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DS Daily: With and without
At this point, after months of insane sales, it seems like everyone must have a DS by now -- but that isn't the case. This morning, what we want to discuss is who you know with a DS and who you don't. Now, we're not looking for you to profile every single person you know, but rather, just give us some generalities. Do many of the gamers you know carry around a DS? What about typically non-gaming folks? The DS has attracted a lot of nontraditional owners, after all. What's the breakdown among people you know?
Wii Warm Up: Family time
Since the Wii debuted, we've heard -- and seen -- a lot about nongaming family members getting in on the action. Months later, are your family members still interested? Do you come home to find your grandparents bogarting your system for a round or two of Wii Sports golf? Or has the novelty faded ... at least, until you get new games?
From Face Training and yoga to the world
We couldn't help but giggle when we saw this article on "facial yoga" that described it as the hot new craze. It's certainly not new to us DS hipsters; after all, we've already got a game dedicated to stretching and firming our faces, and since the practice is apparently the latest it-exercise (despite being around for years, much like regular yoga), it seems likely that Otona no DS Kao Training may sweep in on the heels of Let's Yoga and hit the United States.Of course, then the real question becomes: will Nintendo (and others, like Konami, the company behind Let's Yoga) start to change the way they advertise the DS in the United States? We can't help but wonder if it seems unlikely; after all, we still have no official "face" for Brain Age beyond our favorite disembodied head, and it's rare that we see advertisements for our favorite piece of hardware on the scale that we see those for the Wii.
Wii Warm Up: Conning and coaxing the one you love
A recent article in Women's Health apparently suggested that the ladies should join their fellas and pick up a controller, because that whole shared interests thing is really good for couples. We agree, though we think things tend to be easier if you're lucky enough to find a significant other who's already a gamer. Either way, the Wii offers a little something for almost any gamer, whether they're an old salty dog or total fresh meat, and that seems like it would be a great thing in enticing one's non-gaming significant other (of whatever gender) into trying something out, at least for a little while. Or if you're already coupled with a gamer who simply has different tastes, has the Wii helped you to find a happy medium? Valentine's Day is less than a month a way, so we want to start the romantic mood early with your lovelaced Wii stories.
Here come the newbs
Greg Miller of the Columbia Daily Tribune has a problem -- people who don't play video games are suddenly kicking his ass all around Wii Sports, and he's not happy about it. And now his mom is buying a Wii for herself. Schooling Greg on his own console just wasn't enough anymore.Is he alone? Since my own mother is busily eyeballing eBay and wondering if $400 is too much to pay for the Wii she can't ever seem to catch at Target (they sell out in moments), we're gonna go with no. Wii fever is overtaking nongamers everywhere! Have you been affected? Has your grandmother added "pwn" to her vocabulary? Are you still stuck in the water temple on Twilight Princess because you can't get to your Wii? We wanna hear about it.[Thanks, Barb!]
Forbes: the Wii is indeed a revolution
Uh oh ... snatch up that Ninty stock before all the high rollers do. The Wii's being talked up by Forbes magazine!By giving players the ability to physically interact with a virtual world, Nintendo has significantly changed the experience of videogaming. It's suddenly more immersive, more compelling and potentially more appealing to consumers who have never considered buying a videogame console before.It's not like we haven't heard this before -- it's the way every non-gaming publication seems to be describing the Wii. But it seems somehow different coming from Forbes. Somehow ... magical. And this language, this description, this is exactly what Nintendo is aiming for with their marketing initiatives. Here's what we didn't expect: they reviewed the console at Forbes. That's right, Nintendo sent them a Wii unit and told 'em to get their game on. What happened next is an interesting look at how the rest of the world views the Wii in action.
