Tokyo lines up for Noble Pink DS Lite

  • By Walt Wyman, GameSpot
  • Posted Jul 20, 2006 1:06 pm PT

The rosy DS Lite proves a hit in Japan; lines soar to more than 400 strong; new color is reportedly a popular gift item.

Famitsu.com hit the streets of Tokyo today to find out how the new Noble Pink Nintendo DS Lite was selling. Rather well, it turns out.

At the Ikebukuro electronics shop Big Camera in Japan, customers began arriving as early as 3 a.m., forming a line that grew to 160 people by opening time and to over 400 by 11:30 a.m. It also seems that many Noble Pink buyers purchased it along with Nintendo's new talking cookbook software, Shaberu! DS Ryori Navi, which also launched today.

The popularity of the new color was not limited to the Ikebukuro area. A Big Camera representative told the site that lines reached 130 people at the company's Yurakucho branch. Over in Akihabara, Famitsu.com conducted an impromptu demographic survey at the Yodobashi Camera Multimedia store, where lines swelled to nearly 200 people by 9 a.m.

Although a store representative said there were almost twice as many women in line for a DS Lite than usual, Famitsu observed that men still outnumbered the ladies by a wide margin. When asked why they were purchasing the pearly pink DS Lite, many of the guys said they were buying on behalf of female family members. Out of the 25 men Famitsu spot-interviewed, 16 said they were buying the item as a gift.

63 Comments

  • passentry

    Posted Jul 22, 2006 12:38 am PT

    Kaizen4 wrote:
    "I think you guys argueing about the DS Vs. PSP thing should BOTH shut up, cos I've heard rumours that Sega is making a handheld...it's called the Game Gear and apparently it's got a colour screen, is half the size of an Xbox, can handle 8-Bit graphics and only requires two car batteries for ten minutes play... I'm gonna pre-order now, it sounds AWESOME - PSP and DS are now DEAD!" ...

    ... I really hope he's joking.

  • Kaizen4

    Posted Jul 21, 2006 7:22 pm PT

    I think you guys argueing about the DS Vs. PSP thing should BOTH shut up, cos I've heard rumours that Sega is making a handheld...it's called the Game Gear and apparently it's got a colour screen, is half the size of an Xbox, can handle 8-Bit graphics and only requires two car batteries for ten minutes play... I'm gonna pre-order now, it sounds AWESOME - PSP and DS are now DEAD!

  • lilazn_boi

    Posted Jul 21, 2006 2:08 pm PT

    im pretty in pink....

  • SquallLeonVIII

    Posted Jul 21, 2006 1:28 pm PT

    "Squall, it's pretty ridiculous to say "most people" bought a ds lite after already owning a ds phat. You don't have a clue what the percentages are, so you should just keep your mouth shut. Your anti-ds attitude isn't going to get you very far here, so you might as well make intelligent anti-ds comments at the very least. "-i_like_pizza
    Its true the majority did buy the ds lite and I can write whatever I feel like writing. And I can say the same to u cut the anti psp crap.

  • LosDaddie

    Posted Jul 21, 2006 12:41 pm PT

    I would buy one for my fiancee.

    Bring the different colors to the good 'ol USA, Nintendo.

  • i_like_pizza

    Posted Jul 21, 2006 11:14 am PT

    Squall, it's pretty ridiculous to say "most people" bought a ds lite after already owning a ds phat. You don't have a clue what the percentages are, so you should just keep your mouth shut. Your anti-ds attitude isn't going to get you very far here, so you might as well make intelligent anti-ds comments at the very least.

    I KNOW people who have 4 XBOXes..... who cares? Does that mean everyone buys 4 XBOXes? There isn't the slightest connection. I own one DS at the moment, but I'm going to be purchasing a DS Lite when either red, lime-green, or navy blue are released in the US. The reasons why I feel inclined to make the purchase are two-fold. First, it's an infinitely better piece of hardware. The size, overall weight, weight distribution, button feel, improved backlighting, and button placement are enough to justify the purchase. But on top of that, if I buy another DS, that means I can multiplayer with a friend who doesn't have a DS. Virtually none of my friends have DSes, so this is a great benefit of upgrading my hardware. I can finally show off my meteos skills to the world.

