The DS Life: Going out to eat
by Eric Caoili 
{ May 28th 2008 at 10:30PM }
Have you ever gone out to a restaurant for dinner with a group of friends, only to find yourself completely uninterested with your company's conversation, their tired stories and trivial grievances?
Your eyes drift to nearby tables, hoping to find something else that better deserves your attention. You chew on the ice cubes in your drink, crunching out the chatter around you. You nod your head absentmindedly to agree with your companions whilst reflecting on the reality television shows you plan to watch when you get home -- "I wonder if Greg is gonna knock out that sucka Will for kissing his girl?"
When you're stuck in situations like this, don't you wish you could just pull out your Nintendo DS until someone brings out the food?
The DS Life is a weekly feature in which we scour the known world for narrative images of Nintendo's handheld and handheld gamers. If you have a photo and a story to match it with, send both to thedslife at dsfanboy dot com.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
MarkShark @ May 28th 2008 10:44PM
Or perhaps everyone at the table pulls out their DS. That's how we roll.
Extra Cheese @ May 28th 2008 11:10PM
I only take my DS into restaurants when I'm eating alone. Which I hate to do.
iruka @ May 28th 2008 11:33PM
Yep! And play some multiplayer game like Mario Party. XD
SephFinale @ May 28th 2008 11:46PM
I TOTALLY PLAYED MARIO PARTY AT CHILE'S WHILE WAITING FOR FOOD ONCE! That was awesome, because we were really loud...but we were all part of a group of like...25.
Alisha Karabinus @ May 28th 2008 11:44PM
That's a lovely shot... and that baby seems pretty young to be holding that DS! I better get to work on mine.
nixy @ May 29th 2008 1:08AM
We tend to take them with us on random outings. Being over 21 means that I can have margaritas at Chile's while playing Bomberman.
farossi @ May 29th 2008 7:56AM
You mean you don't find it socially unacceptable to be seen with your DS at a restaurant/bar? I'm 22, and I would never even consider doing that. Most of the time, I don't even take my DS out of the house!
Truth be told, I wish I could do as the toddler does - a DS can eliminate such boring wait times...
moo @ May 29th 2008 10:58AM
absolutely nothing wrong with pulling out the DS while waiting in line -- walmart customer service line-ups, bank teller line-ups, waiting for tables or for the food to arrive (at casual places anyway)
though not at funerals. or during sex. or any combination thereof.
Don @ May 29th 2008 4:17AM
That is such a cute pic... but I sure wouldn't trust my DS to a toddler!
Morose @ May 29th 2008 7:55AM
I am definitely doing this the next time I go to a restaurant, as if i'm not by myself, trying to stay amused while I wait for my food, I'm with a bunch of co-workers and trying to stay amused while I wait for my food.
Mike_NJ @ May 29th 2008 8:50AM
I've been to restaurants a number of times in the last year and have seen kids playing their DS at the table...
And couldn't help but be jealous.
I mean, come on. I'm not a car guy, I don't want to talk about cars. At the time, I didn't have a girlfriend, so I didn't want to hear my siblings' gushing about their significant others. I was bored out of my gourd.
In a couple cases I contented myself with (surreptitiously) watching a kid at a nearby table playing. One girl was in the ghost gym in Pokemon D/P.
Surreptitiously because how odd would it be if a parent caught the 28-year old guy at the next table watching their kid play video games? Yeesh.
nixy @ May 29th 2008 9:26AM
To Farossi and Mike NJ, no, I don't think it's socially unacceptable. No more than it is to be on your cell phone or to be using a PDA. Those can have games on them. (It is kinda creepy to watch a random kid play, though, lol, but I've been there.)
I'm a 21 year old guy, and I have the most flamboyant DS I could muster, a Coral Pink model with Hello Kitty stickers on the back and googly eyes glued to the top, with a leopard print lanyard. (If you're going to lose a bet, you should win it.) At this point, it's made to scream at people, "Hey, I'm playing Pokemon Pearl/Bomberman Land Touch/Powder/Pictochat, and look at how much fun I'm having. Don't you wish YOU were having this much fun?" And from your comments, you do wish you were having this much fun.
I have never been told by a stranger that it looked silly or that I shouldn't be playing it. I've only ever been asked about it, what it is, what game I'm playing, etcetera. I've never been made fun of by a stranger for it, God forbid.
What other reason is there to own a portable?
JohnathanEnder @ May 29th 2008 9:30AM
Last year in Baltimore, my friends and I went to an Uno's for dinner. And we were a sizable group (10 or so) on a long table.
At some point, I took out my DS and started Pictochatting with my buddy on the other end of the table.
