Just got back from a weekend jaunt to Montreal, where I ate smoked meat for three meals in a row and watched the Canadiens lose pitifully to the Capitals (Seriously. The 4 year olds in the half-time show made more shots at net than the Habs in the first period). We also went up to the top of Mount Royal and noodled around McGill campus, so it was worth driving eight hours through a snowstorm to get to.
We also patronized Rue Ste. Catherine and the Underground City, and unexpectedly walked away with an Electric Blue Nintendo DS. I am irate that Silverlotus pressured me into buying this contraption, although partially it’s because it forced me to acknowledge my own primal geekdom to get cool gadgets.
I must confess, in an age where the other console makers are busy reinventing – or should I say, rerendering the wheel, I respect Nintendo’s ingenuity and eagerness to break new ground. And I don’t mean gimmicky stuff like the best-be-forgotten Power Glove, but a portable gaming device with a touchscreen, wireless chat, backwards compatibility with Game Boy Advance games, and now an organized wireless online gaming network. I’m impressed that they’ve also taken Clayton Christensen’s book on disruptive technologies to heart with their new “Blue Ocean” corporate strategy.
Even the guys waiting in line to buy the new Xbox tonight are playing Nintendo DS.