GameBoy Advance
The Game Boy Advance was the first Nintendo console of the new millenium and the successor to the incredibly popular Game Boy Color. This handheld was landscape rather than portrait and had numerous color variants. It would be followed by 2 updated versions, the Game Boy Advance SP and the Game Boy Advance SP (AGS-001). These follow ups went back to the portrait style and had a clamshell design, along with fixing the GBA's lighting issue with a front light on the regular SP and a backlight on the AGS-001.

GameCube
Released in 2001, the GameCube is one of the most loved Nintendo consoles for its gaming catalogue and its controller design. The console is home to many now classic games and the debut console for staple Nintendo franchises like Pikmin and Animal Crossing. It was the first Nintendo console to use discs rather than cartridges, using discs the size of mini dvds. Like every Nintendo Console there were optional add ons such as the Game Boy Player which allowed for GameBoy series games to be played on TVs.

Nintendo DS
The handheld closest to my heart, the DS, was released in 2004 as the successor to the GameBoy Advance. The DS brought touchscreen, built in microphone, wireless online gaming and dual working screens to the handheld gaming. Combining the original GBA with the SP versions, the handheld had two landscape screen on either side of a clamshell design. In 2006, the DS Lite would be released with a slimmer design and longer battery life. This was the DS I got as a kid and still have today! Both the DS and DS Lite feautured GBA backwards compatability via a slot on the bottom screen. 2008-2009 saw the release of the 3rd DS redesign, the DSi and DSi XL. The DSi had two camera, an online store and several apps for making art and videos.

Wii
The Wii was a console created to seperate Nintendo from its competitors. Moving away from graphical innovation and towards gameplay innovation, the Wii focused on creating a unique and fun experience for players. Motion controls, cheaper price point and large catalogue of games broadened Nintendo's demographics and made the console incredibly popular. It was also the first Nintendo console to directly support internet connectivity, allowing for digital distribution through the Wii store. The console also brought with it Miis! Miis are customizable characters that can be used in many games, most famously Wii Sports. The Wii is a console I will always be a big fan of because it was my first home console! The Wii would also have two rereleases, a version with no GameCube compatibility and a mini version. This was the last Nintendo console released in the 2000s.

The games released by Nintendo in the 2000s range from masterpieces to random cartoon and tv show tie ins. I have played Deal or No Deal for the Wii, I know there are several ICarly DS games and a Bible game for the GBA. There are also games like Okami, The Wind Waker, AC: Wild World and Metroid Prime. All that to say that this era has a variety of games that I don't think we'll get again. Here are some of my favorites and some I remember playing.

Some of my favorite random design things about this era

My favorite console variants