The Nintendo Party: Taking it to the Next Level*
Nintendo + You
Like many of you, I was in elementary school when I started playing video games. I remember that grey box, by today's standards an unwieldy hunk of retro plastic...the cartridges were more than double the size of my tiny hands. I'd slide Duck Hunt in with a click and shoot ducks with a plastic gun to my heart's content.
Flash forward twenty years. Two years ago I stood in line at Yodobashi near Yokohama station with hundreds of beskirted Japanese schoolgirls...all of us awaiting the release of the highly anticipated Nintendo DS Lite. We were standing in line because there was a good chance they were going to sell out within the day. We didn't want any ol' DS. We wanted the bubble gum pink one. And it was worth waking up at 5:30 in the morning to queue up and get one.
When someone contacted me last month on behalf of Nintendo, my inner skeptic kicked in and thought, "it's probably a joke." A few follow up emails revealed it wasn't a joke at all. Would I like to be a Brand Enthusiast for Nintendo? Absolutely. To kick off my year as a Brand Enthusiast, we had our Nintendo Party this weekend and it was an absolute blast.
Nintendo + Brand Enthusiasm
I've been a Brand Enthusiast for many companies through the years, I just didn't know what to call it at the time. When I went to the UK to study abroad I bought a pair of earrings to celebrate my departure. They were from a (at the time) tiny company called Holly Yashi. Very early in my trip I went to a movie theatre and emerged minus an earring. I mourned the loss briefly---I had loved those earrings. Got back to the States many months later. Went to Light Years in Chapel Hill, where I'd bought the earrings. They said they'd contact Holly Yashi and see if they had a replacement pair for me. Not only did Holly Yashi replace the missing earring free of charge, they gave me another pair to compensate me for my loss. They created a proud, loyal Brand Enthusiast immediately...I can't tell you the number of times I've recommended them since.
There isn't one thing or another that makes you an Enthusiast (or Evangelist for that matter)...but I will tell you this, women are awesome at it. We remember brand names, we remember stories. Nintendo is the first company to approach me using the words "brand enthusiast." There's no catch. I don't have to blog about it, but I want to because all of this intrigues me. I don't have to post photos, but I am because the venue was stunning, the girls had a great time and it shows...I loved that they got a chance to let their guards down, learn something and have a good time doing it. I don't have to fake enthusiasm for my DS (ok, I have two...my DSs) because I actually enjoy playing it (them).
Nintendo + Parties
The party was a lot of fun. The venue was in Denver at a place call the Strategy Loft. We went inside to be greeted by the four seriously hard-core gamer girls that would help out during the night (I momentarily stumped them on one of the puzzles I was working on). We got charm bracelets and found out how the party would work. Then we got a glass of champagne and got to "work" playing games. More than three hours passed and it felt like it had only been half an hour...it was time to go home already!?!?
I felt like a six year old playing Guitar Hero for the first time...you couldn't have pried it out of my hands if you'd tried (apparently there's vid floating around out there to prove it). You have to use an extension pack which does slide around a bit (presumably they're working on that aspect of it) but playing on the dual screen was more fun than the full screen version. Mostly because no guy could come up and try to force me to give up the guitar so he could play it on Expert (you know who you are and yes, you should feel guilty). I felt like the assistants in black went out of their way to show the girls they could do it on their own.
An empowering introduction to gaming for the girls that never had. A happy reminder that it's ok to loosen up, let our guards down and have fun for the girls that already play. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a puzzle to get back to...
*Get it?!? Next level? Ok, nm...
Monday, June 30, 2008
Reader Comments (11)
I love it! Except for the part where I realize I started playing Nintendo 20 years ago. Ouch. My favorite part is the photo that shows that girls and women can be tech-savvy, tech-smart, enjoy video games, and NOT compromise femininity, personality, or style! Cheers to that! PS: LOVE that gold dress. Love.
Awesome space for this type of stuff, didn't even know it existed... is there anything like it in Boulder? So what are you going to do with your second DSLite? Is there a gwenbell.com giveaway in the near future?
*laugh* Yes, but you know what? Getting older is part of the fun...now I don't have to turn off the DS & go to bed. But...I probably should, really...
Denver has a number of spaces like this, actually. Boulder still needs them, I think. And more than one as this community continues to grow. As for the DS Lite, I use it to compete w/6 year olds. And I try not to beat them too hard. I can see some giveaways in the near future, too...thanks for the nudge.
Loves my DS Lite - if I don't have a computer at my finger tips, a blackberry in my hands, or a book in my grasp... the DS is there - sometimes it sits patiently within reach while I am on the other items. :)
Seeing as we just got a Wii, I have jumped on the Nintendo bandwagon recently as well. In fact, watching HeatherB and my husband beat the crap out each other playing Wii boxing has been a highpoint of my whole life, basically.
Ha ha remember that Dave Chappelle skit where he's playing PS2 with a cancer stricken boy for his Make a Wish thing? Dave's totally whooping up on him. That's how I picture you playing the 6 year olds.
Seeing the photo of that old school Nintendo makes me think of only one thing... Contra! Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start. Best cheat ever. You're going to be an amazing Brand Enthusiast.
I have to say, I am quickily becoming a Nintendo fan thanks to my 8-year old son. The Wii is ingenious, really... Not just for the technology, but for the social aspects, too. And the DS is really just very fun. It's a good move from the Atari console of my youth (I still have it, though, and my kids still like to play it because it's an "antique." So glad to have found your blog...
Hi, My name is Paul and I'm the "Yashi" from Holly Yashi. Yes there really is a Holly. And no she isn't a petite Asian woman named Holly Yashi. We are still a small California studio and we really do make and back-up everything we do right here in the states. Thanks for mentioning us. My son started his gaming career (he's 15) on the little Nintendo. Now I can barely tear him away from anything with a screen, though he seems to have a soft spot for anything Nintendo including the Wii and game cube!
You as a Nintendo Brand Enthusiast has totally worked. On me, anyways! Hala showed me her awesome DS Lite from the party, and I am so sold. I'm buying one, like, pronto. Because I haven't played video games in years, and I hear they make those contraptions in color nowadays ;)