Video games are something that are generally played in teenager’s bedrooms. You buy them a games console when they’re ten and then they disappear for hours at a time, emerging infrequently to load up on snacks and fizzy drinks.
However, the release of the Nintendo Wii console changed that pattern slightly. The Wii was not a console for the kid’s bedroom; its proper place was in the living room, ideally connected to a nice big plasma screen TV. There are several reasons why this is so.
One important difference with the Wii is that the special motion sensitive controllers it uses means that games are first learned and then played in a much more natural and intuitive manner. No need to remember that button A is to jump, button B is to duck and button C operates the thrusters on your space cruiser. Wii games are so simple to learn that even adults can, quite literally, get into the swing of things in a matter of minutes.
Also, because of the physical element of Wii games, there’s some exercise involved. Not just Wii Fit - but virtually all of the Wii games involve a certain element of jumping around, much more so than the typical games found on other consoles. That needs a bit of space.
For some reason, which is difficult to quantify precisely, Wii games and the Wii console seem to have a more social element than has been seen up to now with other PC or console games. You can “play the computer” if you want of course, but Wii games tend to be much more fun as part of a group of gamers.
Maybe it’s because you are jumping around, waving your hands about like a lunatic that gives the Wii group appeal. Whatever the reason, the Wii is most enjoyable as a group activity.
Even if it is a bit of a hackneyed expression, the Wii really is fun for children of all ages. Wii games can be a social event, they can help you to exercise and lose weight and they are a lot of fun. Most important of all, the Wii has taken video games out of teenager’s bedrooms and planted them fairly and squarely in the family living room.
In fact, this might go some way to explaining the success when Nintendo recently “went to the dark side” and released a black Wii console in Europe just before Christmas. It proved to be very popular with customers - possibly because the black colour matched the other devices in their living rooms. As yet, the black Wii console has not been released in the USA.
See the black Wii - and have a look at some of the great Wii games available .
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