My cousin, who has been based in Japan for years, recently returned home and came over our place for dinner. She caught me huddled up in a corner, with the Nintendo DS I had received for my latest birthday in hand. So much for being 26.
Over dinner, she said something that I did not quite expect but did not really surprise me. According to her, museums in Japan have taken full advantage of the DS’ popularity by using them as virtual tour guides. Visitors simply have to pick up their units, preloaded with a special cartridge, from the reception counter and they may explore the museum to their own liking, without having to keep up with quick-paced and crowded tour groups. Each section of the museum has its own access point which, through Wi-Fi, displays the information relevant to that section. If one finds an artwork or artifact interesting and wishes to take it home as memorabilia, the console’s touch screen menu allows him or her to have a replica of it printed, which may be collected on demand at the end of the tour.
One word. Amazing.
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