DS lite: I'm in pizza face paradise

The Seed is Planted

Yesterday my neighbor Judd told me his rich friend had ordered him a DS lite so he could have someone to talk about it with. Apparently his friend does this from time to time; he also bought him a PSP when it came out. I'm going to have to introduce myself at some point to this guy.

Anyway, that got me curious; I didn't even know a new DS was coming out. I have heard whiffs here and there about the DS being cool, but it looked so clunky in the stores. Plus, I have been turned off to video games in general for the past few years. The thought of spending hours a night to create a character on World of Warcraft just to go online and get my ass kicked by a bunch of 14 year olds; no thanks. When the PSP came out, I was tempted, thinking that maybe it would have simple, fun games you could play for a half hour or so. But after borrowing Judd's a couple of times, I was pretty unimpressed with the games.

But Judd mentioned to me that the DS lite was supposed to be really cool, a new screen that was as bright and crisp as the PSP, a sleeker design. Most importantly, a bunch of cool games that have been released over the last couple years. The DS has slowly overtaken the PSP in market share due to its superior games despite its ugly appearance (and remember this is with the old ugly clunky one).

This got me curious, yesterday afternoon I went online and started checking out game reviews. There was a spruced up Mario 64, a new Mario Kart, and new 2d side scrolling Mario! I thought, "Ok, I want one!."


The Journey

On the way to Trader Joes last night, I stopped by a nearby Game Spot to ask them about it. I approached the store clerk, who looked like a store clerk at a video game store.

"Do you have the DS lite?"

"No."

"Will you have it tomorrow?"

"Yes. Do you have a reservation?"

"Hmm, no I don't..."

"Make that, 'no'."

Aw man, why the hell can't companies just ship enough friggin' systems!?? Then I remembered, way back when Nintendo 64 came out, I showed up to Best Buy really early and waited until it opened along with a bunch of other geeks, and was able to get one even though I was sans reservation. I thought to myself, "I can do the same thing this time!"

So this morning, I woke up at 8:30, and was dressed and at Best Buy by 9AM, an hour before they open. I had packed my I-pod, a luna bar, and the latest issue of "The Economist". As I pulled into the parking lot, my pulse quickened; would I be too late? Would there already be 50 nerds waiting in line staring at me with pity as I pulled in too late?

The parking lot was empty. I laughed to myself, half grateful I hadn't shown up 2 hours early, and pulled into a nearby spot where I could read and wait for an hour. As I read, I watched each Best Buy employee show up. Some of them looked at me with some suspicion, most didn't notice.


We're not Dissapointed

Anyway, I got the system along with 3 games, Super Mario 64 DS, Mariokart DS, and New Super Mario (the 2d side scrolling one). They are all really cool, though I've played the New Super Mario the most. It is a great game; a throwback to the original NES Mario games with some added functionality and flare. First impressions about the DS-lite itself:

- It looks cool, kind of like an ipod, with white plastic casing.
- The dual screen combo is effective. The bottom one is touch sensitive, and aside from that is actually used effectively while playing. For instance, in Mario Kart, you have a map of the track as you are racing around. You can see when shells are approaching from behind, etc.
- The wireless capability is intriguing. Once Judd gets his, I look forward to playing Mario Kart against him. If you get one, let me know, we can play online cross country even.

Perhaps most amazingly, my wife likes it. She hates video games, but as soon as she heard the familiar sounds of Mario grabbing coins, growing after eating a mushroom, throwing a fireball etc. she became curious. She used to like video games as a kid, and Mario was her favorite. So now she's grabbed the game from me, and I'm stuck writing this blog entry.

Oh wait, she has finally put the game down. Gotta go!

Karl