Purple Yoshi Tech Demo (lost Game Boy Advance tech demo; existence unconfirmed; 2000)

The screenshot of the tech demo.

Status: Existence Unconfirmed

In August 2000 an image of a supposed tech demo featuring a purple Yoshi for the Game Boy Advance was posted on IGN's website. This image shows a 3D model of the Nintendo dinosaur mascot as bright purple, with a red crest and wearing green sneakers - a striking departure from the canonical green and orange. He is seen from a third person perspective, with blue and red spider-like creatures ahead of him. The creatures seem about to attack as he stretches his tongue out at one of them, presumably to eat it.

The Search

In 2014 Lost Media YouTuber LSuperSonicQ discovered the screenshot on a Spaceworld 2000 image website and uploaded it onto his blog. On further investigation in 2018 he found it on an Ars Technica forum page from August 14th, 2000, along with a a Lost Levels forum page of similar vintage providing links to two separate sources for the image.

The first source was a now-defunct fansite forum, Super Mario 128 Central, where a user named SolarGamer had posted the image along with the following statement:

"That's right! There is finally a high quality Game Boy Advance screenshot...And as you can see it is of Yoshi!! These graphics look astounding. Look at how crisp and clear the image is. Some might say that this rivals the N64. While there is no word on what exactly this game is, it looks a little like "Yoshi's Safari" for the SNES. If this is only a first generation game, just imagine what the GBA can do later in its life. I am getting more and more excited for what the GBA is capable of, and if things keep going this well, I might have a new favorite system in my hands. One can only hope this is a foreshadow of how good the "Nintedo Dolphin" will be. With a little bit of luck Nintendo could get back its place at #1. Hurry up Nintendo! It looks like you have another winner in your hands!"

The second source was an archived IGN Boards page where a blurry version of the image had been used to lure users into signing up for the Handheld Boards, in order to see the higher quality version of it. Unfortunately this IGN Boards page was not archived and it is unknown if it provided any more context for the image.

Status

The ultimate source of the purple Yoshi image has never surfaced, making it impossible to confirm whether it was actually part of a longer production. Despite the seemingly officially-sanctioned promotional tone of the image posts, no further info was ever provided by Nintendo or any of their affiliates. It seems most likely the image was simply mocked up to encourage forum speculation around the GBA's then-imminent release, and never intended to reflect an actually upcoming game.

Gallery

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External Links

• Super Mario Wiki page on various tech demos, including the Purple Yoshi Tech Demo.