Wii: Christmas, Sharing, and the Aged/Elderly.
Monday, December 25th, 2006 - 8:51pm
(How's THAT for a crappy title to a forum post?)
So, having the Wii since launch day, and being in college, I've played quite my fair share of multiplayer WiiSports. As of yet, I haven't had ONE person play a game and say "this isn't for me, I don't want to play anymore." On the contrary, most people LOVE the Mii creation, and EVERYONE loves WiiSports, especially Bowling and Tennis. But, all my friends are between the ages of 18 and 26, so I decided to put the Wii to the ultimate test:
I brought it home for Christmas.
After opening gifts and before lunch/dinner/supper/WHATEVER, I walk up to my brother (incognito!) and say "hey, have you played the Wii yet?" Now, my brother is 22, but not one to get excited about things, so he says "no, it doesn't look that cool." He is also very much a GTA/Madden type kid, so that may be why the system didn't immediately appeal to him. But, I make him come downstairs with me and play bowling (though he doesn't want to make a Mii) and he loves it. Still very nonchalant, but I can see the fire in his eye.
My uncle and aunt come over, and they come straight downstairs. They're pretty much hooked from the get-go, so I give them a couple random characters (no one's sold on the Miis yet) and we play a quick 10 frames before dinner.
I mention to my mom that I can load the pictures from her recent Chicago trip onto the Wii so we can look at them on the big screen, and suddenly, everyone is downstairs (mom, grandma, uncle, aunt, mom's friend). We make Miis for everyone. They really seem to enjoy the fact that for the most part, their Miis are similar-yet-MORE-YOUTHFUL versions of themselves, always smiling and with few if any wrinkles. We proceed to play 3 or 4 games of bowling (my grandmother, who is 82, plays a full game, scoring well over 100), a couple games of tennis, and my uncle and aunt even box each other. They LOVE it. Hands down. My aunt and uncle walk out of the house trying to convince themselves to buy one, and my mom walks off to call her friends who, having Wii Bowled at another Christmas party, are thinking of buying one.
This may sound cheesy, but for the longest time, Christmas has been about the AWESOME THINGS people GIVE to ME. You have to understand that I am 25, and have led an above-average life, spoiled-wise. Get up in the morning, open your presents, play with said presents, has been the extent of my Christmas enjoyment. The spending time with relatives thing, even though it is very small in my family, has always seemed like a chore.
But something was different this year. Perhaps it was just a coincidence, based solely on the fact that I was one year older, but maybe not. All I know is that I spent a Christmas afternoon with my 40-80+ year old family members playing VIDEO GAMES, and having them LIKE IT. They even commented that post-dinner, they would have usually just sat around, trying not to fall asleep. They thanked me for bringing a video game system into the household, which was an entirely new thing for me. And it felt good, to contribute to something that the whole family could legitimately enjoy, instead of simply being a Repository for Presents.
XBox Live Gamertag: Warlockbert
I thought the "Random acts of Kindness" thread was in another section.
-Bad Mojo
And man that dog looks like he's having a good time, but that monkey is f*cking into it. This isn't his recreation; this is his life and he knows it in a way I will never know anything. --Danjo Olivaw
Wonderful.
HatchetJob.com - a netcast about more than videogames.
Nice, thanks for sharing it. I tried the same thing but only my young cousins were enthusiastic about it.
I had my Father over for Thanksgiving and he had to be pried away from the thing. He has watched me play games over the years, but has shown zero interest in playing a game since that fateful Christmas back in '79 when my Uncle bought Pong and made everyone play. Something about Wii Sports clicked; that the motions he made were analogous to the motions of his avatar was that "Aha!" moment. For him, pressing a button to make someone swing a racket or a sword seemed random, whereas the muscle-memory conceits of Wii Sports were perfectly logical. Watching a 65 year-old man trying to use "body english" to influence the spin of a virtual bowling ball was priceless - he could finally see and experience for himself the fun I've always had playing video games.
Though he should have been a little less enthusiastic - he called me after he had gone home to say he pulled a muscle in his lower back playing tennis. When the story about "Wii injuries" hit CNN a few weeks later he felt vindicated that he wasn't the only one "killing himself for art," as he put it. But despite his injuries, he wants a return engagement the next time he's visiting.
The Wii's been a big hit over the holiday with most of the family. My brother in law (basically a non-gamer) has really enjoyed it, my brother (plays game, but doesn't own any) is about ready to pull the trigger on a Wii purchase and the parents had a few bouts of trash talking over several rounds of Wii boxing (videos coming after the break - how do I get .mov movies up on YouTube?)
If I'd had a Wii instead of an N64 as a kid, I think my parents would have bought me a game or two and my brother would have played them. Not quite Nintendo's goal of putting a Wii in every living room, but it's a damn nice feeling to share my hobby with my parents and brother.
Xbox Live: StaatsM
Great story!
Nintendo is about to find the Holy Grail: expand the market to non-gamers.
Roo: "Just to cheer you up if any of the above made you sad: Boobies."
Koning_Floris, on my online 'skills': "Stinking is a skill too!"
I know exactly how you feel. I took my Wii out to my sister's for the big family dinner and it was a huge hit. The kids were getting a bit miffed at the end of the night due to the adults hogging Wii Sports!
Xbox Live: Trachalio
Pipe Threader Manual wrote:
As promised, here's mom and dad vying for the title. I'll add a few more later.
Xbox Live: StaatsM
I called my mom to wish her a Merry Christmas and we got to chatting about the Wii my brother brought with him when he came to visit. My mom loved the thing to death. I couldn't believe it, this coming from a woman who hated my hobby with a passion. This is exactly why Nintendo is going to be on top this round. They came up with a device to hook non gamers. Brilliant!
"Now witness the awesome lethality of the Alan Parsons Project!"
-Dr. Evil
I took mine to my parent's place for Xmas, and everyone loved it. My youngest sibling is 25, and my parents on their 60s. My mother has an Xbox and a GBA, but my dad has not played games since the Atari 2600. He is now scouring the shops for a Wii, after spending Boxing Day looking for that perfect game on Wii Sports bowling.
Requires 2 non-replaceable LR41 button cell batteries for the monkey (included)