Have you ever gone out to a restaurant for dinner with a group of friends, only to find yourself completely uninterested with your company's conversation, their tired stories and trivial grievances?
Your eyes drift to nearby tables, hoping to find something else that better deserves your attention. You chew on the ice cubes in your drink, crunching out the chatter around you. You nod your head absentmindedly to agree with your companions whilst reflecting on the reality television shows you plan to watch when you get home -- "I wonder if Greg is gonna knock out that sucka Will for kissing his girl?"
When you're stuck in situations like this, don't you wish you could just pull out your Nintendo DS until someone brings out the food?
The DS Life is a weekly feature in which we scour the known world for narrative images of Nintendo's handheld and handheld gamers. If you have a photo and a story to match it with, send both to thedslife at dsfanboy dot com.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
5-28-2008 @ 10:44PM
MarkShark said...
Or perhaps everyone at the table pulls out their DS. That's how we roll.
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5-28-2008 @ 11:10PM
Extra Cheese said...
I only take my DS into restaurants when I'm eating alone. Which I hate to do.
5-28-2008 @ 11:33PM
iruka said...
Yep! And play some multiplayer game like Mario Party. XD
5-28-2008 @ 11:46PM
SephFinale said...
I TOTALLY PLAYED MARIO PARTY AT CHILE'S WHILE WAITING FOR FOOD ONCE! That was awesome, because we were really loud...but we were all part of a group of like...25.
5-28-2008 @ 11:44PM
Alisha Karabinus said...
That's a lovely shot... and that baby seems pretty young to be holding that DS! I better get to work on mine.
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5-29-2008 @ 1:08AM
nixy said...
We tend to take them with us on random outings. Being over 21 means that I can have margaritas at Chile's while playing Bomberman.
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5-29-2008 @ 7:56AM
farossi said...
You mean you don't find it socially unacceptable to be seen with your DS at a restaurant/bar? I'm 22, and I would never even consider doing that. Most of the time, I don't even take my DS out of the house!
Truth be told, I wish I could do as the toddler does - a DS can eliminate such boring wait times...
5-29-2008 @ 10:58AM
moo said...
absolutely nothing wrong with pulling out the DS while waiting in line -- walmart customer service line-ups, bank teller line-ups, waiting for tables or for the food to arrive (at casual places anyway)
though not at funerals. or during sex. or any combination thereof.
5-29-2008 @ 4:17AM
Don said...
That is such a cute pic... but I sure wouldn't trust my DS to a toddler!
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5-29-2008 @ 7:55AM
Morose said...
I am definitely doing this the next time I go to a restaurant, as if i'm not by myself, trying to stay amused while I wait for my food, I'm with a bunch of co-workers and trying to stay amused while I wait for my food.
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5-29-2008 @ 8:50AM
Mike_NJ said...
I've been to restaurants a number of times in the last year and have seen kids playing their DS at the table...
And couldn't help but be jealous.
I mean, come on. I'm not a car guy, I don't want to talk about cars. At the time, I didn't have a girlfriend, so I didn't want to hear my siblings' gushing about their significant others. I was bored out of my gourd.
In a couple cases I contented myself with (surreptitiously) watching a kid at a nearby table playing. One girl was in the ghost gym in Pokemon D/P.
Surreptitiously because how odd would it be if a parent caught the 28-year old guy at the next table watching their kid play video games? Yeesh.
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5-29-2008 @ 9:26AM
nixy said...
To Farossi and Mike NJ, no, I don't think it's socially unacceptable. No more than it is to be on your cell phone or to be using a PDA. Those can have games on them. (It is kinda creepy to watch a random kid play, though, lol, but I've been there.)
I'm a 21 year old guy, and I have the most flamboyant DS I could muster, a Coral Pink model with Hello Kitty stickers on the back and googly eyes glued to the top, with a leopard print lanyard. (If you're going to lose a bet, you should win it.) At this point, it's made to scream at people, "Hey, I'm playing Pokemon Pearl/Bomberman Land Touch/Powder/Pictochat, and look at how much fun I'm having. Don't you wish YOU were having this much fun?" And from your comments, you do wish you were having this much fun.
