Development of "Advance Wars" began alongside the Game Boy Advance launch titles, but because Nintendo was so busy with them, they requested that Intelligent Systems assist in the development. Director Makoto Shimojo commented that the early stages of development often feature Intelligent Systems coming up with unique game mechanics for it, and upon presenting to Nintendo, typically being told that it was "too sophisticated" or "not balanced for a general audience". At which point, they began working on adjustments. The game was designed with the Game Boy Advance's young children audience, giving the game a "pop design", with bright colors, rounded characters, and comedy. Shimojo commented that in spite of this, the majority of purchasers were teenage boys. In order to cope with bringing a strategy game to a handheld with a younger audience, Shimojo and his team made the game featuring "waves of excitement"; he compared this to how long films will introduce calm periods in order to have good pacing.