Soon, people are joining in on our Pictochat...from ACROSS THE RESTAURANT. This, coupled with a few of our friends who brought DS's, made it the most satisfying wait for over-expensive pizza ever. ^_^
RootiePatootie @ May 29th 2008 10:39AM
Interesting that this should come up as I just had this type of chat with a couple friends when we went out to eat. Perhaps I'm of the old school, given my age I'm betting that's it, but I find it horribly rude and frankly, unacceptable when someone pulls out their cell phone, pda or portable gaming device while with a group of friends at the dinner table unless it's to look up something to share with another. My cell phone is OFF when I'm in a restaurant, store or visting with friends unless there's something extremely important happening in my life where I MUST be contacted. And that isn't often.
But the point is, if you go out with friends and find the situation boring enough to want to pull out your DS and play then you need to reassess your friends and yourself. Perhaps it's time to find different friends. Perhaps you need to get out more and away from the games a bit. And maybe, just maybe, you've got an unhealthy relationship with your DS and gaming in general. Life is about balance and if you can find your balance you'll be happier and not want to pull away from others and immerse yourself in a make believe world.
As for kids playing with their DS at the dinner table... well, I've mixed feelings about that. On the one hand what makes it different than coloring on the placemat? On the other, wouldn't it be better to get them to engage with the others at the table, at least a little bit? Sure they're children and you're an adult, especially if there are no other children at the table, but why teach them bad manners so early? If it's just to keep the kids quiet then I question two things, why you brought them along in the first place and also, why do they need a toy or whatever to keep them quiet? Haven't they been taught that in a restaurant they behave?
Bottom line, social grace and good manners never go out of style, as my grandmother used to say, and it's still true today. Sure things have changed but not THAT much.
NightRunner @ May 29th 2008 2:51PM
Yeah, you're old school. :) No offense!
SephFinale @ May 29th 2008 9:12PM
But...I like being in make-believe worlds...otherwise, how else would I come up with amazing ideas for video games as a future game designer?
nixy @ May 30th 2008 1:18AM
I'm pretty sure that's the most condescending thing anyone's ever said to me.
Are you Amish?
Most of your comment goes against the idea of this blog in general. And frankly, the whole thing strikes me as the sort of thing that someone with nothing better to do would post in a random blog they found in Google to try to start a flame war.
And I think you're grossly outnumbered. Welcome to the twenty-first century.
animeman_59 @ May 29th 2008 3:07PM
I play my DS everywhere I go. On the train to work and home. Waiting in line at supermarkets. Waiting in customer service lines. In movie theatres, while waiting fo rthe movie to start. As long as my fellow companions don't mind, and whether or not they would be bored by me playing without them. Fortunately, most of my friends own DS's, so I don't have a problem. In fact, sometimes we have more lively discussions in Pictochat or online games than in real lilfe. Go figure.
christian birmo @ May 29th 2008 8:08PM
I hate eating alone but i do it heaps... i used to be self-concious about pulling out the DS but after seeing some people do it at sushi places and stuff - and one couple playing together at a food court- i figured it was cool
117 @ May 30th 2008 1:21PM
My friend and I started playing on ours on a school field trip to an expensive restaurant. No one really cared that much, and we just played until the food came. I don't think it's socially unacceptable if others have other things to do. If everyone else was talking, I wouldn't feel guilty at all, but if I was there with one friend who had nothing else to do, then that's different. Telling me and others like myself that we should reassess our friends because sometimes there's nothing to talk about is just flaming. It's not like I'm going to play my DS while I'm eating. as for manners, i don't see why it goes against them. I know people think it's antisocial, but I have pretty serious conversations about video games, and have made several friends through them. i understand where you're coming from, but I think you're being to harsh.
RootiePatootie @ May 30th 2008 9:49PM
Attack the person not the comments. A flame is attacking the person and I never did that. I attacked the comments. By flaming you're showing your own lack of maturity.
And I stand by my comment, if you're finding your friends THAT boring that you feel the urge to pull out your DS and withdraw into playing a game then really, what ARE you doing with those friends??? Perhaps if not a reassessment of your friends then at least a break from those particular ones is in order so you can figure out why you're spending time, and money in a restaurant, with them?
I read this blog, one of only a few blogs I read regularly, and I comment when I feel like it. I feel that my original post and this one have a very good place in this blog. Why? Because the topic was posted and I thus believed that it was done so in order to stimulate conversation about it. Not just agree with the original blogger.
I've been online since the days of a 300 baud modem and actually owned a Pong knock off, so yes, I'm OLD compared to most of you I guess. However, when I see adults pulling out their gadgets and toys, of which I admit I probably have too many cuz I love them, in a restaurant it is a sad thing. I also play a MMO and I see similarities there with too many of the players, no matter what their real life age, that rather play a game or chat on their phone while at a table in a restaurant with their supposed friends. They're showing extremely poor social skills, IMO, and if they wish to really connect with people they best learn that there's a time and place to put away their toys and actually, GASP!, chat with someone face to face!!!!