    Stop with the anti-ds crap. It shouldn't piss you off that your system of choice isn't selling the best, and you shouldn't have to take it out on the winner.

  • anamnawshad

    Posted Jul 21, 2006 11:09 am PT

    Great! This would create more girl gamers........

  • tanenbaum

    Posted Jul 21, 2006 10:56 am PT

    My friend is studying abroad in Japan right now.
    She heard about the Pink DS and waited in line yesterday.
    I bet it was funny for a foreigner to be waiting with likely 200
    Japanese. I'm jealous of all the DS lite colors elsewhere (than the US),
    although I think I still may have picked white.

    Squall: I would like to argue that color and size do matter.
    1) Size and shape (aesthetic appeal) is all Sony has really offered so far,
    since good games are few and far between, and UMDs are entirely
    overpriced
    2) Didn't Sony recently get in trouble for a pretty racist advertisement aimed
    at their new white color?

    Why does apple charge $200 more for a black laptop? Because people like
    aesthetic things. Color and size matter.

  • Latinbro1

    Posted Jul 21, 2006 9:27 am PT

    i've been thinking of buying a DS but i just don't know if i'll be using it as much as i wnat to. they should throw the ds lite ina cool metalic blue or black color

  • faizali86

    Posted Jul 21, 2006 9:03 am PT

    hmmm........., i can see that nintendo is bringing the girls to gaming.
    +this is a very good idea for a gift.

  • SquallLeonVIII

    Posted Jul 21, 2006 8:49 am PT

    "great ds rocks, psp sucks "-rynmls
    I can't believe you said that, I checked your profile and it looks like you love ff7 and psp is getting crisis core FF7 and it has advent children, it says u like tekken and psp is getting tekken, It says you like mgs and psp is getting mgs, it says u like wwe and psp has that, It says u like ff7, ff9 and ff8 and psp is getting the ps1 emulator,It says u like street fighter and psp has street fighter, It says u like prince of persia and psp has prince of persia, It says u like chrono cross and psp has snes emulation, it says u like devil may cry and psp is getting devil may cry. The psp seems to have all the console games you like i'm suprised you dislike it.

  • SquallLeonVIII

    Posted Jul 21, 2006 8:41 am PT

    "You only need a normal DS, you don't need every color of the rainbow "-lgoldberg
    I agree. If you owned a normal ds you don't even need to buy a ds lite and most ppl did anyways. Now if you own a ds lite already you don't need to buy different color ones yet many ppl will. Ive seen ppl post pics of their room and stuff and they own like 4 ds's. Thats the biggest waste of many you just own one ,color or size doesn't matter.

  • chrisdojo

    Posted Jul 21, 2006 7:22 am PT

    teh colors. well, if pink is your thing....

  • SophinaK

    Posted Jul 21, 2006 7:20 am PT

    That pink is sexy.

    For now I guess I'll just have to settle for changing the colors on my itty bitty menu screen.

    Do you think the shoulder buttons get less stained on the colored DS lites? That would be a real advantage...

  • StillWingless

    Posted Jul 21, 2006 6:38 am PT

    man, i wanted a DS lite before, now it's just worse. of course, my current DS is just fine, but... oh well. maybe they'll bring it to the US as a not-limited run and i can get my hot little hands on one in the next year or so.

  • GKBeetle

    Posted Jul 21, 2006 6:15 am PT

    I love the look of the Pink DS. If I had that choice around here, I would have definitely picked it up. It just looks so cool!

  • Stoner-Dude

    Posted Jul 21, 2006 5:42 am PT

    cyprus646said:
    Pink = chick magnet

    Agreed

  • paronga

    Posted Jul 21, 2006 5:21 am PT

    wow.....when the FFIII DS comes out......the DS is ganna sell like condoms.......

  • ymcop

    Posted Jul 21, 2006 5:05 am PT

    Agree, DS pink is rock! I'm thinking about buy one for my younger sister's birthday. Hey guys? but how much?

