Nintendo DS. Girlie platform or what?

[Tickled_Pink]

We were going to get an X-box for the 8 year old this christmas but looks like the Nintendo DS may win the day. Personally I've never seen the attraction with Nintendo's stuff - I have a GBC but that was an impulse purchase 5 years ago for delving into homebrew development.

 

Anyway, the N-DS makes even less sense to me ... it just seems way too girlie (with games to match) - which is why it may be perfect for the oldest girl.

 

But I have a question. Does the DS play GBA or GBC games?

[joeybastard]

It plays GBA games but not the older GB games.

 

As for it being girlie, I don't see it but I don't assign sexual roles to my game stuff. What's "manly" about the other handhelds/consoles?

 

Get the kid what they want, you don't have to play it.

[JagFan422]

Nintendo's new spin on their stuff is to try to make non gamers, Gamers. That would include many females. I think its pretty safe to say that its woman that play the majority of puzzle games and Nintendogs was probably geared towards the female, or younger crowd. Right now i think its balanced towards the kiddy, female or male, other than a few games. You have all the puzzlers, the Yoshi game, the kirby game, Nintendogs. But then again, Nintendo has been labeled as being kiddy for quite some time now, but i think they're really showing it with the DS.

 

As for me? My wife loves Nintendogs.

[joeybastard]

Puzzle games are girlie? I guess I should go buy a dress

[n8littlefield]

The only thing girly on the DS is my screams when I lose another patient on Trauma Center!

 

But seriously, I think it's just an overall great machine that happens to appeal to all types of gamers, female or otherwise. My wife loves her DS, we play Zoo Keeper across the living room quite often.

[joeybastard]

we play Zoo Keeper across the living room quite often.

947759[/snapback]

 

That sounds kinda dirty.....

[Dones]

Definitely girlie. Just look at this:

 

 

Match this with Nintendogs and they will think it's cute. Spend a few bucks more on a kiddie title (Nintendo got plenty of those, that's their thing), maybe a movie title like Madagascar, and she'll go nuts.

[joeybastard]

They aren't all pink though. That's like saying a particular car is girlie because it's offered in pink. Nintendogs is 1 game that particularly appeals to females. 1 game does not make system girlie. The Olsen sister games are available on the Playstation 2, does that make it girlie?

 

This girlie thing is ridiculous, it makes me think you guys are harboring some serious masculinity issues.

[Atarifever]

Actually, I just bought Trace Memory today and was about to make a post saying how great it is that a company finally made a game (besides Metroid) with a main female character who isn't a set of animated hugh breasts with legs. I was going to say that I can see the game appealing to fans of traditional point and click adventures, while simultaneously making the game seem accessable to a new audience (i.e. young girls). However, I guess that'd just start up someone saying it proves the DS is girly. Girly...heh. What's next, does it give you cutties too? Ridicules.

[Tickled_Pink]

It plays GBA games but not the older GB games.

 

As for it being girlie, I don't see it but I don't assign sexual roles to my game stuff.  What's "manly" about the other handhelds/consoles? 

The Xbox and PS2 don't have a cute little stylus for doodling girlie things on the screen. But it's predominantly the games and even the whole Xbox, PS2 packaging thing. The excessive black and green on Xbox and PS2 games give them a more grown-up and 'macho' appearance. There are cute girlie games for both (we've got Pop Idol Party) but games are generally more 'manly'.

 

It does seem clear that Nintendo has now angled itself towards younger gamers and female players. My niece has almost nothing but Nintendos - starting with the Pikachu N64 (you can't get much girlier than that), the GBC, GBA and now she wants a DS. She has a PS One and wanted a PS2 at one point.

 

I suggested to my sister that perhaps she should try the PSP but I've a feeling that the DS will win hands down, purely for its female-friendly games. Very fews girls can be described as hardcore gamers and the power of the PSP would be lost in favour of the cutesy DS.

 

Get the kid what they want, you don't have to play it.

947744[/snapback]

I probably will. But not a big fan of handhelds - they give me a nasty crick in the neck.

[sega saturn x]

The power of the psp will lose to the girlie ds? I'm not even going to bother with how stupid this whole thing is. But i will say that i have been playing some hella girly games on my DS. What with all the castlevania adavanced wars and polarium i have been playing i should just buy a pink dress to go along with my silver DS.

[keilbaca]

I don't feel the DS is girlie.

 

Nanostray, Lunar Dragon Song, Castlevania Dawn of Sorrows (which is, as impossible as it is, so far, better than SOTN), and Burnout Legends coming soon.

