Nintendo holding DS 'Tupperware' parties [Update 1]

by Chris Greenhough { Jul 8th 2008 at 2:00PM }

Nintendo is constantly being praised for its marketing of the DS (and Wii) to non-gaming demographics, yet not all of the techniques used by the company are breathtakingly modern or anything. Case in point: these DS-themed parties, which NBC reckons are modeled on Tupperware parties, a decades old concept that first appeared just after the Second World War.

The idea is straightforward enough: gather a selection of "hot, hip alpha females," sling them a free DS (!) and a crate of Lambrini, and let them spend their Friday evening playing Mario Kart DS, Brain Training, and Nintendogs with their tipsy friends. Nintendo hopes that the women involved will go away and chat non-stop to their other alpha friends about the wonders of the DS. It appears to be working, as well. "What's better than hanging out with my girl friends to drink wine and play games?" gushes one participant.

Well, we can't think of anything.

[Update 1: Edited last sentence]

[Via Game With A Brain]

Tags: business, female, marketing, tupperware, women

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

eugaet @ Jul 8th 2008 2:14PM

Wait, so they get free DSes. That they get to keep?

[gets wig out from closet]

Jose El Maton @ Jul 8th 2008 2:17PM

I gotta say, I consider myself a pretty decent, non-sexist guy, but the way you worded that last sentence made me chuckle, with my hand over my mouth to try to suppress it!

Abby @ Jul 8th 2008 3:48PM

You're seriously going to leave that last sentence in there?

LocalToast @ Jul 8th 2008 4:00PM

"But where are the guys?" At home in their basements playing TF2 and COD4, most likely.

I'd love to sit outside that building, just close enough so I can join their Mario Kart games. Then show them interesting tactics like "power sliding" and "items".

Jacksons @ Jul 8th 2008 4:05PM

I wonder if they'll ask them in 2 weeks whether or not they still use it.

Loren @ Jul 8th 2008 5:04PM

If you actually think your last sentence is funny, I'll have to beg to differ.

RootiePatootie @ Jul 8th 2008 5:21PM

As a female I am not sure how I feel about this from the "party" aspect of it. I remember attending Tupperware parties when I was at the age where one is supposed to start "building their home and kitchen" and hating every single moment. I finally learned to say No Thanks, even to my sister who was a Tupperware addict (no kidding!). Beyond the fact that it often ending up costing me more than I'd planned to spend, peer pressure at these things CAN be strong even for the best of us, it was BOOOORING as hell for me. But then again at that same time in my life I was the only person at the parties who was also playing video and computer games and using a modem.

I'm gathering that the idea is to get the attendees hooked on the games and thus get them to buy as many as possible??? That was certainly the Tupperware idea (along with many other home party plans). I bet if back then I'd set up an Atari 2600 party I might have pulled in some cash, eh? };-> I DID get one neighbor gal, a newly married like me, hooked on the 2600 and she and the hubby went NUTS with it.

On the somewhat positive side, this DOES get all those uninitiated girlfriends, wifey-poos and even Moms exposed to all the gaming goodness of our beloved DS platform and gaming in general. That can only be a good thing, IMO of course. :)

Now.... by free DS does that mean they get to KEEP the DS as long as they buy a boatload of games??? How about a Wii?? I've yet to take the Wii plunge, I've held off on all the latest generation platforms other than the DS, but since moving back to my hometown recently and playing with my best gal pal's Wii, I can see one in my future....soon. Maybe attending one of these parties would push me to it a lot sooner, especially if I got the console FREE!

Oooh...and am I the only one that noticed, when they mention San Francisco, the actress Felicia Day, who plays Codex on the web show The Guild? She also does a lot of commericals and other web flix...but I've been a fan of The Guild (on youtube) since the first episode came out. She admits that she was a big WoW player and she and a number of the actors in The Guild have been said to be DS fans too. And of course one of the characters in The Guild is never shown without her DS in her hand.

Hmm...maybe I'll start looking around to see if one of these parties will show up here in my neck of the woods! :) Thanks for posting this.

Kimiko @ Jul 8th 2008 5:55PM

That last sentence definitely tarnished DSF's good name. Not funny.

Chris Greenhough @ Jul 8th 2008 6:26PM

Guys, come on: it was a *very* tongue-in-cheek comment that really shouldn't be taken too seriously.

I'm not suggesting you have to find it funny, and if it did offend you, then I do apologize. But honestly: it was just intended in a light-hearted way, and wasn't intended to be in any way serious.

Kimiko @ Jul 8th 2008 6:53PM

The reason it's not funny is because women get not taken seriously like that all the time.

And what's with the half-assed apology 'if it offends you..'? Either you're sorry for saying it, or you're not. That doesn't depend on people feeling offended.

Jose El Maton @ Jul 8th 2008 7:05PM

RootiePatootie didn't sound offended. I surmise Chris wouldn't be apologizing to her.

Eleniel @ Jul 9th 2008 7:08PM

It's not only sexist but an old, tired joke, dude. I'm disappointed 'cause y'all are so much more clever (and inclusive) than that!

Robert27 @ Jul 8th 2008 6:40PM

Intersting, but I�m afraid that the ones attending these partys might end forgetting the DS and leaving it soon.

Good idea, and I hope to get to know many gamers of both genders.

Synonymous @ Jul 8th 2008 6:47PM

Add another vote to the "not funny" column. If you were trying to skewer the old-fashioned women-in-the-home mindset behind Tupperware parties, you botched the delivery of the joke.

