Why I own a Wii

And I thought I had an obsession!

Back in 2005, the inventor of Pong, the Atari 2600, and founder of Chuck E. Cheese, Nolan Bushnell, said that he felt like the video game industry had taken a wrong turn in the mid ’80s. With Sega and Nintendo reinventing video games by making them more about adventure (or as Bushnell stated it, “tourist gaming”) and less about high scores and loads of multiplayer fun, Bushnell thought that they had forever abandoned his original vision for video gaming. His vision? Using technology to build community.

So, I ask: Mr. Bushnell, what do you think of the Wii? Because as far as I can tell, it has certainly accomplished that task.

Bringing People Together

For Christmas, my parents blessed us with a Nintendo Wii. I say ‘we’ because my wife and I decided together, when our parents asked us what we wanted, what our “big” gift was going to be. And let me tell you that after a month of playing it, it was totally worth it.

On Christmas Day, my whole family took turns on the Wii, chit-chatting in between turns. Then, I took the Wii on a youth retreat (we were cooped up in a hotel with not much to do between the workshops) and the youth group had a blast with it. Then, just the other day, I went over to one of my youth’s house and played Rock Band on the Wii with her parents. My wife has enjoyed playing with me from time to time, but even when it’s just me, she still enjoys watching me play. Something that could not be said for any other game system I’ve owned in the past.

If you notice, there is a theme here with these different examples. People came together to have a good time doing something positive.

Wii vs. PS3 vs. 360

Don’t think I haven’t read the hardware reviews for the Wii and the message boards where gamers bash the Wii for its “inferior graphics” and “shallow games”. I have read them. But, I don’t understand why there is even a rivalry. I like the PS3 and the 360. Every system has its perks. I guess it must be jealousy. After all, in the past decade, the Wii owned 9 of the top 10 slots for games sold.

Besides sales, the PS3 and 360 have failed to build the kind of community that the Wii has built. When I had that Wii with us on the youth retreat (I happen to be a part-time youth pastor at a local church), we were roaring with laughter playing games together. There was no intense competition, no games that you had to spend several hours playing before you can get a handle on what’s going on. It was just simple fun.

The Wii really has brought people together. And as they draw people in, they do it with wholesome games. Sure, there are a few M-rated games. House of the Dead: Overkill, Mad World, and No More Heroes are certainly not good for kids (and probably not good for some adults, either). But, those are the exception. Whereas, they are the norm for the other two systems. Just the other day I was in Wal-mart, and just for kicks, I counted how many shooter games the PS3 had and how many family-friendly games it has. I count 14 shooters and 4 family games.  The Wii had 3 shooters and the rest were family games. That’s the difference.

See, I think it’s great to know that I live in a world where the best-selling video games have shifted back from the violent Grand Theft Auto-types to family friendly Mario Kart and Sports Resort games. When we do a party or get-together with my youth group and the guys want to bring their x-box, I have to heavily police the games they bring. But, there are no worries with the Wii. And that’s a comforting thought.

Motion Controls

People have argued in the past that it’s a waste of good free time to play video games. It’s better to get up off the couch and go outside for a while. Go out and do something constructive- like a mission project. Well, there’s always truth in that statement. But it is harder to make that argument with the Wii if one considers that at the very least it still gets you up off the couch (hello Wii fit). And you CAN do a few other things with the Wii. For example: surf the internet on your television. It wasn’t until this generation of game consoles that you could easily view videos/websites off the internet without a group of people huddled around some tiny computer screen. I spent a good part of my Christmas showing the in-laws Christian music videos on YouTube. Heck, I’m even typing this blog entry using my Wii web browser.

Another problem with the “video games are a waste of time” argument is that 99.9% of everyone who makes such comments has their own little pet time wasters. It may not be video games, but it could be spectator sports, movies, reading novels, etc. I can nitpick all day long about other people’s past-times but I’d rather be doing something I like- like playing Wii.

This is not a whole-hearted endorsement of the Wii or video games in general. It can get pricey. I’ve already spent more on accessories than what the system is worth. And just like any other form of entertainment- everything in moderation. If you have the choice of playing Wii all weekend or going on that mission project… pick the mission project.

Many of you already own a Wii or your youth group has one in the youth room. But, if not, this could be your reintroduction into video games. It was for me.

Wii Realm

I am not a programmer, a game designer, nor do I want to be. But, I have liked playing video games for the last 24 years of my life and I think a lot about games (at least when I am playing them or reading an article about them), so I created this little blog to let those thoughts roam free.

Although this is my first post, I promise you I will be quick in getting to the good stuff as soon as possible. There will be plenty of video game reviews of both old and brand new games. There will also be plenty of reviews on hardware and accessories. And, in general, I’ll talk about anything video game related. I am an average gamer like MOST of America, so I would like to think that I have in mind the common gamer when I write.