Wii Genius

So, we've had the Wii for 3 weeks or so now so a little post about my impressions of Nintendo's latest console is required. One word, fantastic.

Every weekend we've had a house full of friends and family round to play some serious Wii sports. At the latest count there are 15 Mii's ranging from a nine year old with a broken wrist to Lesley's Mum in her sixties. Within a couple of minutes every single one of them has been happily playing Tennis, Golf, Baseball, 10 Pin Bowling, Cow Racing, Table Tennis, Laser Hockey...

The controller is sheer genius in Wii Sports, and therein lies the main problem. I've no need or desire to buy any other games other than Wii Sports (which is basically just a tech demo, albeit the best tech demo ever). Hopefully in the future game development will catch up but the need to focus on the untapped market of, not even, casual gamers but people who would never think of playing a game is where the money is to be made. Simple games and graphics with short play times suitable for all the family from kids to the grand-parents is where the Wii's future lies. The sooner game devs realise this and stop porting crap games from other consoles the better.

As part of the bundle I got Wii Play with an extra controller along with some Sonic game and Zelda. Both Sonic and Zelda will be disposed of on eBay, they just will not be played. The Wii is for social gaming with real people and is quite fantastic. I fear the carpet is going to wear out in a matter of weeks judging by the look of it.

The fitness aspect of the Wii should also not be underestimated. A quick 10 minutes of two player tennis and me and Lesley are throwing ourselves around the room to get those tricky returns of serve. But for the ultimate workout a frenetic 3 round boxing match is hard to beat. I've seen grown men crumple in a heap after 30 seconds of boxing.

Is the Wii a fad? Maybe, but I'll still be playing Wii Sports next year, and if Nintendo can come up with some similarly addictive gameplay in a new game, you'll be too.

Category:

• Nintendo
• Wii