Remember when PSP launched and everyone marvelled at the sexy curves and sleek design? Would the PSP be the first games handheld that an adult could use on the train without embarrassment? Well, by and large, yes. The PSP is easily spotted when out and about. But what about the DS?
Try a little experiment when you are next on a train, tube or bus. Take a look around and see how many adults are playing DS. Yup, not many is it. While the DS may have a pile of innovative and enjoyable games, the handheld remains a guilty secret for grown-ups. Until you get to a games convention that is. The DS was everywhere at E3 - and apparently GDC too - with attendees using the device almost as a badge of gaming honour. The reason has as much to do with snobbery as good games. Let the "mass market" play FIFA on their PSP's, goes the thinking, they wont understand or appreciate Trauma Center like we do.
Of course, in Japan the DS is huge, which is why the release of Brain Training and the Lite redesign is so interesting. Will older people - which for Nintendo means over 16 - be tempted by these as they have been in Japan? Or will the DS remain strictly for kids and connoisseurs only?
