The Play-Yan (trademarked PLAY-YAN) is a media player designed for the Game Boy Advance SP and also compatible with the Game Boy Micro and Nintendo DS. It uses SD flash memory to play MP3 audio files and H.264/MPEG-4 AVC video files. It can also play 13 bonus mini-games, all of which are available freely on the Nintendo website in Japan. Sales of the Play-Yan were discontinued on September 11, 2005. An updated version, the Play-Yan Micro (trademarked PLAY-YAN micro), known as the Nintendo MP3 Player in Europe, was released two days later alongside the similarly branded Game Boy Micro, with features such as MP4 and ASF support built directly into the hardware. Play-Yan Garage Games are not supported in the Play-Yan Micro. Overview The Play-Yan launched in Japan on February 21, 2005 for approximately 5,000 yen (US$47.47). Nintendo originally planned to release the adapter in the United States by the end of 2005, but ultimately was not released in North America. Nintendo did, however, release the micro version in Europe as the Nintendo MP3 Player, and since the Play-Yan (and its successor the Play-Yan Micro) is region-free, it can be imported to other regions and played on any Game Boy Advance. Play-Yan was released in China by iQue under the name of MP4 Player for GBA. It is an MP3 and MPEG-4 player add-on for the Game Boy Advance SP, Nintendo DS, DS Lite, and Game Boy Micro. Music and video files stored on an SD memory card can be loaded into a slot on the right side of the Play-Yan, which resembles a Game Boy Advance game cartridge. Due to its power requirement, use with an original Game Boy Advance system is not recommended. The Play-Yan is loaded directly into the Game Boy Advance game slot of a compatible system. While the original Game Boy Advance is compatible, its non-illuminated screen and the Play-Yan's high rate of power consumption do not make the Game Boy Advance a very suitable platform. The Play-Yan is also compatible with the Game Boy Player, but compressed video does not play back as nicely on a television screen as it does on a small, portable screen. Therefore, the Game Boy Player is a somewhat unsuitable platform as well, at least compared to any standard DVD player. The adapter has its own integrated headphone port, but uses the parent console's power supply, controls, and display.