Yup email, voice mail, cell phones and text messages and so on are extremely wonderful and useful tools in the real world, especially in many jobs. You know, those things that many of us must have in order to pay for our games and gadgets. However, there's still going to be a time when at least SOME of you are going to have to actually CONVERSE with another human face to face and not in little sound bites for less than a minute, but instead during a one on one meeting or across a dinner table throughout a whole meal. If you can't do this and find no value in learning to do this then just remember, you'd best find a job where you live in your cube and never have to actually BE with other humans for more than playing a game.
Beyond the poor social skills, the rudeness and lack of respect for other diners at nearby tables ( I'm talking about phone calls with regard to other diners ) you're missing out on something extremely real and interesting; other people. Yup, we're all alone in this world, that's a fact and it's a toughie for many to face, but as we go through the world and our life in it getting to know and be with other humans, even for a short meal, will enrich your life more than the best damn video or computer game out there, as much as I love the games and gadgets I love people, life and the real world more.
Growing up isn't something that is always fun. In many ways I never have and never, ever will. And I'm told it's something that many people love in me. However, in other ways we MUST show some maturity and respect for others as well as ourselves. This is one of them.
SephFinale @ May 31st 2008 12:22AM
Okay okay...so...what you're basically...BASICALLY saying...is that we should walk up to random people in a restaurant if we're say, alone there...and start up a conversation with said random people? That sounds a bit like invasion of privacy. I might have misinterpreted what you've said, or you might attempt to twist my words, but chill the feck out. I also have to agree with nixy: Welcome to the twenty-first century. So long as there is some form of manners involved when someone is using a piece of technology in public, though, be happy. Because I don't think asking someone to politely put away their device will fly in today's society. I may come off as immature and rude being only 17 years of age, but if it was really so bad to play portable gaming systems in social situations, I would have gotten my ass beat at my late great aunt's 100th birthday. /2cents
RootiePatootie @ May 30th 2008 10:02PM
As a quick reply directly to 117, having discussions about video games is very cool and nothing wrong with that. However, that has nothing to do with the original topic. As for having conversations about video games, nothing anti-social about that IMO. At least you're interacting with another person and that's what it's all about. As for what happened on your school trip, well, given that it was a school trip I am assuming you're fairly young and I actually CAN remember that many school trips were boring as hell. As for you all playing until the food came, well, again, given your age and how you were most likely bored to tears, I can understand it happening. You'd most likely spent many hours together traveling there and you see each other every single day in school and so on and so forth. To be frank, and I'm not trying to be a smartass here, it's akin to the placemat and crayons for the little tikes. But if you were out for a purely social time with your friends, as the original blogger posted, and found yourself so bored you wanted to pull out the trusty DS, well, THAT I'd question, as I've already done.
If my comments come off as harsh I won't excuse it but will apologize as it was not my intention. My only other remark about that is this topic was/is fresh in my mind from a long lunch I had with my friends that day where this exact topic came up along with the fact that I feel strongly that a lack of simply courtesy, manners and above all else, a lack of human interaction is a huge negative in our society today.In other words, a button was pushed by the blogger's comment and I responded.
RootiePatootie @ May 31st 2008 3:17PM
SephFinale.... boy, I'm wondering why I'm bothering at this point but since you're only 17 perhaps I've some hope in me that I MIGHT just get through to you. 17 isn't a kid and you SHOULD be fairly mature by this point but your reply is showing otherwise.
NOWHERE did I say that when alone in a restaurant that you should go up to a stranger and just start up a conversation. Also, nowhere in the blogger's comment did they talk about being in the restaurant ALONE. In fact, the point was made that they were with friends but was getting bored enough to just want to whip out the DS and play to escape the boredom. I highly suggest that before you reply to a comment in any blog that you read the original blogger's post FIRST.
Kiddo, if you think it's perfectly fine to play with your games in a restaurant when you're dining out with other people then by all means, go ahead. However, don't be surprised if at some point people hand you the crayons and placemat to color...and I mean that metaphorically.
My ONLY intention when I posted about this obviously touchy topic for many is that there is a time and place for gaming and at the dinner table in a restaurant with friends just isn't it. If you're alone, then go for it. It's no different than pulling out a newspaper or book as many do, or if it's the proper type of establishment, a laptop. But only if you're alone, please.
I think I've about exhausted, most likely beyond exhausted, the original topic, at least as far as I'm concerned. I've said my piece and now I can only hope that at least one person has learned SOMETHING from all this. I know I have learned that some folks don't read the original blogger's post before they comment, that some folks don't know what the word flame means and that many people will miss out on something in their life that is very important and downright fun....face to face real human interaction. Life lessons learned even from my favorite gaming blog...WOW! No wonder I've loved the online world for over 25 years. Thanks for all who bothered to reply, even if you didn't read the original blogger's comments and thanks once again to DSFanboy for a blog I keep reading.
RachelKat @ Jun 6th 2008 5:42PM
I occasionally play my DS in restaurants and bars when it's not too socially awkward. When it would be, that's when I putt out the yarn bag and start crocheting another DS case. Nothing changes the conversation toward more fun topics like a spontaneous stitch'n'bitch.