The DS, Nintendo’s little handheld system is taking over the world.  It’s selling twice as many units as its main competitor, the Sony PSP (PlayStation Portable). Here are a few reasons why.

Playing our productivity away. One of our favorite pastimes at work is a multiplayer Mario Kart session.  We could have up to eight players, throwing bananas, making allegiances, ganging up on the race leader and shoving him off of the racetrack.  We do have a lot of PSP owners around in the office too, but the thing is, that console doesn’t have enough party games.  It has Tekken, and while that’s excellent for one-on-one matches, it just isn’t as fun as an eight player Mario kart free-for-all.

How long can we play? Then there’s the battery life, the PSP’s chord takes up as much space in the bag as the console itself, and it doesn’t help at all that the battery just lasts for a few hours when Wi-Fi is active.  For anyone intending to play for more than three hours, you really need to have the chord with you. With the DS, game play is up to 10 hours. Even with Wi-Fi enabled, it still gives you a good 7 hours worth of juice.

Why does everybody have one? The DS spreads like a disease, and this is how it works.  PSP owner plays Tekken, battery life dies out, and then proceeds to watch his officemates play Mario Kart multiplayer mayhem.  DS owner says, when watching a game on the PSP, “oh the graphics are pretty”, then proceeds to pummel the race leader with turtle shells.  PSP owner feels left out, goes out and buys his own DS.  The infection doesn’t stop there.  When he’s not playing party games at the office, the DS gamer tries out quirky titles, like the Sims, Cooking Mama, Nintendogs and Brain Age.

What happens when you get home? Now this is a documented case. DS owner’s dad watches him play Brain Age, thinks the Sudoku puzzles are nice, and decides to get a DS for himself.  Now DS owner’s mom thinks the Nintendo puppies are cute, but decides to get the DS for the Sims.  Now his little sister thinks there’s nothing better than feeding a virtual puppy biscuits, and blowing bubbles with the built in DS mic.  Of course anyone with a PSP in the house, an older brother or a younger kid would, again feel left out when the family starts a multiplayer game.  He then decides to get a DS for himself as it doesn’t cost that much, and continues the cycle.

So why does the DS sell so well?  Because it’s cheap, it stays on forever, and has many games were you can play with your buddies or boss, giving you the chance to get back at him for the raise he didn’t give you that you deserved.