Game Boy Advance Breaks Sales Records

June 21 -- Consider it the “Little Game System That Could.”

While much of the video game industry is anxiously awaiting the battle between Sony and Microsoft for the home console market this fall, Nintendo has already broken new ground in the war for the game-addicted.

According to company reports, 500,000 units of its new Game Boy Advance system have been sold since its introduction on June 11.

Nintendo's Pocket Rocket

With a half-million of these $100 handheld game units sold in its first week of introduction, Nintendo claims it to be the fastest-selling game system — ever.

Peter Main, executive vice president of sales and marketing for Nintendo of America, said that the demand for the new color handheld unit had surprised the company as well.

“We knew this was going to be strong,” said Main. “But this is a record-setting response.”

To stave off shortages in stores, the company has already begun shipping an additional 100,000 units from its factories in Japan and expects to have another half-million units in North American stores by the end of this month.

The Game Boy Advance offers a bigger screen that the original, 12-year old Game Boy system. It also offer more colors and power that even the Game Boy Color unit introduced just three years ago. What’s more, the Game Boy Advance can play any one of the more than 450 games originally designed for the older system.