Video game’s ain’t what they used to be. They’re better.
About six weeks ago, I finally caved and bought a Wii. Not from any store. You still can’t buy a Wii in a store. You have to get them from eBay (as I did) or from some other middleman. Which means than Nintendo is losing out on revenue. (Compare and contrast Apple’s launch of the iPhone.)
The Wii was ostensibly a birthday present for my younger son, but it was really for all of the kids in the family. All five of us. I grew up on games such as Space Invaders, Missile Command, PacMan, and Frogger. I stopped playing video games shortly after Dragon’s Lair came out. Dragon’s Lair was a laser video disc-driven, 3D, virtual reality game. And to me, a first generation gamer, it was confusing as heck.
I tried playing Mario Tennis on Nintendo GameCube, and I almost beat my youngest son. But before the game, he had been given a handicap to make it fair for me. He had to play with his feet. He still won hands down (feet down?). It was fun, but it reminded me of my Dragon’s Lair experience. After I was done playing, I didn’t feel like playing again.
But the Wii is different. My wife never really played video games growing up, but all of us enjoy playing the Wii as a family. Even losing is fun. And I feel like that I could learn the Wii to the point that I might not come in last every time against my kids. I just got a good butt-kicking from my youngest son in WiiSports baseball and golf. That part hasn’t changed. Yet.