Now, back to KanKen DS and not making you a sandwich.

Chris Greenhough @ Jul 8th 2008 6:49PM

"Joke" removed, then. My apology stands to all those offended.

Brittany @ Jul 8th 2008 7:08PM

NOT OFFENDED AT ALL BY YOUR JOKE :D people take themselves way too seriously

But, to the guy who said '"But where are the guys?" At home in their basements playing TF2 and COD4, most likely.' ... I'd just like you to know that I own the 360, and the copy of COD4 in my house and I'm totally better at my boyfriend (and probably you :P) at TF2 :D

David Hinkle @ Jul 8th 2008 7:28PM

I wasn't around for the uproar from Chris's joke (believe me, it was a joke, Chris is nowhere near a bad person and his joke shouldn't tarnish his great rep around here), but know this: we don't let anyone bully us into changing our content. The good, the bad, it all goes live and we make sure to update the post to correct any errors or oversights on our part, but we openly acknowledge the error. Now, Chris already took the line out, because nobody else was around to help him with this crisis. But, do you see how quick he got ahold of me? He did this because he cares about you all and doesn't want your experience here to be anything less than a treat, which is something we all strive for each and every day. Not just because we work here, but because this is our community, too. We love the handheld as much as you and we crave the news and fun stuff we find every day just as much as you. But, since the line was taken out, I'm going to leave it out.

With all that said, I'm sorry any of you took offense to it. Chris also apologized for this, and he meant it. In no way was his apology "half-assed." If he didn't totally understand why you found it so offensive, that's not his fault. He merely attempted to take a jab at the type of people who seriously think along those lines (they're still out there, dontchaknow?). The only thing we ask you do is try to have a civil discussion about it, if you feel so strongly about this. So far, I think we're relatively in that zone.

Chris said it was tongue-in-cheek. It might not be your brand of humor and you may think it degrades women, but, let's face it: there are plenty of worse stereotypes that females suffer from that could've been employed in this post. Telling someone to make them a sandwich, even with a strikethrough over it (which, if you frequent blogs a lot, is like the joke standard), isn't the gender-bashing statement of the century in my eyes. It's merely an attempt to present you all with something informative and entertaining to read.

I stand by Chris on this one. If it was in poor taste, then I apologize, just as he did. We're human, we make mistakes. So, I ask we all move on from this and we'll try our best in the future to make sure this is the blog you've come to (hopefully) love.

Puddles @ Jul 9th 2008 1:08AM

First, I love this site and I understand that this was just a well-meaning joke gone wrong. But there's nothing wrong with altering your content because it offends people. It's called an editorial decision.

Eleniel @ Jul 9th 2008 7:17PM

You know, I bet you wouldn't have said "it could have been worse" if someone had ended a post with a racist stereotype.

That said, I appreciate that Chris apologized, but it would be nice that if you or he didn't understand why people were offended then an effort would be made TO understand, to avoid it in the future. I'm sure you guys don't want to alienate people, and we don't want to be alienated. This site is usually really awesome and inclusive, and it would be awesome to see it continue that way.

gary yo @ Jul 8th 2008 7:37PM

so uh what was the that last sentance

tacoman @ Jul 8th 2008 10:34PM

It was "How about making me a damned sandwich" and it was pretty much the funniest thing I've ever read on the Joystiq network.

Too bad some people had to get their panties in a bunch and ruin it for everyone.

Kimiko @ Jul 9th 2008 6:14AM

Well, I for one like DSF because it's one of the very few gaming sites that doesn't use bad jokes to 'entertain' the readers. And it's a great news site of course ^_^

gary yo @ Jul 9th 2008 11:35AM

thats not too bad. i mean, i could think of a couple things worse. and it was all in good fun, right?

Eleniel @ Jul 9th 2008 7:05PM

Tacoman, if that's the funniest thing you've ever read on the Joystiq network, you've clearly never read a post by Justin or Ludwig. No offense to any of the other writers--I'm usually impressed by the writing here and at the other blogs--but those guys are consistently hilarious.

Robert27 @ Jul 8th 2008 8:34PM

I don�t even notice the sentence Chris wrote,well whatever.

QR @ Jul 8th 2008 8:51PM

Come on! I must, MUST know what the last sentence was. email it to me someone - quickreactor@gmail.com

RootiePatootie @ Jul 10th 2008 5:35PM

Oh for heaven's sake! This calls for my "Get Over IT!" comment. It was funny. I saw it. I laughed, har har, and then I decided to post a comment about the actual NEWS in the posting...and went on and wrote my missive. :)

I agree, one of the things I really like about DSF is the overall lack of testosterone laden postings and remarks. I hope that doesn't change.

I got so tired, not offended but just bored to tears tired, of that type of writing in two of the big PC gaming mags that I actually stopped my subscriptions. One I'd been getting since the early 90s. I still pick them up on the newsstands occasionally and I'm pleased to see that it's been toned down a LOT. I'm hoping that it means either that they've matured as writers, at least, or they've recognized that more and more females, of all ages, are gaming and beyond being sick of that type of writing are also offended.

It will be a long time before female gamers are equal to male gamers but it's nice to know that at least some places acknowledge our presence and take it into account a bit when they write. But I also believe that we female gamers need to chill a bit and not be so sensitive. Being overly sensitive will only, IMO, cause a reaction to us of not being taken as serious gamers and consumers.