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My grasp of video games is limited to observing their popularity with my kids over the years. I pay and they play. From the Super Nintendo through the Game Boys and Play Stations, including virtual gaming like World of Warcraft, we have had a "typical American" assortment of tech games parade through. In my eyes none has been very different from the one before, except that the games get smaller and the prices grow higher.
Last night my son stood in line along with more than 1,000 others in Times Square to get the newest game, the Wii. He called excitedly at 6pm to share the good news that he was tagged with a bracelet as 240 in line for the sales, which began at midnight. By 2 am it was attached to our television and the games were underway. My feeling was that it looked about the same as every other game that "we had to have" and there couldn't possibly be any game that I could play, much less appreciate or endorse. I went to sleep happy that it was only two am, thrilled he's old enough to have gotten it without involving me and delighted Nintendo made enough games available that the the chaos of Sony's PS3 was not a factor.
I was wrong, the wii is very different. I woke to a boxing match and instead of seeing my kiddies slack jawed and slumped in a chair with controller in hand, they were on their feet and moving. They were playing virtual sports, facing off as batters and boxers by moving. A competitive bout in the ring had them jabbing like they were in a gym, actually sparring. In their words, "It's sick", but in my view it's the first game that might be healthful.
Much as I believed there would never be a video game whose benefits justified it's cost I'm happy to say this one is different enough to get the very first thumbs up from Mom. While most gamers couldn't care less about that, maybe a few parents will feel hopeful that something their kids are drawn to, might secretly have a positive result from playing. Don't let the kids know I said so, but this may really be all it's cracked up to be. I can see older adults looking for a workout or a chance to show some of their old prowess in a sports area enjoying what the old body just won't let them do anymore. Wii may have bridged the generation gap and found a new ideal.
