JOEyGADGET

Thanks to a long-standing source close to Nintendo, I got my DS Lite yesterday, a few days before it ships. Famous for peppering their packages to journalists with confetti, swag, kazoos and other attention-getting doo-dads, I knew the DS Lite package would likely contain some kind of surprise inside beyond the DS Lite itself.

Intending to share photos on my games and gadgets blog joeygadget.com (which is unfortunately resolving its domain after switching from TypePad to WordPress, and won’t be running for another day or so), I opened the box and started snapping pics.

It wasn’t until I removed the handful of shiny silver tinsel that I noticed the red and black wires and strange device taped to the bottom inside of the box. My brain flashed with much-loved memories of Sam Fisher in Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory: The box was rigged with some kind of incendiary device that for whatever reason didn’t blow up when I opened it. Crazy thought, I know, but being a fan of spy novels and movies and most of all, games, it was a natural reaction.

Anyway, I then noticed the four clear LED lights taped to each inside corner, and also what appeared to be a light sensor, which was obviously meant to detect the moment I opened the box – at which point something should have happened. But didn’t. My box just sat there, wired but dead.

Careful not to rip anything, I gently excised the spider-like wires and inspected each until I found the culprit: the exposed – / + wires of the sensor were touching, shorting the circuit. Using my fingertips I gently pulled the wires apart, packed up the box again, and closed the lid.

This time when I opened the box I was greeted with flashing lights and song, as shown in this video.

Up next: A few shots of the DS Lite in hand.