I have never been told by a stranger that it looked silly or that I shouldn't be playing it. I've only ever been asked about it, what it is, what game I'm playing, etcetera. I've never been made fun of by a stranger for it, God forbid.
What other reason is there to own a portable?
5-29-2008 @ 9:30AM
JohnathanEnder said...
Last year in Baltimore, my friends and I went to an Uno's for dinner. And we were a sizable group (10 or so) on a long table.
At some point, I took out my DS and started Pictochatting with my buddy on the other end of the table.
Soon, people are joining in on our Pictochat...from ACROSS THE RESTAURANT. This, coupled with a few of our friends who brought DS's, made it the most satisfying wait for over-expensive pizza ever. ^_^
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5-29-2008 @ 10:39AM
RootiePatootie said...
Interesting that this should come up as I just had this type of chat with a couple friends when we went out to eat. Perhaps I'm of the old school, given my age I'm betting that's it, but I find it horribly rude and frankly, unacceptable when someone pulls out their cell phone, pda or portable gaming device while with a group of friends at the dinner table unless it's to look up something to share with another. My cell phone is OFF when I'm in a restaurant, store or visting with friends unless there's something extremely important happening in my life where I MUST be contacted. And that isn't often.
But the point is, if you go out with friends and find the situation boring enough to want to pull out your DS and play then you need to reassess your friends and yourself. Perhaps it's time to find different friends. Perhaps you need to get out more and away from the games a bit. And maybe, just maybe, you've got an unhealthy relationship with your DS and gaming in general. Life is about balance and if you can find your balance you'll be happier and not want to pull away from others and immerse yourself in a make believe world.
As for kids playing with their DS at the dinner table... well, I've mixed feelings about that. On the one hand what makes it different than coloring on the placemat? On the other, wouldn't it be better to get them to engage with the others at the table, at least a little bit? Sure they're children and you're an adult, especially if there are no other children at the table, but why teach them bad manners so early? If it's just to keep the kids quiet then I question two things, why you brought them along in the first place and also, why do they need a toy or whatever to keep them quiet? Haven't they been taught that in a restaurant they behave?
Bottom line, social grace and good manners never go out of style, as my grandmother used to say, and it's still true today. Sure things have changed but not THAT much.
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5-29-2008 @ 2:51PM
NightRunner said...
Yeah, you're old school. :) No offense!
5-29-2008 @ 9:12PM
SephFinale said...
But...I like being in make-believe worlds...otherwise, how else would I come up with amazing ideas for video games as a future game designer?
5-30-2008 @ 1:18AM
nixy said...
I'm pretty sure that's the most condescending thing anyone's ever said to me.
Are you Amish?
Most of your comment goes against the idea of this blog in general. And frankly, the whole thing strikes me as the sort of thing that someone with nothing better to do would post in a random blog they found in Google to try to start a flame war.
And I think you're grossly outnumbered. Welcome to the twenty-first century.
5-29-2008 @ 3:07PM
animeman_59 said...
I play my DS everywhere I go. On the train to work and home. Waiting in line at supermarkets. Waiting in customer service lines. In movie theatres, while waiting fo rthe movie to start. As long as my fellow companions don't mind, and whether or not they would be bored by me playing without them. Fortunately, most of my friends own DS's, so I don't have a problem. In fact, sometimes we have more lively discussions in Pictochat or online games than in real lilfe. Go figure.
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5-29-2008 @ 8:08PM
christian birmo said...
I hate eating alone but i do it heaps... i used to be self-concious about pulling out the DS but after seeing some people do it at sushi places and stuff - and one couple playing together at a food court- i figured it was cool
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5-30-2008 @ 1:21PM
117 said...
My friend and I started playing on ours on a school field trip to an expensive restaurant. No one really cared that much, and we just played until the food came. I don't think it's socially unacceptable if others have other things to do. If everyone else was talking, I wouldn't feel guilty at all, but if I was there with one friend who had nothing else to do, then that's different. Telling me and others like myself that we should reassess our friends because sometimes there's nothing to talk about is just flaming. It's not like I'm going to play my DS while I'm eating. as for manners, i don't see why it goes against them. I know people think it's antisocial, but I have pretty serious conversations about video games, and have made several friends through them. i understand where you're coming from, but I think you're being to harsh.
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