If You Can't Be Sexy... Be Cute

by Wootini

So who says videogames aren't for kids anymore? As a longtime Game Boy fan, I was as wary as anyone else when Sony announced their intention to take over the portable gaming market the same way they had usurped the console universe by making Nintendo sweat and sending Sega out of the hardware biz entirely. I swore I wouldn't be sucked in by the marketing, but I was, and couldn't resist picking up my PSP the day it came out. Yeah, I'm a loser. What of it? I just couldn't get into the Nintendo DS. It just looked weird, and the idea of playing games with a stylus just seemed wicked inconvenient, considering that I'm on a subway for most of my commute every day. Can't always get a seat on the F! Plus, there weren't any killer apps for the system. But that's about to change, it seems.

I played the hell out of Animal Crossing on the Game Cube, so the idea of being able to carry it around with me and obsess over decorating my home and making obscene fashions for my townspeople to wear is just way too exciting to fathom. Hopefully, they'll have enough new characters, fashions and decorations to make it not simply a carbon copy of the console game. Not sure how much use I'm going to get out of the multiplayer, though. The people in my office aren't exactly the type to be running around with their DS Animal Crossings looking to exchange letters and gifts. And I'm afraid if I hang around elementary schools looking for kids to play with, I'll get arrested. The other title which is the one that's probably going to make me actually want to finally buy a DS for myself is Nintendogs. It's just a pet simulator, but the puppies are just so cute when they come up and put their paws on the screen and beg for attention. Plus, it's the first game that actually seems to need a stylus. For petting and things. Though I'm sure the first time I'm sitting on the subway saying "Sit! Bad dog! Bad!" into my DS microphone, I'm gonna get a few odd stares. Then again, it is New York!