Puppies For Everyone!

by Wootini

Okay, so Shigeru Miyamoto was in New York this weekend, making an appearance Sunday at the NintendoWorld store in Rockefeller Center. I'd planned to go, but changed my mind after attending the Nintendogs show on Saturday.

They had a stage set up on Pier 1 in Riverside Park, around 70th St. in Manhattan, and various booths around it. There was apparently a fashion show of doggie clothes, but we missed that because the MTA was out to get me and turn a half-hour trip into an hour. Thanks, MTA! So we arrived too late to enter the raffles or enjoy the costume parade, but I was determined to use Nintendogs' Bark Mode to exchange puppies with people to unlock new breeds and items. See, since I'm an adult, and I don't know any other adults that have DS's or Nintendogs, I can't really enjoy the connectivity aspects to the games Nintendo keeps releasing. Well, I suppose I could hang around elementary schools, but that would look creepy. I mean, at this event, there were kids wandering around trading dogs, and I kept expecting some parent to come and drag them away from the weird adult.

Though I thoroughly enjoyed the one kid who asked me if I wanted to do Bark Mode, then asked what breeds I had. Since I've only got two puppies, and haven't been playing long enough to unlock a lot of stuff, he wasn't thrilled with my choice of breeds. I told him I only had a pug and a husky, and he gave this tremendous sigh and said, "Just send whatever you want..." It was hilarious. And hey, I didn't have much to offer, but I unlocked the two rarest breeds while I was there!

Aside from the fashion show and giveaways, they were also offering the chance to trade puppies with a celebrity and get a special item. Unfortunately, the celebrity seriously stretched the definition of the word by being Haylie Duff (the not-very-famous sister of the somewhat-famous Hilary Duff), and the special item was just a lame pair of sunglasses shaped like stars you could put on your dog if you felt like making him or her look like a really furry Elton John. What was funny was that the woman with the special Duff DS was pointed out to me, but standing near her, I kept connecting wiht the DSes of everyone around me instead. Later, I got her completely by accident, and then even after that, I seemed to only be able to connect with that signal, even standing directly in front of two other kids who wanted to trade. We all got so frustrated at only being able to get that one puppy and the useless item, we ultimately gave up.

Miyamoto was there as well, though I wasn't expecting that. One kid said he traded puppies with him, and some people got pictures with him. I was going to try and get in line for his store appearance on Sunday, but then realized that I didn't feel like getting up early on Sunday. I mean, if it starts at 11am, who knows when people would start lining up? I wasn't about to get there at 9 and be pissed that I was all alone, or #300 in line. Plus, all you'd really walk away with would be an autograph, and what good is that? Woo hoo. I would've liked the exclusive DS skin they were giving away, but I wasn't likely to be far up in line enough to trade puppies with the legendary creator. I saw the guy at the pier, and that was enough for me.

Never underestimate the importance of sleeping in.