Let’s play a game!

          

I wonder how many people in our class own a hand-held video game console and whether it is the Nintendo DS (NDS), Nintendo DS Lite (NDSL) or PlayStation Portable (PSP). It seems that the hand-held video games that I mentioned become very popular in these few years. We can see that there are so many people hold a portable video game console anytime and anywhere. For example, many people play NDS and PSP during the traveling time in the bus, KCR and MTR, and also play it in the restaurant while they are waiting for the food. I always see some students play the hand-held video game in our college during the break and lunch time. I believe that many Hong Kong people own at least one hand-held video game console. And I think that even they don’t have their own hand-held game console, most of them have tried playing the hand-held video game as they can borrow it from their friends. I can tell you that my family owns three NDS and one PSP as my brothers and mother become crazy for the games now. It shows that the hand-held video game is very popular and hot nowadays, it becomes a trend for Hong Kong people to buy a NDS or PSP and the accessories, and discuss the games with each other.

Actually, the hand-held video game console had existed for a long time. The most famous hand-held video game console in the past was the Nintendo Game Boy series. However, the Nintendo Game Boy series are outdated now. How can NDS and PSP replace the Game Boy? The new technique and new functions can account for this phenomenon. Both NDS and PSP support the internet connection and allow many players to create a network and connect to the others and play the same game together (battle with each other). It provides a chance for the game players to construct relationship with the others instead of playing the game alone and being independent. I know some cafés are using the NDS and PSP to be their selling point that they provide a place for customers to play the game together. There are also some gatherings or activities held by the forum to let the members join it and play the video games together. These cafes and gatherings are very hot now. In the past, we think that playing the hand-held video game console is an individual and personal activity as the players will not communicate with the others while they are playing the video game. But playing the hand-held video game console becomes a group activity now. It changes our perception of the hand-held video game console.

  

Moreover, the NDS and PSP subvert the stereotype of female. In the past, playing the hand-held video game is a behaviour that is assigned as a boy or man. In our mind, girls and women do not like playing video games. Most of the game players are male. However, we can find that so many girls and women also play the NDS and PSP now. It can be explained by the types of games and the color of NDS and PSP. There are many games of NDS and PSP suit and satisfy the female such as the cooking games, cosmetic games and games about music. There are more choices of color of NDS and PSP are designed for female, such as pink and white which are suitable for female. All these factors attract girls and women to buy a hand-held video game console and spend lots of time on playing it. It expands the market of hand-held video game console that the players include children, elders, women and men. Playing the hand-held video game console becomes a popular and common activity.