Games - E-Reader

	Games - E-Reader

The e-Reader is a device made by Nintendo for its Game Boy Advance portable video game system. It has a laser scanner that reads "e-Reader Cards," paper cards with specially encoded data printed on them.

The e-Reader is neither a console nor an accessory, but an add-on device, like the Famicom Disk System or the Sega CD. The e-Reader is one of only three official Nintendo add-ons to be released in the states. The other two add-ons are the Super Nintendo Entertainment System's Super Game Boy and the Nintendo GameCube's Game Boy Player.

Game Boy Advance

The e-Reader plugs into the cartridge slot of the Game Boy Advance like a regular game would. The end of the e-Reader sticks out from the Game Boy Advance unit to provide a slot to scan the e-Reader Cards.

The e-Reader is compatible with both the Game Boy Player and the Game Boy Advance SP. When using the Game Boy Advance SP, the link cable is not used like the original Game Boy Advance; it can only be hooked up to the back of the system, not the e-Reader. The e-Reader is incompatible with the Nintendo DS. Due to changes in the system's case design, the device will not fit into the cartridge slot of the system. It should be noted that some hardware modders have managed to get their e-Reader working with the DS; however, it is not recommended that the average end-user attempt this.

In order to add items and scan levels in games such as Super Mario Advance 4, a player required two Game Boy Advance systems and a link cable. The gray end would go into the e-Reader GBA and the purple end into the GBA that had the game. After entering the needed point on the game, players would swipe the cards in and the data would be transferred to the game cartridge.

Information

Two versions were released in Japan: the original (without a link cable port), which could read cards for use in games, etc., and another with a link cable port to connect with Nintendo GameCube games such as Animal Crossing and with other Game Boy Advance systems for games such as Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire. Only the latter was released in North America.

The e-Reader was only released in Japan, North America, and Australia. It was announced for Europe but was later cancelled. Due to a lack of popularity, it was discontinued in North America in early 2004; however, it is still being produced in Japan, where it became more popular.

e-Reader Cards

In the US, e-Reader Card packs have been released that contain: #NES games #New levels and power-ups for Super Mario Advance 4 #Items and designs for Animal Crossing #New trainers to battle in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire #Mini-games, including an exclusive version of Mario Party.

There have been numerous other games released with e-Reader support in Japan.

Dot codes

Data is encoded on the cards using "dot codes," a specialized barcode technology licensed from Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. e-Reader Cards may have one or two sets of dot codes on them, either a long strip on the left side of the card, a long strip on both the left and right sides of the card, a short strip on the bottom of the card or a short strip on the bottom of the card with a long strip on the left side of the card. Smaller games may require scanning only one card (two sets of dot codes), while the larger NES games can require as many as five cards (ten sets of dot codes) in order to start the application.

The shorter dot codes were only used with the Pokémon Trading Card Game. Cards released in regular sets published by both Nintendo and Wizards of the Coast had dot codes on the bottom side of the card. When scanned, the e-reader displayed a Pokédex data entry for the Pokémon shown on the card. Many of the cards published by Wizards of the Coast included a left side dot code that would allow users to play mini-games, animations, and use secret attacks in the Trading Card Game or play with various songs and graphics.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for E-Reader ]

Games - E-Reader

Game Boy Advance

Information

e-Reader Cards

Dot codes

Searches on eBay

Related searches on eBay