Nintendo e-Reader
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| Manufacturer | Nintendo |
|---|---|
| Type | Add-on |
| Release date | (Japan) December 2001 (North American) September 2002 |
| Discontinued | Early 2008 |
The e-Reader (カードeリーダー Kādo-Ī-Rīdā?, Card-e-Reader) is a discontinued device made by Nintendo for its Game Boy Advance portable video game system. It was first released in Japan in December 2001, with a North American release following in September 2002. It has a LED scanner that reads "e-Reader cards", paper cards with specially encoded data printed on them.
Depending on the card and associated game, the e-cards are typically used in a key-like function to unlock secret items, levels, or play mini-games when swiped through the reader. See below for a comprehensive list of cards and their functions. The cards themselves contain data, as opposed to unlocking data already on the device itself.
The e-Reader is not a console, but an add-on device, like the Game Boy Camera or the Game Gear TV Tuner.
Two versions were released in Japan: the original e-Reader (without a link cable port), which could read cards to unlock game content, etc.; and later the e-Reader+ (simply "e-Reader" in Australia and North America), which came 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. The e-Reader was only considered successful in Japan. It was announced for Europe but very few were made, as it was almost immediately canceled, and it was discontinued in North America in early 2004, due to a lack of popularity. In Japan, it sold much better and was produced up to the discontinuation of the Game Boy hardware line.
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