP is considerably more "rugged". That Micro is fragile imho. Just something to consider my friend

[j2m2t2]

I have both and I would vote for the micro.  The screen is small but it looks like High Def compared to the SP and its brighter.  My daughter plays both but asked for DS for christmas. 

The micro with standard headphone jack is also very rugged the screen protectors are thick plastic.

I have the SD Supercard for the micro and it has built in ability to play all NES games, no need to run pocketnes.

Only my 2C

[pmc]

50/50 division here. 

I'm leaning toward the SP, but we'll see what ends up in my hands at the store....

Thanks for all the feedback.

-pmc

[KenToad]

I own the micro and have played the SP a few times, so I'm not really so experienced, but I would say the Micro is better for adult hands.  It's smaller, but actually wider than the SP, so that's a huge plus IMO.  Also, it resembles a cell phone, which can be a great reduction of dork factor for adults.  Most people think I'm text messaging when I'm actually playing some emulated Mega Man 2.     I don't think there's any difference in durability.  I carry the Micro around in my pocket all the time and it was incredible to have on a long flight.  If you think you'll inherit the machine, I guess it all comes down to how big your hands are or how identifiably dorky you can tolerate being.  If it's likely hers for the long haul, then I would say the SP with it's bigger screen and universally kiddie identity probably fits the bill.

Have fun.

[pmc]

Yup. I agree.

I bought a blue Advance SP for her. Found an original NES Bomberman cart for it too. That'll make her day (she loves that game on the Dreamcast).

Interetingly, I couldn't find silver or black anywhere. Only pink and blue and the blue ones were a bit scarce too. I wanted to avoid the whole gender-specific thing altogether (another discussion for another day I think). The micro was in-stock everywhere I went.

The EBgames geeks were completely baffled on why I wasn't buying a DS.

I think she'll pee her pants with excitement when she sees that Santa has been listening to her all along afterall!

-pmc