Nintendo Wii: Slowly Defeating My Arguments Against Video Games

I have never been a fan of video games. Super Mario Brothers and Contra were just about the only video games I ever enjoyed, and I never had my own consul. I have always held that the games were isolating, keeping children indoors staring at television sets, rather than playing stick-ball with neighbourhood children; that they were a large factor in the growing anti-socialism in the youth of the last couple of decades. Similarly, that they helped to foster the current child-obesity epidemic, as kids sat in front of the tele in lieu of exercise. And while a game may have popped up intermittently that contained some modicum of educational value, they weren't big sellers, and when mom bought them, they got dusty on the shelf while children preferred to shoot ducks or find the princess.

When Nintento came out with the Wii, I had to admit, they almost defeated all of my arguments. With games like Wii Fit, players were able to get some form of exercise, whether playing tennis or golf, or doing a classic floor mat routine. However, I still had a problem: why are kids playing baseball with faceless voices from across the country, when they could be out front or at a park with their neighbours and class-mates?

Then there were the Senior Bowling Leagues, in which over 1000 seniors play among the 186 teams. The thing about this league is that, aside from the players now participating in something that is somewhat physical (though less so than actual bowling, it's on par with what their bodies are capable of), seniors participate as a community. Although the teams play with others from across the nation, the teams themselves are usually made up of folks residing in the same retirement communities or nursing homes, and it's not just the bowlers that participate- they are cheered on by their co-residents.

With this market of gamers newly discovered, more games, such as Brain Age, by Wii, are being geared towards seniors, and maintaining their cognitive abilities. Now, if we could just get the children to follow suit, before they reach their seventies...