  • mhder

    Posted Jul 21, 2006 3:21 am PT

    People are assuming it's the same people buying the ds every week or the games every week. It is a country of over 100 million people you know. And with the shortages DS has had lately, there are lots of people still waiting to get one. I could also see it as some people moving away from the original ds to the lite - because in Japan with so much walking/train etc, I could see the lite being so much more convenient unlike me who plays it at a desk.

  • rikardo10

    Posted Jul 21, 2006 2:40 am PT

    ds rocks

  • rynmls

    Posted Jul 21, 2006 1:31 am PT

    great ds rocks, psp sucks

  • Orasion_Seiz

    Posted Jul 21, 2006 12:39 am PT

    if i had a girlfriend i'll buy her one of these

  • MrPuzzlez

    Posted Jul 20, 2006 11:47 pm PT

    It's sexy and pink! OMG, the Pink DS is sooooo HOT!

  • ice_rocman

    Posted Jul 20, 2006 9:57 pm PT

    Heh, looks pretty nice. I can bet you those guys weren't buying gifts either. xD

  • EMH88

    Posted Jul 20, 2006 9:19 pm PT

    DS is incredible...

    "Nintendo sure loves milking the sheeps with different DS colors"

    Oh, so we're forced to buy every new colors? I bet if DS wasnt selling as good you would say nothing. Crabs are so desperate. Nintendo is offering new colors thats it.

  • grnidbandit

    Posted Jul 20, 2006 7:34 pm PT

    great maybe they can pack a zelda game with it, and make it a real seller in certain communities

  • metdevthegamer

    Posted Jul 20, 2006 7:20 pm PT

    They sure love the DS over there.

  • kappachan

    Posted Jul 20, 2006 5:35 pm PT

    I doubt people are upgrading. There are quite a few people who are waiting for the different colors. I even went out and bought a Japanese version of the DS Lite because I didn't want the plain white that everyone in the US will have. And as stated in the article, a lot of men are buying them for a female loved one. If I hadn't bought my powder blue DS Lite, I would definitely want a pink one. It'd match my pink DS I already own. ^_^

    And I bought the DS Lite because I wanted to play multiplayer with my sister and to get my mom to use the Japanese version of Brain Age.

  • vaejas

    Posted Jul 20, 2006 5:06 pm PT

    That.. is not.. a colour. But 'tis fun to say in Engrish.

  • juanfraino

    Posted Jul 20, 2006 4:51 pm PT

    this is pretty neat, nintendo is really going for everyone. this can make more girl gamers and mothers play games. its not a lot of people, but its an effort that is worth mentioning.

  • thakingrocka

    Posted Jul 20, 2006 4:26 pm PT

    i saw this at the store yesterday and thought nothing of it. there were "sold out" signs on all the colors of ds lite and ds, but at the end i saw a box with no sign. it was the pink one. i laughed, thinking, who wants that crap. well, maybe some girly girls might like it, but it just doesn't even register as a realistic option to me. i feel the same about that turqouise one too. these are terrible colors. white, blue, and black are the 3 colors. i will be waiting for the black. should they release some super special editions that are actually cool, i may just have to go down to nintendo hq and smack some of these people around. im sick and tired of hardware revisions, alternate versions, etc... i don't even like the idea that the ds lite released so shortly after the ds.

  • TensiNothing

    Posted Jul 20, 2006 4:17 pm PT

    I'd buy a Pink DS Lite, but I already own a DS.

    maybe later..

  • T1Panda

    Posted Jul 20, 2006 3:55 pm PT

    I wouldn't mind a pink DSL. But I've already got the white.

  • buzzoinks

    Posted Jul 20, 2006 3:49 pm PT

    I think a pink DSL is hilarious, I'm waiting to upgrade to the light and may just get the noble pink, perfect for the gaYmer on th go!

  • Vulpis

    Posted Jul 20, 2006 3:37 pm PT

    Car companies really love milking the sheeps with different automobile colors. We should have listened to Henry Ford and make cars nothing but black. ;-)

    Granted, I don't understand the ones who buy new colors when they already *have* one, but I can understand the interest--hey, it's why the whole 'system skins' thing was created, after all.