[n8littlefield]

I wouldn't judge the DS before you get your hands on it. I was skeptical when I got mine (off one of those freestuff websites via referrals), but I would say it has singlehandedly made me excited about gaming again. It is a great system.

[Jess Ragan]

You better smile when you say that, biyotch!

 

It's not that the DS is too "girlie." It's that the PSP desperately panders to the young male demographic with games like Dead to Rights: Reckoning (a bad-ass cop searching for vengeance. Oh, the originality!) and X-TREEEM!!! UMD films like Lords of Doggtown. Whoa, dudes! The PSP, is like, totally awesome, because Sony and MTV told us so! Ooooh yeah, snap into a Slim Jim!!!

 

The bottom line is this... the DS is what it is. It doesn't apologize for that, and it doesn't front. That's more than you can say for some OTHER handheld game systems.

 

JR

[sega saturn x]

I really have to ask this, when did playing video games become about looking cool? It's hard to get more nerdy than video games, and even the most nerdy things have video games. I can safley say i have never once been concerned that playing games will make me look un cool.

[Jess Ragan]

The PSP is all about image. If Sony can make it look like it's the hottest thing in the universe, it doesn't matter that it hasn't reached their projected sales figures. They can just wait it out until their fudge-brained fans actually believe the hype and MAKE the PSP successful.

 

Sony pulled the same crap with the PS2... they stoked the fires of casual gamers and Playstation fanboys with all kinds of promises they couldn't possibly keep. Even when the PS2 was launched with a handful of mediocre games and without the ability to "jack into the Matrix," the mainstreamers still lapped it up, and left the far more worthy Dreamcast on store shelves.

 

Don't fall for it this time, people. Don't be pulled in by the glitz and glitter of a flashy marketing campaign. Don't believe the outrageous lies. Don't be swayed by the brand name on the front of the package. Demand great games for the PSP, and accept nothing less. Make the system work for its success... don't just hand a victory over to Sony on a silver platter.

 

JR

[Cobra Kai]

It plays GBA games but not the older GB games.

 

As for it being girlie, I don't see it but I don't assign sexual roles to my game stuff.  What's "manly" about the other handhelds/consoles? 

 

947744[/snapback]

 

It's not about sex, it's about gender. Calling the DS girly does not imply anything sexual, unless you're some kind of pervert. If the DS were indeed sexually 'girly' then perhaps more men would be inclined to purchase one?

 

Of course, it would not be hard to point out another console that has 'manly' characteristics, for instance would you argue against putting this tag on the Atari Lynx I? If someone calls the Pokemon N64 console 'childish' in appearance, by your logic does that make them a pedophile?

 

Honestly, that Pink DS is the girliest gaming device I've ever seen...girly girly girly. So I would say, yes, the Pink DS is definitely for girls.

[Cobra Kai]

I really have to ask this, when did playing video games become about looking cool? 

947892[/snapback]

Unfortunately, this has a real answer to it. 1995.

[Emehr]

Sheesh. All these years one of the biggest criticisms of video games in general is there aren't enough games that appeal to females. A company attempts to rectify this and what happens? OMG they created a girlie system! with girlie games! and it even comes in a girlie color! Outrage ensues!

 

Turn the tables for a moment. Imagine a world where females comprised over 90% of the video game playing demographic. All consoles and handhelds come in pink. All the games are "girlie" games. All of a sudden the Nintendo MS (Manly System) comes out, all sleek, black, and manly. The GirltariAge forums erupt with cries of "OMG they created a manly system! with manly games! it even comes in a manly color!". Outrage ensues!

 

What does this all boil down to? A big, fat "So what?".

 

- Jason

[JB]

It plays GBA games but not the older GB games.

 

As for it being girlie, I don't see it but I don't assign sexual roles to my game stuff.  What's "manly" about the other handhelds/consoles? 

 

947744[/snapback]

 

It's not about sex, it's about gender.

One meaning of sex is synonomous with gender. So he was in fact being totally on-topic and not thinking that this thread is about sticking it in the cartridge slot.

[keilbaca]

Sheesh. All these years one of the biggest criticisms of video games in general is there aren't enough games that appeal to females. A company attempts to rectify this and what happens? OMG they created a girlie system! with girlie games! and it even comes in a girlie color! Outrage ensues!

 

Turn the tables for a moment. Imagine a world where females comprised over 90% of the video game playing demographic. All consoles and handhelds come in pink. All the games are "girlie" games. All of a sudden the Nintendo MS (Manly System) comes out, all sleek, black, and manly. The GirltariAge forums erupt with cries of "OMG they created a manly system! with manly games! it even comes in a manly color!". Outrage ensues!

 

What does this all boil down to? A big, fat "So what?".

