Not a PSP or DS rival, yet....

Nov 5, 2007 14:34 GMT  ·  By

How many times have you dreamed about opening up a cereal box and finding a portable console inside? However, don't take the title above literally, as Microsoft is not yet ready to kill the PSP and DS with a new gaming device, offering us the chance, instead to play one of the three "Xbox Mini Games". These are small devices you may find in your Kellogg's cereal box and you'll be able to play either Disco Mania, Spaceship Blaster or Mystic Castle, if you're a fan of such arcade titles.

This promotion is now taking place in Germany and it reminds me of those bags of chips that included watches which were also considered small gaming devices, back in the days when the GameBoy rocked. Taking that into consideration, it's only logical that none of the three titles above are deep or challenging. After all, it's all Microsoft and Kellogg's initiative, as they're offering us the chance to enjoy a cheap gaming experience. Disco Mania, for example requires you to push d-pad buttons and imitate some dance patterns.

Space Blaster requires you to dodge enemy ships and last, but not least, Mystic Castle will have you exploring a castle and collecting gems. Kellogg's and Microsoft have ventured into a similar campaign in the US a couple of years ago. It seems that food, beverages and videogames go perfectly together and we can all remember that huge Mountain Dew Halo 3 campaign, as there was even a Halo-branded drink to celebrate the launch of the game. Square-Enix and Coca-Cola also pulled a similar marketing move, by releasing a commercial that featured Final Fantasy X characters toying around with the famous soda can.

Still waiting for Nintendo to make a move and since their titles are party games and their public is mostly made out of females and kids, they should include games in candy boxes or big cakes. (How about a DS in a Tiramisu?)