On the game
The next time your plane is late, get your thumbs going. Gaming’s all grown up.
Stuck at an airport lounge? Find yourself with too much downtime between meetings? Get a portable gaming machine. Trust me on this.
It’s true, I’ve always liked games, maybe because they’re still as much fun as when I played them as a 10-year-old. But these days, when I have time to kill—between meetings or sitting in an airport lounge—I turn to these new portable gaming gadgets. And they’re a great stress buster. Watching a movie on a laptop isn’t really a great—laptops are big, unergonomical and just try finding a plug point at some airports!
So I’m a portable gamer now. It’s not just for game nuts, everyone can indulge—the mobile executive, the bored housewife. As they say idle thumbs make for very deviant minds, so keep those thumbs going. OK, go on, ask me the milliondollar question…
“Which game console do I buy?” Go for the Nintendo DSi. It does not have the most amazing graphics. The Playstation Portable (PSP) from Sony has scores on that count but the Universal Media Discs (UMD) that Sony uses have their drawbacks and the DSi is a lot easier to cart around in a pocket.
“But doesn’t the PSP play movies?”
True, true. But the DSi also has a browser and Wi-Fi connectivity so you can browse on it. And anyway, the games on the DSi are on the whole a lot more entertaining. Movies can be too much of an investment when you’re waiting for a delayed flight. “Which games? Nothing silly, now, I’m a CEO remember.” I hear you. Your choice of game depends on the console really. For the DSi, I really like Mario Kart Racing, simple and fun. For the PSP, buy GTA: Liberty City Stories. The graphics are amazing and if you like the Grand Theft Auto franchise, you’ll feel right at home. But if you ask me, the DSi has more games for even the most casual novice gamer. These are games, remember— they’re not about razor-sharp graphics and mind-blowing gameplay, they’re about having fun. “But I can get games on my phone!”
Listen—you can play some games on the N-Gage Nokia and I like the Sudoku game, but buying these games is still a pain both for N-Gage and at the iTunes store for the iPhone. There are some nice games on SonyEricsson and Samsung devices, but you really do get bored of them in some time. Time is limited. If you’re going to waste it, waste it in style!
Nintendo DSi
Rs 9,000
Dual-Screen, Card-based games
(Prices from Rs 500-2,000)
On-Board web camera for chatting with players in multiplayer games
PSP 3004
Rs 9,400
High Contrast
Ratio screen
Wi-Fi connectivity with on-board Microphone for Skype calls UMD (disc)-based games
(Rs 1,000-2,000)
It’s true, I’ve always liked games, maybe because they’re still as much fun as when I played them as a 10-year-old. But these days, when I have time to kill—between meetings or sitting in an airport lounge—I turn to these new portable gaming gadgets. And they’re a great stress buster. Watching a movie on a laptop isn’t really a great—laptops are big, unergonomical and just try finding a plug point at some airports!
So I’m a portable gamer now. It’s not just for game nuts, everyone can indulge—the mobile executive, the bored housewife. As they say idle thumbs make for very deviant minds, so keep those thumbs going. OK, go on, ask me the milliondollar question…
“Which game console do I buy?” Go for the Nintendo DSi. It does not have the most amazing graphics. The Playstation Portable (PSP) from Sony has scores on that count but the Universal Media Discs (UMD) that Sony uses have their drawbacks and the DSi is a lot easier to cart around in a pocket.
“But doesn’t the PSP play movies?”
True, true. But the DSi also has a browser and Wi-Fi connectivity so you can browse on it. And anyway, the games on the DSi are on the whole a lot more entertaining. Movies can be too much of an investment when you’re waiting for a delayed flight. “Which games? Nothing silly, now, I’m a CEO remember.” I hear you. Your choice of game depends on the console really. For the DSi, I really like Mario Kart Racing, simple and fun. For the PSP, buy GTA: Liberty City Stories. The graphics are amazing and if you like the Grand Theft Auto franchise, you’ll feel right at home. But if you ask me, the DSi has more games for even the most casual novice gamer. These are games, remember— they’re not about razor-sharp graphics and mind-blowing gameplay, they’re about having fun. “But I can get games on my phone!”
Listen—you can play some games on the N-Gage Nokia and I like the Sudoku game, but buying these games is still a pain both for N-Gage and at the iTunes store for the iPhone. There are some nice games on SonyEricsson and Samsung devices, but you really do get bored of them in some time. Time is limited. If you’re going to waste it, waste it in style!
Nintendo DSi
Rs 9,000
Dual-Screen, Card-based games
(Prices from Rs 500-2,000)
On-Board web camera for chatting with players in multiplayer games
PSP 3004
Rs 9,400
High Contrast
Ratio screen
Wi-Fi connectivity with on-board Microphone for Skype calls UMD (disc)-based games
(Rs 1,000-2,000)