 

- Jason

947940[/snapback]

 

I have no idea what the hell you are talking about. All the girls I know, play MMO's.

[Tickled_Pink]

Actually spoke to my sister about all this earlier. She agreed that the DS was indeed girly compared to the other consoles on the market (and she's no gamer). Sister's having second thoughts about getting my niece a DS, though .... she's a scatterbrain who's already managed to mislay her GBA twice for a few months on each occasion.

 

HOWEVER ...

 

If you're buying something for a girl, then a girly console is precisely what you want. In my original post I was just pointing out that I've personally never seen the point in the DS, probably because of this image which Nintendo themselves seems quite happy to purvey - and that aside, I really don't see the point of a touch screen on a handheld which seems to me to be little more than a marketing gimick.

 

As for the pink DS being girly ... well, duh! In fact, the idea we had with the Xbox was to get a second-hand one, chip it and shove it inside a nice PINK case.

 

Personally I won't be buying another console for myself for quite some time. The Xbox 360 looks interesting but that's about it. Have a PS2 but the games for it generally suck and it's not played very much ... but think I'll have a quick go on it before bed.

[Emehr]

Sheesh. All these years one of the biggest criticisms of video games in general is there aren't enough games that appeal to females. A company attempts to rectify this and what happens? OMG they created a girlie system! with girlie games! and it even comes in a girlie color! Outrage ensues!

 

Turn the tables for a moment. Imagine a world where females comprised over 90% of the video game playing demographic. All consoles and handhelds come in pink. All the games are "girlie" games. All of a sudden the Nintendo MS (Manly System) comes out, all sleek, black, and manly. The GirltariAge forums erupt with cries of "OMG they created a manly system! with manly games! it even comes in a manly color!". Outrage ensues!

 

What does this all boil down to? A big, fat "So what?".

 

- Jason

947940[/snapback]

 

I have no idea what the hell you are talking about. All the girls I know, play MMO's.

947945[/snapback]

 

 

My point is, video games had been criticized in the past (at least since the early nineties, likely earlier) for not appealing to females. Nintendo comes out with the DS. Some gamers take offense at this as they see most games as being "girlie". I personally do not assign video games to either gender but if someone wants to insist that a particular system or game is "girlie" I feel the need to reply, "So what?". For the record, I don't have a DS but I do plan on purchasing one eventually.

 

Not sure what MMOs have to do with anything, or maybe I misread your interpretation of my post.

 

- Jason

[Atarifever]

I really don't see the point of a touch screen on a handheld which seems to me to be little more than a marketing gimick.

 

947973[/snapback]

I thought people who thought this had gone the way of the dinosaur by now. How would you play Canvas Curse, Touch and Go, or Under the Knife without the touch screen? Also, I can atest to the fact that Trace Memory would play like Deja Vu instead of like Myst without the touch screen, so it's also an advantage there. Also, Pac n Roll wouldn't be the same without theTouch Screen. Nintendogs would certainly seem less enjoyable with a D pad powered menu system and d pad interaction with the dog. How would those games work without the touch screen? How is having a different method of control for games that require it a marketing gimmick? These games have done well for the system, thus we must assume people like those games, so the games working the way they do seems to be what people want. If those games couldn't exist wothout the touch screen (or would work poorly without it) the touch screen is a mandatory part of the game system, and not a "marketing gimmick".

[Atarifever]

I have to say that the whole idea of this thread is silly. Jst say, outloud, "The Nintendo DS is a Girlie system" and try not to think you sound foolish. Really do it, don't just read me telling you to do it, say it. Sounds funny doesn't it. That's because you probably stopped refering to things as girlie after about grade 4. Because there are puzzle games on a system it is girlie? Wow, Lumines is still one of the PSP's best games, what a girlie hunk of junk. Oh and Tetris was a best seller on the Gameboy (and one of the best selling games ever), who'd have thought it was a girlie system (not most 10 year old boys who played it, I'll tell you that). Oh, and computers. Many computers are used to play bejeweld, and at one point lots of them came with Tetris, freemines, and that bouncing ball game, hence, all computers are girlie. Oh, and there is girlie software like sim dog owner games on the DS. Yeah, because people who own dogs are girls. No male would want a dog. Sure, many sim players are girls, but not to the point where you could say no males play them. Oh, and Trace Memory has a girl protagonist who isn't in a bikini and endowed with grossly disproportionate breasts, what male would play a game based on anything other than hugh jugs on the main female character. Then lets talk about Yoshi. Only girls like Yoshi. As I realize liking him makes me a girl, I'll just go set fire to super mario world and Yoshi's Island so I can start growing my penis back.