Nintendo Wii is for Everyone

I don't like video games. I never have. So when we heard about the Nintendo Wii I assumed I wouldn't like it either. I was wrong.

We decided to get this revolutionary video game system for my son's sixth birthday. It took a while to hunt one down as they are sold out pretty much everywhere, but my brother was able to locate a Nintendo Wii Sports across the state at his local KMart, so he picked it up for us. Our boys are 6 and 4, so I wasn't sure if it would be too advanced for them or if they would be able to grasp the concept. They both love their GameBoys and our Playstation 2, but it was time for an upgrade-or so my husband convinced me. Personally, I think he wanted it for himself, as well!

My oldest, the birthday boy, decided to have a friend over to spend the night at our house. As part of his birthday celebration, we let him open the new game system so they could try it out and have something to occupy themselves for the evening. As expected, it was a big hit.

One of the things we liked about this console was the built in feature that helps prevent burn in on plasma televisions. My husband hooked it up to the plasma TV over our fireplace. It did not take long to set up and was easy to figure out how to use. He played the first game to get a feel for it and it was hard to get him to set the Wiimote down long enough to let the boys play. The boys decided on baseball as their game of choice and spent the next several hours fully engaged. I watched on with amusement. They spent the next several hours playing baseball, tennis, golf, bowling, and boxing-all games that came with the Wii.

Finally, my husband and I put the boys to bed and he challenged me to a game of bowling. I agreed to humor him and we started a two player game. Surprisingly, I found myself really enjoying the game. I scored very close to what I would normally score at a bowling alley. It was addictive! We played several games that night. I was amazed at how much fun I was having playing a video game. We were both impressed at the activity level required to play as well.

The next day, my sixty year old mother-in-law came to visit. We set up a three player bowling match and even she enjoyed it. We were gathered around the television competing each other and really having a great time. What a wonderful family activity!

Since then, we have instituted a family game night during which we challenge each other to a Wii Sports game and see who can win. We have made it a family activity that we can all enjoy without ever having to leave home or spend money going out. But even when we are not playing together, the boys each have fun playing alone or with each other. It makes us happy that it is the first video game that does not allow them to be sedentary in front of the tv.

I am now a video game convert. We love to play the Nintendo Wii. It truly is wonderful for people of all ages, our family loves it from age 4 to age 60!