The irony is that they used to. The original Game Boy came out in 88'. It enjoyed 8 years of success when Nintendo decided to give it a color screen, and make it slightly smaller. Ok, good upgrades. It was reverse compatible, though it was an 8 bit system where as the original was only 4. Cool trick. 6 more years and we get the Advance. 16 bit system, 2 new buttons and a wide screen. Rock. Good stuff, and still reverse compatible. 3 years later, they back light the screen and make it a flip top. Not a fan of the flip thing, but I get that it could be useful in protecting the screen from damage. Just likes to eat batteries, then again don't they all.

Then came the game boy micro and the DS. Two screens. Really? Kay... I will admit it opened up a lot of gaming options and drove software innovation. I have never owned one... Oh, and if you want to play your old games? Better hang on to that GBA.
The Micro though. Um...Nintendo. Was there a point to that? Congratulations, you managed to shrink all the components down to the point that the console is almost the same as the game being played. Oh-and it kind of looks like an NES controller. Score one for nostalgia. Pat your self on the back.

I think it started right there.

You know... how about I call the WAAAAAAAAAHMBULANCE because all I hear is complaining. Who the hell cares? If you don't want a system, don't get it. If you think it's stupid, it's stupid, but you're going to tell a company to stop making something new just because you think it's completely stupid? If I recall, the PS3 came out with 4 different models, the XBox 360 came out with 4 or 5. So complain all you want, but perhaps they're making something that other people may like.

Different models of the PS3 and 360 was a good idea. It offered options for those who couldn't afford the top-notch models as easily.

Also, we're forgetting the Game Boy Pocket, which had a better screen than the regular Game Boy. But that came out seven years after the original.

There was also the Game Boy Light, which is a Game Boy with a backlight, released only in Japan, and only months before the non-lit Game Boy Color came out.

There were two models of the GBA SP. The first was actually front-lit, which meant the light was washed over the screen from the sides. A backlit SP released sometime after the DS came out, but it flew under the radar since Nintendo didn't bother advertising it.

Game Boy Micro is a collector's item more than anything else, so I don't think it's worth complaining about.

...I'm not sure if we should count the Super Game Boy (1994), Super Game Boy 2 (1998, only in Japan), or Game Boy Player (2003).


Ultimately, Game Boy Color was really the only of the systems that didn't fall victim to Upgrade Fever. Unless you count the multiple color choices down the line, but that'd just be stupid to complain about, since it's more about asthetics than anything else. And because of how long the original Game Boy lasted between its upgrades, the complaints didn't really start coming in until the GBA SP. However, the DS-i is really the only one truly worth complaining about, because it sports features and games not available on the original DS.

You are missing a vital point here. It's a matter of time frame. You can make as many models as you want as long as each model gets to run it's course. All of your examples, each itteration of the next came out at least a few years after the previous. And that makes a difference.

I just feel bad for those who bought a DSi.