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Silly boys, the DS is for chicks.

April 17, 2007 in News comments 17

For some reason, women view the DS as a cute play toy. It is smaller, and has a better type of gameplay in their opinions. It isn't the player intensive shooters or action adventures that are featured on the PSP. The PSP is not a system designed for someone to just pickup and play. This makes the DS a better system for quick gamers on the go, or less involved gamers.

The funny thing about the DS is that Nintendo didn't consciously decide it was going after adult female gamers. Thanks to the Game Boy legacy, everybody knew the handheld was going to appeal to the kiddies, and that includes young girls. Unlike with the Wii--where Nintendo's been actively trying to "widen the audience" for games--I don't think the company went out looking for girlfriend acceptance with the DS. It just kind of happened.

I don't know how aware Sony is about this--or if it cares. The company has acknowledged it did a poor job of marketing the PSP and with the recent lowering of the PSP's price to $169.99, it's launched a new campaign to reinvigorate sales (To date, Sony says it's shipped nearly 25 million units worldwide, with more than one million new PSP systems sold in North America in December 2006 alone). The truth is it's probably never going to appeal to women like the DS--or the iPod--does. But it could become a more "sensible" product. And the company's got to do a better job marketing to the people who should be buying this console--males 15 to 45, who range from the casual gamer to would-be heavy gamers who have more time to play on the road than they do at home.
Deathsythe via reviews.cnet.com »
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  • 1
    Chaos Swordsman Apr 18, 07
    Who knows, this might be a wakeup call for Sony if they decide to make another handheld console.
    • 0
      PitLine810 Apr 18, 07
      Please God, no. A new PSP hanheld would mean less people buying a DS. Not to mention the PSP phailed.
  • 1
    Sakura Apr 18, 07
    I think there is a wide audience for both systems, but the DS has a wider audience due to its price, and the fact that it has a bigger variety of games. Nice article though.
  • 1
    Deathsythe Apr 18, 07
    Also the DS has simpler controls generally speaking, plus I can imagine the touch screen is a plus for most women too.

    I'm not knocking the PSP or anything, because I love Sony, but the PSP is definitely for more hardcore gamers.
    • 1
      Gary Apr 18, 07
      Nice article, I think the DS is definitely easier to use and stuff like that but I disagree on the hardcore gamers part. I'm a hardcore gamer(I have everything from the ps3 to the NES and hundreds of games) but I thinbk the DS is just much better in terms of games and innovation. The psp only really wins in the looks department.
      • 1
        Deathsythe Apr 18, 07
        I mean in the fact that the PSP isn't something that you can just pickup and play. The DS on the other hand can easily be turned on and picked up by anyone, even non-gamers, and be played. This is why I would gather women would be turned off by the PSP.
  • 0
    Kokoro Apr 18, 07
    I got my PSP when it was still $200.
  • 1
    dmf_dynasty Apr 18, 07
    I got my PSP when it was at it's first and largest price. Some of the release games were better than the crap that they're putting out now. I would say the PSP has a wider variety of games. It's definately not pickup and play though. I'm not surprised the DS is selling this well, but I am dissapointed.
  • 2
    Redemption Apr 18, 07
    I think the touch screen capabilities of the DS open up its adoption to lots of non traditional gamers. That and the games aren't your typical hardcore gamer style. I know many non-gamers or casual gamers who have picked up and gotten hooked to the DS.
  • 0
    Vermillion Apr 18, 07
    Many Sony fanboys prefered the DS. Same with the Wii.
  • 1
    Synergized Apr 18, 07
    I think the PSP can be a pickup and play. Sure it has more buttons, but it's still easy. On the games, it really depends on the gamer. I wouldn't call PSP's games hardcore. The PSP costs more because it has more features. Let's not talk about games. If you do, the PSP can play the DS games anyways as well as PlayStation One, Playsation 2, SNES, GBA, etc.. PSP also has better online capabilities, a camera soon to be released as well as a GPS. It has photo feature, videos, movies and music. When it all comes down to it, the only thing the PSP doesn't have of the Ds is the dual screen and touch screen. But whatever, we're talking about the DS being for chicks.
  • 2
    teodortenchev Apr 18, 07
    I like this more:

  • 0
    Chaos Swordsman Apr 18, 07
    Plenty of women like anything that's pink as long as it suits their time schedules. Well, at least the ones I know do.

    Oh, nice pic teo.
  • 0
    Cool Blue Apr 18, 07
    I feel ignored, the women getting fought over...
  • 0
    FFXFREAK Apr 18, 07
    Hah, that's awesome, well my cousin has a pink DS as well >>, lots of girls do XD. It's like they see the pink and well.. they buy it .
  • 0
    Synergized Apr 24, 07
    There's a pink PSP.
  • 0
    Deathsythe Apr 24, 07
    I'm sure the DS Lite is cute enough for the average non-gamer female too. I just bought my girlfriend a pink DS Lite and a GameCube, and she isn't coordinated enough to even be able to watch me play, but she manages to get by with these two systems. Thank you Nintendo for now making it easier for me to buy her gifts! A memory card here, a new game there, maybe another controller

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