AfterBurner

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The AfterBurner is a lighting solution for the Game Boy Advance system that was created by Triton-Labs.

Originally, portablemonopoly.net was a website created to petition Nintendo to put some kind of light in their Game Boy Advance system. The system's screen was almost impossible to see except in direct bright lighting situations.

As the site grew, the creator started tinkering with his own solutions and eventually created a $30 kit that could be installed by the user or professionally.

Installation of the Afterburner involved opening up the Game Boy Advance to a front light (the physical Afterburner) that is slightly larger than the screen itself. The process also required soldering, and some users add a toggle or dimmer switch.

Because the Afterburner relied on the system itself for power, battery life was drained considerably if the light was left on at full capacity. Also, due to the nature of the front lighting technology, colors could be slightly washed out. However, the Afterburner generally provided a much better light than any external solution. GBAs with an Afterburner installed were even used at official presentations such as E3 by third party publishers because they were cheaper than the official solution of hard wiring the GBA to a television monitor.

Nintendo would go on to create a lighted version of the Game Boy Advance called the Game Boy Advance SP that used much of the same technology as the Afterburner.