Majesco announces wireless multiplayer, messenger products for GBA

Publisher and peripheral manufacturer Majesco has announced two new wireless products for the GBA - one which allows multiplayer games to be played wirelessly, and another which turns the console into a wireless messaging terminal.

Wireless Link, as the name suggests, substitutes for a normal link cable and provides a wireless connection which can be used by any multiplayer GBA title. The device plugs into a GBA or GBA SP and requires no additional batteries, and up to four players can play in a multiplayer game - with up to three groups of four playing independently in the same area without interference.

More interesting, arguably, is the Wireless Messenger device - which allows users up to three miles away to chat in real time on the GBA or exchange text messages which are stored by the device until read.

The Wireless Messenger system uses an open area of the radio spectrum rather than the mobile phone network, and as such no call or SMS message charges are incurred when using it - making the device potentially attractive to children or their parents.

According to Majesco, the Wireless Messenger has a range of three miles over open ground, or several blocks in built-up areas, and although it is charged separately from the GBA, it can operate for up to a week on a single charge.

Both wireless multiplayer and wireless messaging are features which Nintendo is trumpeting in its latest handheld console, the Nintendo DS, which was unveiled for the first time at E3 last week.

This isn't the first time that Majesco has created an innovative peripheral for the Game Boy Advance. The company is also behind the GBA Video system, designed by Scottish developer DC Studios, which last month received a seal of approval from Nintendo itself with the announcement that the platform holder will launch episodes of its Pokemon TV series for the system.