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Observations: gaming on campus
By admin | February 16, 2010
Last week I experienced something fairly remarkable, although anecdotal.
Three of my friends and I walked into an EB Games. I wasn’t expecting me or
anyone to buy anything, but I was shocked when my three friends each bought a
new DS Lite; two of them bought jet black and one of them bought noble pink.
And like the gaming dorks we were, they opened theirs up while I took my
Japanese white one out, and we had a few Mario Kart DS races on download play in
the middle of the mall. This is just one example I’ve experienced with gaming
among college students at or near college.
Even life in college can’t completely deter gamers from enjoying handheld games.
In high school, they might’ve gotten their systems confiscated, but obviously
colleges don’t have rules like that. During those long breaks between classes,
people will pass the time with their laptops, iPods or other music players,
cellphones and handheld game systems. While it’s rare to see anything older than
a Game Boy Advance SP in a student’s hands anymore, it’s common to see at least
seven handheld game systems a day at any given college or university. Often
students will play them while waiting for class to begin, or while sitting on a
bench passing time by. Shockingly, people may play them in class as well!
With the release of the DS Lite back in June, it appears that the system really
appeals to college students, with its slick and appealing aesthetics, and small
weight that won’t make that backpack full of notebooks any bulkier than it
already is. The PSP as well is a popular entertainment item, for both games and
movies, but its music capabilities have clearly been neglected in favor of the
iPod.
The DS’s emphasis on quick-burst gaming makes it favorable for those ten minute
waiting periods before class begins. Gamers can jump into one level of New Super
Mario Brothers and finish it before the break is over. At least two races can be
done via download play in Mario Kart DS, and I’ve managed to earn 10,000 bells
in Animal Crossing: Wild World in a five minute span before class begins,
despite that game’s longer than average save times. And several times have I
seen people play their DS and PSP during class, with either the teacher not
caring or not noticing.
Surprisingly, I’ve seen a student in my Kanji class use a copy of Nintendo’s
Kanji Sonomama: DS Rakubiki Jiten software, which is a dictionary that allows
for quick search of Chinese characters used in the Japanese language. My teacher
expressed interest in the software, shocked that it was a Nintendo-made
software, saying “this [dictionary] is pretty good!” in Japanese.
It also isn’t uncommon to find game systems in dorm rooms. The PlayStation 2
dominates most dorm rooms, as both a DVD player and games system. Often students
will host Super Smash Bros. Melee or Halo 2 parties on weekends to get away from
the stress of work.
In many ways, the prevalence of gaming on campus is remarkable. Tuitions have
gotten more expensive over the last five years and textbook publishers try their
hardest to shut out the used textbook market; often the price difference between
a new and used textbook is the price of a handheld or discounted game! Any
college student will understand the complaints of transportation costs, housing
costs, cellphone bills and other fees students bend their backs over to pay
every fall and spring.
Handheld gaming hasn’t gotten cheaper either; the DS and PSP are more expensive,
hardware and software-wise, than the Game Boy Advance and earlier, although the
PSP does have a greatest hits line. But students at this university have made
room for gaming, both in time and budget, showing that tight schedules won’t
prevent someone from getting in one session in Lumines or Meteos.
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