Well, I visited the local branch of Game to try out their DS Download Station. It was switched off.

So I headed downstairs to the local independent game retailer, which is listed as having a Download Station. There was no sign of one anywhere.

Over the weekend I went on a little shopping trip to Milton Keynes, so I figured I’d try to find a working Download Station there. The Virgin Megastore had one, the light was on, the demo DS there was working… but the download part failed miserably.

Finally we tried ePlay whose Download Station was switched on and fully working. Hurrah! My girlfriend was able to meet Shigeru Miyamoto’s Nintendog, and was also able to get some rare item in Animal Crossing.

I downloaded the demo of Nintendo Touch Golf, which was actually quite fun in a golfy sort of way. I’ll probably buy it if I ever see it cheap enough, but I’m not convinced enough to make it a full-price purchase.

But that’s the point, really. The beauty of the Download Station is that it lets you try a demo of a game before you buy it. Previously I wouldn’t have considered buying Touch Golf at all, but now I will consider buying it when the price drops. For Nintendo that’s probably not as good as a full-price sale, but it’s got to be better than no sale at all.

Which makes it all the more frustrating that I had to try four different shops and travel 20 miles to another town before I found a Download Station that actually let me, you know, download something. The theory behind the Download Stations is great, but the implementation leaves something to be desired…