At this point, the
Game Boy Advance Video pak can only hold 45 minutes of video. Which means that for the same price as a DVD containing episodes of
Pokemon or
The Fairly Odd Parents -- you are getting a lot less show time.
So it comes down to how much bang you get for your buck. If you already have a Game Boy Advance or GBA SP, then this might not be a bad idea -- it certainly beats buying a portable DVD player, at least in the short run.
There are two other sticking points with the GBA Video: one is that the quality isn't superb. Well, to be more precise -- the quality varies. I found that products coming from Nintendo directly, like Pokemon, had clearer and sharper images than those from Majesco. But in both cases, the picture was pixelated enough to be very noticeable.
The other part of this system that got my attention was the fact that these cartridges do not work in the Game Boy Player (a Game Cube attachment that allows you to play GBA games on the GC). The reason for this is fairly obvious. If you can play these shows on a TV, then you can tape them and then pirating will be that much easier. I had to think for a long while before deciding if this "feature" would actually take away from the final score.
In the end I had to think about what the purpose of this was. It is a way for people to watch their favorite shows on the go. And because of that -- there is really no reason to knock the Video for not working in the Game Boy Player.
So is the GBA Video line a good buy? That depends on several features. If you already have a portable DVD player to bring on those long road trips, don't bother -- you can get more shows for the same price. But if you don't and you only plan on short 45 minute stretches in the car (and you already have a GBA), then this might be a good form of entertainment to look into.