A while back I bought a Sony PSP, which I have been moderately, though not enthusiastically, happy with. My DS lite is my normal travel buddy. I take it everywhere. My Junior High School students, as well as the kids in my after-school conversation classes, know that it can always be found on my person. They also know that if they study hard and ask nicely, they can play it after class.

I wanted to give my PSP a bit of time as it has been totally ignored recently. But I didn’t have a case for it, and with the potential for scratches, this is a system that demands a case (and games, but that is another story). When I bought my DS lite, the kind lady at the shop gave me a free case. So the old case that I had been using for the DS Phat now became my PSP case. I find it sweetly ironic as it has a big Nintendo DS logo on it. The case works perfectly, and the pockets for GBA games are just the right size for UMDs. So I clipped this case to my belt, determined to clock some hours with this widescreen wonder.

But all I did was make children sad.

You see, my students had become accustomed to playing with the ever-present DS lite. After class, some girls came up as sasked, “Can we play Mario?” I explained that I didn’t have my DS with me, but one girl pointed to the case and its DS logo. I opened the case and watched their faces fall as they saw the PSP. I asked, “Would you like to play with this instead?”

They replied, “No.”

I loaded up “Minna no Golf,” which I think is a very good and rather cute game. It also has much better graphics than any of my DS games. They were totally unimpressed. Eventually, they said that they would just go home. They made me promise to bring the DS next time.

I got the same reaction from students all week, one disappointed student after another. One boy was very happy that I had a PSP, but became disappointed as well when he found out that I didn’t have the Gundam game. Has Nintendo really captured the hearts of young Japanese that strongly?

The PSP is still selling quite well (2nd best selling game system), but it is to a very different audience. It is desired by gadget aficionados, style conscious young adults, and hardcore gamers like myself who feel physically ill if we miss out on any system. To these students however, it is not an end-all multimedia device. It is just some shiny black thing that doesn’t play Animal Crossing. Even still, I never expected that kind of reaction. One 11-year-old boy actually cried. Cried. You can’t buy brand loyalty like that.

When I see this, it makes it seem like Nintendo is sure to dominate the next gen. But looks can be deceiving. When these same kids are asked if they are looking forward to the Wii, they just stare at me, puzzled. They don’t know what the Wii is, and they don’t much care what it is unless it has 2 screens and a touch pen. Nintendo has its work cut out for them after all.

As for me, I am thinking of buying a PSP case. Not for the PSP, but for my DS lite. I figure I can pleasantly surprise them this way. In any case, I have way too much free time on my hands.