Where Are All the DSes Going?

[Union Carbine]

A strange question based on my strange observation:

 

Since I've moved back to New York City last month, I've spent a fair amount of time on the subways, shuttling from somewhere to somewhere else. At least every other day, I see someone playing a PSP. However, to date, I've only seen one person playing a DS, this past weekend when I was traveling from Philly back to the city.

 

I know that the DS outsells the PSP by a wide margin but I'm curious as to who's buying them and where they're playing them because, if I knew nothing beyond my own eyeball observations, I would bet money the PSP was doing better than the DS.

[Carlucci]

Are they playing games on the PSP, or watching media?

 

 

Carlos.

[Josh]

Well, you tend to see adults with more discretionary income with mature tastes on the subway. That said, I too have noticed wwaaaayyy more PSPs in NYC than DS's, but you don't see that many children running around alone.

[dogbert]

but you don't see that many children running around alone.

 

And that's the key fact I imagine. The DS market I imagine is heavily weighted to children, though almost every animator on our team has a DS for their near daily Mario Kart games

[Josh]

I must say, though - I've seen a few girls in the past month or so playing DS's, most of them on Sudoku or whatever that annoying number addiction is.

[JFo]

I know that the DS outsells the PSP by a wide margin but I'm curious as to who's buying them and where they're playing them because, if I knew nothing beyond my own eyeball observations, I would bet money the PSP was doing better than the DS.

 

I don't know if there are any demographics to suggest who is bying them, but I will relay an interesting experience I had last January.

 

I was on a flight heading out to Harrisburg, PA and I brought my DS Lite with me to play on the plane. In the midst of my session with Yoshi's Island DS, the stewardess, a woman, who was likely in her fifties, came over and asked me what I was playing. I told her what it was and she said, "Oh, I don't have that one."

 

Shocked, I asked, "You mean you have a DS?"

 

She said, "Oh yes, I love playing Sudoku."

 

Maybe Nintendo was on to something after all?

[Josh]

Maybe Nintendo was on to something after all?

 

That you and a 50 year-old female flight attendant are virtually the same thing to a marketer?

[Union Carbine]

Are they playing games on the PSP, or watching media?

Both. The oddest thing was watching two girls trading a PSP back and forth between them playing Madden's running attack mini-game.

 

Is the PSP becoming more of a media player for most people than a game player?

[Starhawk]

After which Jeff asked her if she'd like to play "Touch Detective" or "Rub Rabbits" with him later.

[Union Carbine]

After which Jeff asked her if she'd like to play "Touch Detective" or "Rub Rabbits" with him later.

Or did he suffer from "Paper Mario"?

[GreenMonkey]

Using the PSP to watch movies and listen to mp3s and other media stuff might be useful on the subway; that may be why you see so many of them. I have virtually no use for such a device. We have no meaningful mass transportation around here.

 

The only place I ever play the DS is in the car on a trip, or at home once in a while, or I used to be able to play it working my old job.

 

Watching movies in the car we only did on big trips or in hotels, and it involved a 7" portable DVD player velcro'd to the dash and an RF transmitter to play the audio over the radio.

 

If I lived in the city, it would be cool to watch movies on the go. I'm not going to be watching movies on a portable simply because I am not anywhere long enough to watch even a TV show. And for playing mp3s it wouldn't work because I'd need something a little more pocketable/portable that could take damage.

[Josh]

From what I've seen it's usually people playing games on their PSPs. Lots of sports games.

[foogledricks]

I use my PSP just to watch, um, videos, from that online store, whats it called, ITorrent.

[Covak]

Now that I think about it, I've seen PSPs out on the subway and DSes out on trains (in Toronto). Generally the DSes are in the hands of little kids and the PSPs are in the hands of teenage school kids. I'm surprised I don't see a lot more of both whenever I think about it.

[JFo]

After which Jeff asked her if she'd like to play "Touch Detective" or "Rub Rabbits" with him later.

 

I believe very strongly in the "Touch Generations" campaign.

[Union Carbine]

Saw my first DS on the subway over the weekend: it was a middle-aged lady playing what looked like NintenDogs.