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        AROUND THE WORLD 4: Nintendo's Game Boy Goes Wireless

        Nintendo has teamed with Motorola to take their Game Boy Advance and 
        Game Boy Advance SP handheld systems one step further. The Semiconductor 
        giant has started supplying chipsets to Nintendo which will be used to 
        create a wireless interface for the popular gaming system. It is 
        expected that the adapter will allow up to five Game Boy Advance owners 
        to tag-team various applications. 

        Nintendo, based in Japan, is expected to release the adapter, along with 
        new software titles based on the ever-popular Pokemon theme, in various 
        Japanese cities starting early 2004. At this time neither Motorola nor 
        Nintendo will comment on (any) possible international release(s) of the 
        wireless adapter, nor will they speculate on pricing. 

        Currently, customers of various Japanese telecommunications companies 
        can attach their Game Boys to their cell phones, using the latter as an 
        antenna and modem for web-based play. But overall, Nintendo's 
        wireless-gaming division is limited; although the manufacturer claims 98 
        percent of the handheld market with its Game Boy, recent advancements in 
        wireless technology continue to move the "rage" to real-time multiplayer 
        games--something Game Boy was not initially designed (nor intended) for. 


        Although extremely popular, wireless gaming faces several problems, most 
        occurring because of the current (hardware) limits wireless networks 
        face. Nonetheless, several companies have taken steps to improve the 
        wireless paradigm. Last year Nokia announced plans for a gaming 
        interface which would allow cell phone owners to use minutes from their 
        phones for game-play, while other equipment manufacturers have devised 
        devices which, appended to cellular networks, would allow gamers who are 
        within 10 feet of each other to interact without having to dial-up. 

        
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