bought the nephew one for xmas is the screen supposed to be so dark ?? to the point of not being able to see it propally ? is there a brightness adjustment ??

If not its rubbish !!

Tal

Yes it is supposed to be that dark. The reason it is so dark is because it is not backlit. The reason for this is that if it was backlit the batteries would only last a couple of hours.

That's bollocks. I bought one of these for my wife back in October and its sitting unused. Unless you use the thing in full sunlight its just about useless.

There is a guy working on an internal front light that looks pretty cool. Check it out at http://www.portablemonopoly.com/

In the meantime, Dixons are selling something called a glow guard at half price, 5 quid, at the moment. This is supposed to work fairly well, I'm off to get one this afternoon.

Andrew.

From http://www.gbacentral.net's FAQ which seems to be a handy spot for info


Why isn't the screen backlit?

The official line on this was given by Ken Lobb (Nintendo of America) in an interview before the GBA's launch. The fact of the matter is that the backlight simply didn't work out in testing and, as a result, it was decided that one shouldn't be included, so as not to inconvenience the player with any of the problems testers were experiencing.

Does this mean I have to buy an external light?

No. The screen is almost exactly the same as the Game Boy Color's screen, so if you haven't had any problems with that you shouldn't expect too many problems with the GBA. Just ensure you either play in a well lit room or outside in the sun. After that it's just a matter of holding the system at the right angle so you can see the screen and don't get glare from the lighting. Unless you plan on playing under cover of darkness, a light is by no means as essential as certain companies that sell them would have you believe, although, of course, it's nicer to have a well-lit screen.


In my opinion that's pants :(
Joolz

so thats £140 down the drain then !!

Not wasted when you can get an add-on light for £5-10, but they do look quite strange and inevitable eat more batteries :(

I got one of these for xmas and also found it very dark, so went to pc world on monday, picked up magnifying glass thing with built in light (im getting old), also came with carrying case and rechargable battery pack all for £14.

sorted :)

most impressed am i.

the game boy colour lights work OK, but I've got a set of 'floodlights' from EB - fold up lights so you have one on each side of the screen.

its a pain they didn't put a backlight in but a < £10 set of external lights sort it out.