Noble Pink DS Lite launch draws crowds in Japan

25 Comments by James Ransom-Wiley Jul 20th 2006 2:55PM
Filed under: Culture, Nintendo DS, Business, Fashion

Nintendo has released the DS Lite in pink, blessed with a touch of 'nobility,' much to delight of Japanese consumers. Reports site eager shoppers lining up as early as 3:00 am. Even grown men, were not to be denied.

Tags: DS Lite, DsLite, Noble Pink, NoblePink

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Kevin: Jul 20th 2006; 3:02PM

How Gay for grown men its all fake tough men have pink it is gay men have pink

Merx: Jul 20th 2006; 3:05PM

Proof as if it were needed.

The Japanease will buy anything - usually more than once.

jc: Jul 20th 2006; 3:06PM

Wow, by the looks of that picture you could say they are cracking up... or even coming apart at the hinge.

Honestly tho, I would love to know what percentage of Japanese own one or more Nintendo DS.

DsDude: Jul 20th 2006; 3:07PM

O_O Wow...

Jeremy: Jul 20th 2006; 3:09PM

Meanwhile, we get white....

Raynre: Jul 20th 2006; 3:14PM

Id buy one. I normally avoid pink like ebola, but theres something about the Noble Pink DSLite that just draws me in... O.O

someguy: Jul 20th 2006; 3:15PM

They call it "noble" there, huh. I'm thinking of a different adjective...

fivehorizons: Jul 20th 2006; 3:18PM

Well from the look of the sales numbers they eat PS2's for breakfast, lunch and dinner. :)

frodo: Jul 20th 2006; 3:19PM

Knowing the ds lite shortage, it's probably a bunch of people just going to buy a ds, they don't care what color it is.

mandarin: Jul 20th 2006; 3:20PM

Chicks man, it brings out the chicks.

kip: Jul 20th 2006; 3:23PM

Maybe I have an explanation for the grown men who were in line... I tried to get my wife a Pink DS for Christmas last year (they released a small number bundled with Nintendogs in the US). I couldn't find them in stores, and went the E-bay route. Ended up getting ripped off- I sent the guy $200 and never got anything. But Ebay eventually (2 months later) refunded me everything but the shipping and a $25 "processing" fee. I ended up buying her the Mario Kart bundle just before Christmas.

Gingernathan: Jul 20th 2006; 3:59PM

When the Japanese like something they certainly go for it in a big way, by now each Japanese household must have two DS's to go with their ten PS2's. :P

reguy: Jul 20th 2006; 4:03PM

This is proof that the japanese are all crazy!! No wonder they dont like the 360. Men waiting in line for a pink ds?? Yeah I would very much like to see that happen in europe and america.

Scott: Jul 20th 2006; 4:39PM

@Merx

Ummmm, what about the XBOX 360?

Jeff: Jul 20th 2006; 4:51PM

"Maybe I have an explanation for the grown men who were in line... I tried to get my wife a Pink DS for Christmas last year (they released a small number bundled with Nintendogs in the US)."

You're assuming the guys on a gaming blog understand this concept of "women" and the possibilities of interacting with them vis-a-vis "gifts".

Daughters too, because having a daughter pretty much necessarily means you've had "relations" with a woman at least once.

No, I think it's pretty obvious to most people here that all these guys are just plain fruity. Because, you know, only guys play games, so they *must* be buying these machines for themselves.

kelekod: Jul 20th 2006; 5:33PM

This is what my girlfriend wants, anybody know when it'll hit the states? Until then she's holding my DS hostage :(.

darryl: Jul 20th 2006; 8:25PM

I have a girlfriend! No, really... I do!

andrew: Jul 20th 2006; 9:18PM

I'm not japanese and I own 2 DS Lites and 1 DS Phat.

Shagi: Jul 20th 2006; 11:10PM

Dont the Japanese have anything worthwhile to spend their money on?

Why the hell do they keep buying different colored versions of the same hardware they already own?

Oh well a fool and his money are soon parted.

electro^plankton: Jul 21st 2006; 12:05AM

In Japan, and Vietnam, and even Mongolia, the color Pink was always considered a Royal color. Pink, Purple, and Red because they were colors very difficult to produce. Only the Royals could afford it. So in a nation so deeply rooted in it's ancient traditions, it doesn't surprise me that Pink can get both men and women out shopping. It simply doesn't have the same feminine connotation as it does here in the west.

Vilhelm: Jul 21st 2006; 3:16AM

I was actually walking around in Den Den Town in Osaka with my friends when we heard someone promoting the pink DS Lite. My friend (male) ended up with his own pink DS, which he is supposedly quite happy with.

tim: Jul 21st 2006; 5:01AM

Well, the Japanese people don't care what other people think like they do here in the U.S. You have to think, What makes Pink fruity??? Why is it a girlish color?? mainly because of barbie dolls and whatnot, but over there it's probably different.

Isaac Klavsky: Jul 21st 2006; 11:03PM

Yeah. The whole noble color thing mentioned earlier.

R. Hopkins: Jul 22nd 2006; 11:29AM

I'm a foreign man living in Japan and I have a Noble Pink DS for 2 reasons.

1) My original DS got its top screen broken via falling textbook.

2) It's the only color available. However, the thing can be Puce or Lavender, as long as it plays NSMB.

jonjonjon: Jul 22nd 2006; 5:23PM

yoyo, #10 has got it all right. pink DS's are for your ladies! dude's should be stocking these away like bricks o' gold -- one for the ol' lady, one for the girlfriend, one for the chick on the side, another for that hoochie your working on... pink is pimpin' son!

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