  • faridmon

    Posted Jul 20, 2006 3:19 pm PT

    wow, the DS is selling more now with the Pink, moms of gamers are getting this game just to play Brain Training and Big Brain Academy with thier son.
    ok i bet the Coocking software will be nu. 1 next week.

  • sigma8

    Posted Jul 20, 2006 3:04 pm PT

    Judging from some the comments in here, I'd really hate to see how some of you people dress. It's not a big surprise that when you make a really appealing device in one color, that making it in other colors will sell more. Look at the iPod Mini's.

    This is not rocket science, here.

    I will admit I was VERY tempted to buy the special edition GBA SP with the old-school NES style colors and design to it, but I didn't get it because I already had an SP. If I didn't already have an SP, I would have bought that thing super fast.

  • seg555

    Posted Jul 20, 2006 3:01 pm PT

    Nintendo is doing what on other gaming company is doing. Wich is getting girls in to gaming. Sure there are a bunch of girls that are gamers. But that bunch is very little. They also know what girls like in japan. So Nintendo delivers what they like and more girls are becomeing gamers. So that why the pink ds is selling well.

  • dsmaniacman

    Posted Jul 20, 2006 2:40 pm PT

    Maybe I should import one.....

  • comthitnuong

    Posted Jul 20, 2006 2:35 pm PT

    i dont think color matters

  • snarple_basic

    Posted Jul 20, 2006 2:26 pm PT

    The Pink color is kind of cool if your a girl. I just picked my g/f up the white 1 and if i could have picked up the pink 1 that would have been the 1 I would have got her, oh well Nintendo always takes too look with those colors.

  • meimnobody

    Posted Jul 20, 2006 2:25 pm PT

    No lineup for the psp. It's just used for watching beastility porn and lolitia animated porn in Japan.

    The cooking software is apparently good but if you don't know Japanese you are fubared if you try to use it.

    It has vid clips to help someone in their food preparing task. So you see how to slice certain things or arrange them.

  • Oni

    Posted Jul 20, 2006 2:22 pm PT

    Are people this stupid? Obviously they are. Nintendo must be laughing all the way to the bank.

  • cyprus646

    Posted Jul 20, 2006 2:13 pm PT

    Pink = chick magnet

  • gcuber123

    Posted Jul 20, 2006 2:04 pm PT

    Are there lineups for the PSP in Japan?

  • Aslanpower86

    Posted Jul 20, 2006 1:57 pm PT

    I'm wondering what the cooking software is like.

  • angelserval

    Posted Jul 20, 2006 1:49 pm PT

    If some 'other' company which has a high profile portable on the market, would be able to sell this many units just by changing its colors. Then the not so Great Fanboy Paul would be singing another tune. Hence that portable became only high profile due to some very naughty advertising in the Netherlands...........which was taken down...........And the pretty color you could choose for this portable was..................Wait for it..............White. Jealous people -especially Sony fanboys- can't take it that some other company, which made an inferior system with games whom target new markets is doing way better then a technological superior system with uhm 'Great ports' and movies. Pleas pity the little lost sheep called the Sony fanboy, because the UMD is also going the way of Betamax........Then again Nintendo fanboys and 360 fanboys are the same when something 'happens' to their loved systems........Just have fun! ^-^

    Fanboys should be put in a room with 1 knife while the ceiling drops..........and hope for Barry to come along. =p

  • Carlitonsp

    Posted Jul 20, 2006 1:48 pm PT

    I stick to the statement I made when the First new of the Pink DS lite came out.

  • ebonyflame

    Posted Jul 20, 2006 1:48 pm PT

    I don't need every color of the rainbow lgoldberg but it would be nice to be offered more than one or two colors if the eventual plan is to have lots of colors. I am gonna end up giving my original Platinum DS to my little brother and get me a Noble Pink DS when they are available. I have decided that I am moving to Japan for the next three years so electronics will be easier for me to come by. (YAY!)

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