Does anybody know why Nintendo did not include the option of playing original or GBA games on the DS?

Question

I don't know...I was just disappointed when I found out that the hopes of seeing Pokemon Blue lighted in living color with the DS's backlight screen would be impossible unless I bought an SP...

My bad, I meant GBC games, not GBA games.

Answer 1

The DS has 2 slots! It does play GBA games as well as DS games. I know because I have Kasparov Chess (GBA) and Clubhouse Games (DS) in mine right now.

Perhaps you meant to say that it's disappointing that it will not play Gameboy Color and regular Gameboy games.

So, to set the record straight:

The DS plays: DS and GBA games.

The DS does not play: Gameboy Color and original Gameboy games.

Okie dokie?

...and yes, I was disappointed to discover that my original Gameboy and Gameboy Color games were incompatible with the DS. This seems strange since the Gameboy Advance is capable of playing original Gameboy games as well as Gameboy Color games.

But, you must admit, Nintendo has graciously given us the ability to play multiplayer wireless games on the DS using just one cartridge! Sony, for the most part has been a little more money hungry with the PSP in this regard.

So the DS still rules in my opinion.

.

Answer 2

""The Nintendo DS is not compatible with games for the Game Boy Color and the original Game Boy, due to a slightly different form factor and the absence of the Zilog Z80-like processor used in these systems"" [source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_DS#Compatibility ]


so, to reiterate: the reason the DS cannot play older games is because it doesn't have the computers necessary to read the older games

original gameboy games are read by the following computer, "Custom 8-bit Sharp x80 core at 4.194304 MHz"

gameboy color games are read by the following computer, "a Zilog Z80 workalike made by Sharp"

DS CPUs: Two ARM processors, an ARM946E-S main CPU and ARM7TDMI co-processor at clock speeds of 67 MHz and 33 MHz respectively, with 4 MiB of main memory which requires 1.65 volts. There is also an additional 656 Kib of Video RAM[citation needed]. The ARM7 is tasked with handling audio output and the Touchscreen as well as GBA games, and the ARM9 handles the graphics and logic processing. This latter CPU interfaces with the system's custom 3D processors as well

Answer 3

There are just WAY too many formats for Nintendo to put in a small handheld device, so the old ones had to go. That meant getting rid of the GBA card slots.