DS Daily: I spy with my little eye ...
by Candace Savino 
{ Jun 28th 2008 at 10:30AM }
Recently, MTV Multiplayer's Stephen Totilo made the observation that more people play PSPs on New York City subway trains than DSes. Which system do you see more in the wild, though? Does it depend on where you are at the time?If you've ever come across someone you didn't know with a DS, have you ever ended up randomly playing a game together?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Lord Bowser @ Jun 28th 2008 10:55AM
I use my PSP more on the Underground/ferry as it can double up as a pretty decent MP3 player. The PSP is the more versatile device, so I'm not surprised by Totilo's claim.
Random DS playing: dogging?
Some dude waved his DS at me once when I was playing MKDS. He had pictochat running. I think he wanted to pictochat.The next bus stop was my stop, so I escaped that awkward situation.
Roto13 @ Jun 28th 2008 11:39AM
I've seen more people playing DS than PSP while out and about.
I would never play with a random stranger. I don't even do that online, let alone in real life.
Desiboo @ Jun 28th 2008 12:15PM
I definitely see more DSes here in Vancouver, esp. on the bus, but also in waiting rooms.
I once ended up playing meteos with some elementary school kids after they commented on how "pimp" my DS was. I got schooled.
TheCoats @ Jun 28th 2008 1:12PM
St Louis here - and i have o say - I do not see hardly in PSP's but i see alot of DSes
I strike up random games every now and then when im on the metro - mainly MK or a download play game - it seems like everyone has MK but few people have anything else so download play=WIN
ArmiMaan @ Jun 28th 2008 1:17PM
The only people I've ever seen play a DS in public are my neighbour's kids, and they only do that in their backyard. I've never tried to play with them because that would just be weird.
bluezy @ Jun 28th 2008 1:29PM
I see a handful of DSes around these parts. Very rarely do i ever see a PSP.
jgoreham @ Jun 28th 2008 1:50PM
I played DS with the kid in front of me in the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows midnight release. That's about it; I guess I see PSPs a lot here in town, but I see DSes at airports more often, I think.
LocalToast @ Jun 28th 2008 2:18PM
I don't see many people playing much of either. When I do see people playing PSPs, it's usually someone around the age of 12, playing GTA. Just my observation.
When I see people with a DS, it's either a young adult (college) or a kid from grade school.
I take my DS everywhere, because it is incredibly versatile. With a homebrew device, that is.
McDoobie @ Jun 28th 2008 3:56PM
Living in the city and taking the C train I've seen more PSP's than DS's; especially by older folk.
While on the C train headed downtown me and my girlfriend were playing the mini-games in New Super Mario Bros. and we were asked by another, I assume, gaming couple whether or not we needed one cartridge to play against each other or two. That's as far as my "random ds playing" goes.
Jacksons @ Jun 28th 2008 6:15PM
I see a ton of PSPs when I go on flights.
Wiiboy @ Jun 28th 2008 7:44PM
I don't really see that many of either, but I live in a really small town. One time my friend was sitting at a place Mario Kart waiting for his mom to get their passports, and this really big guy who he described as "looking like a gangster" came up to him and looked at him for a little while. He told me he was really freaking out until he goes "You wanna play me?" and pulls out a DS, and they played for like a half hour! XD
iruka @ Jun 28th 2008 10:03PM
More PSPs out here in the Philippines... well that is, for adults. For kids I see, most of them have their GBA SPs or DSes
Garst @ Jun 28th 2008 10:42PM
I don't think I've ever seen a PSP in the wild. I haven't seen too many DSes in the wild either. But I also live in the middle of nowhere, so that could explain a lot. DSes don't roam free, you know.
foremost final @ Jun 28th 2008 11:33PM
I do Irish dance, and I often see other dancers whip out their DSes for Wifi playing before dance class or during breaks at a feis. I've noticed people playing them at my school, too. No PSPs, though.
rikki @ Jun 29th 2008 9:41AM
I'd LOVE to play with a random stranger. Unfortunately:
1.) Most of my games are 1P only
2.) A fair chunk of my portable game library is imported from Japan
3.) The rest are relatively unpopular.
Actually, when it comes to portable systems I've only seen one DS in the wild around here -- it was being played by a little kid in a fancy restaurant a number of tables over. I couldn't exactly just get out of my chair, waltz down and ask him about it. His family would probably have thought I was a child molester, and mine would have looked at me REALLY funny...
Nigeria @ Jun 29th 2008 1:28PM
It depends on where I am and what sort of transport I'm using.
Like, today, I was on the bus passing through Central London and I saw half a dozen DS'/PSP's.
But on the Underground it's a different case because I It depends on where I am and what sort of transport I'm using.
Like, today, I was on the bus passing through Central London and I saw half a dozen DS'/PSP's.
But on the Underground it's a different case because I rarely ever see a DS. PSPs occasionally, but never a DS; apart from mine, of course.
Nigeria @ Jun 29th 2008 1:30PM
Ok, I have no idea what happened there but it clearly makes some sort of sense.
chispito @ Jun 29th 2008 3:08PM
I've seen a few of each. PSPs seem to be more popular amongst older or more fashionable people. I think it's just a little harder to take a PSP with you because a case is mandatory in order to protect the screen.
A couple friends and I sometimes play in public, like outside of a coffee shop. Still waiting for a random fourth to walk up and join us.
Annie @ Jun 29th 2008 7:25PM
I see both here in Toronto, actually. I tend to spend most of my time in university during the education period and see more DSes.
As for playing with random strangers, yeah, why not? Just the other day I mingled with this girl who was playing 'The World Ends With You'. It at least benefited the both of us for getting points.
Alex @ Jun 29th 2008 7:41PM
Here in the Philippines, most people have PSPs since they think that the DS is for the younger audience. The majority of DS owners are either RPG nerds or children below 10. In my office, I've only seen one guy with a DS (phat), and the rest have PSPs.
Jesse @ Jun 29th 2008 10:42PM
The reason people don't play with their DS so much on the Subway is because the cars move around too much to effectively use the touch screen. Trying to draw a map in Etrian Odyssey while being thrown about is not fun.
I played Metroid Pinball with a kid in an airport once. It was fun.
Simon @ Jun 29th 2008 11:30PM
seen heaps of psps lately in Sydney, Australia, occasionally a DS. would love to meet someone on the same trainline so we can battle on the way to and from work.
Morning Toast @ Jun 30th 2008 12:45PM
I'd have to say I've seen more DSes in the wild that PSPs. Just the other day I saw a kid at Little Caesar's with an old DS while waiting with his mother. But then again, where I live in Ohio we don't have any great public transit system shy of the bus (which no one rides)...and I have a car, so there's not a lot of opportunity to see commuting people. The only place around here with any sort of large commuting population is on the university campus, which has it's own bus service.
Fraser @ Jul 3rd 2008 11:35AM
Like someone said earlier, on the tram I see only young teenagers playing PSP and only primary school (= grade school) kids or young adults playing DS. Which is interesting.
My girlfriend and I once took turns playing Mario Kart against a young kid in an animal hospital waiting room for an hour, with his mum looking on and smiling. It was a lovely moment... tarnished by the fact that we both had to have an animal put down afterwards. :(