Game Boy Advance SP — the folding GBA with a lit screen, tested
Personally tested · Shipped from the Netherlands with PostNL tracking · 3-8 working days
Game Boy Advance SP consoles in stock
Game Boy Advance SP Pokemon Groudon Edition
€322.95Personally tested
2 conditions Game Boy Advance SP Cobalt Blue
€149.95Personally tested Playable condition
Game Boy Advance SP Pokemon Kyogre Edition
€322.95Personally tested
Game Boy Advance SP Kingdom Hearts Edition
€227.95Personally tested Playable condition
2 conditions Game Boy Advance SP Silver Tribal
€169.95Personally tested Playable condition
Game Boy Advance SP — Blue
€229.95Personally tested Playable condition
Game Boy Advance SP NES Edition
€173.95Personally tested Playable condition
Game Boy Advance SP Silver
€125.95Personally tested Playable condition
Game Boy Advance SP — Transparent Red (IPS)
€259.95Personally tested
Game Boy Advance SP Silver Tribal (poor condition)
€131.95Personally tested Fair condition
Game Boy Advance SP Cobalt Blue (poor condition)
€112.95Personally tested Fair condition
About the Game Boy Advance SP
The Game Boy Advance SP (2003) is the folding GBA with a rechargeable battery: compact, well protected by the clamshell, and the most comfortable way to play GBA today. Two versions exist — the AGS-001 with a front-lit screen and the later AGS-101 with a clearly brighter back-lit screen; which one a console is, is stated in its listing where known. The SP plays Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance cartridges — three generations in one handheld. Every console here is tested on the screen, the hinge, all buttons and the battery; a twenty-year-old battery has lost capacity, and the listing says how it held up. Sent from the Netherlands, tracked, with no customs charges anywhere in the EU.
- Released in Europe
- March 2003
- Screen
- 2.9-inch, 240 × 160 — front-lit on the AGS-001, back-lit on the AGS-101
- Plays
- Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance cartridges
- Region
- Region-free
- Battery
- Rechargeable lithium-ion; about 10 hours with the light on when new
- Charger
- AGS-002 — the same plug as the original Nintendo DS; DS Lite, DSi and 3DS chargers do not fit
- Headphones
- No headphone jack — an adapter in the charging port is needed
- Link cable
- GBA link cable port on top
AGS-001 or AGS-101 — how to tell them apart
The model number is on the sticker underneath. An AGS-101 also behaves differently: its light button switches between two brightness levels, while the AGS-001 only switches its front light on and off. The 101’s back-lit screen is clearly brighter and more even, which is why it is the favourite; the 001 is still lit, which already puts it ahead of the flat Game Boy Advance. Which version a console is, is in its listing where known.
What you should know before you buy
Four things that surprise first-time SP buyers.
- There is no headphone jack: the SP only has the charging and accessory port. Headphones work through a small adapter.
- The battery is a lithium-ion cell from the early 2000s. It works on every console we sell, but play time is shorter than the ten to eighteen hours of a new one. A replacement is cheap and takes minutes to fit.
- The charger is the one the original Nintendo DS used — not the DS Lite, DSi or 3DS plug. The listing says whether one is included.
- The screen is the same resolution as the wide GBA’s: the SP is smaller, not sharper.
Colours and editions
The SP launched in Europe in Cobalt Blue, Platinum and Onyx Black, followed by Flame Red, the Tribal edition with its tattoo pattern, Pearl Pink and special editions such as the NES Classic Edition in the colours of the NES controller. Among collectors the Pokémon Center editions with Groudon, Kyogre and Rayquaza and the Kingdom Hearts edition are the most sought after. Which edition and which screen a console has, is in its listing.
What to check on a used SP
The hinge should hold its position firmly; play, or a crack in the top shell at the hinge, is the known wear on this model. Then the screen (scratches, and on the 001 whether the front light is still even), the shoulder buttons and the battery. We test all of these points and describe the condition honestly in the listing.
Which games
Three generations in one slot: the GBA library with Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, FireRed and LeafGreen at its heart, the Game Boy Color library and the original Game Boy library back to Tetris. The Keep browsing row links the Pokémon GBA and Game Boy lists.
AGS-001 or AGS-101 — watch the screen
Two versions of the same console, and the screen is the whole difference.
Game Boy Advance SP (AGS-101) · 2005
Back-lit screen · clearly brighter
The later revision with a back-lit screen — by far the favourite for its picture quality. Which version a console is, is stated in the listing where known.
Game Boy Advance SP (AGS-001) · 2003
Front-lit screen
The original SP: the same folding body and rechargeable battery, with a front-lit screen that is dimmer than the 101’s but still lit — unlike the flat GBA.
Game Boy Advance · 2001
The flat original · 2× AA · no lighting
The wide original without any lighting, on batteries. On the Game Boy family page.
- Hinge, screen and battery tested
- The SP hinge is what usually fails, and the battery is twenty years old. Both are tested before a console is listed.
- Three generations of cartridges
- Plays Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance games — all region-free.
- Tracked EU shipping, 30-day returns
- Sent from the Netherlands — no customs charges anywhere in the EU.
Does the Game Boy Advance SP play original Game Boy games?
Yes. The GBA SP plays Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance cartridges — three generations in one handheld.
What is the difference between the AGS-001 and the AGS-101?
The AGS-101 has a brighter, back-lit screen; the AGS-001 a dimmer front-lit one. We state the version per console where known.
Does the rechargeable battery still hold a charge?
A twenty-year-old lithium battery has lost capacity — that is physics, not a fault. We test that every SP charges and runs on its own battery, and we say in the listing how it held up. Replacement batteries are widely available and easy to fit.
Is the Game Boy Advance SP region-locked?
No. Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance hardware plays cartridges from any region, so a European SP runs Japanese and American games too.
What does shipping to my country cost?
We ship tracked to all 27 EU countries. A console travels as a parcel: €21,95 to Germany, France, Italy and Spain, €23,95 to Denmark and Austria, €28,95 to Sweden. The exact rate for your country appears at checkout before you pay — and there are no customs charges anywhere inside the EU.
Shipped from the Netherlands
- Your order leaves our own stock in Enter, the Netherlands, and travels to you with PostNL — always tracked, so you know exactly where your parcel is.
- There are no customs borders inside the EU: no customs, no import duties, no extra VAT. The amount you see at checkout is the final amount.
We ship exclusively from the Netherlands. Your parcel therefore crosses a border: it takes longer than a domestic delivery, and shipping costs more than it would at a seller in your own country.
I hope Gameshop Enter gives you back a piece of how it used to be.