Why do I like my Wii?
This is my first console since the Sega Genesis that I purchased during its production life-cycle. (The Playstation 2 technically counts because developers are still released PS2 games, but the PS3 had launched by the time I bought a PS2.) I purchased my Playstation 1, Dreamcast, and Playstation 2 used. In short, the Wii is the first new console I've been able to afford within the first year of its release.
I love that I'm able to pick up, play, and put down most of the Wii games I own (with the exception of Zelda: Twilight Princess) within fifteen to thirty minutes. My schedule no longer is conducive to long gaming sessions, so I'm very fond of Wii Sports, Rayman: Raving Rabbids, and Wario Ware: Smooth Moves.
I never owned a Super Nintendo or Nintendo 64, so I only played SNES and N64 games on other people's consoles or on my computer using emulators. It's my personal opinion that Super Mario World is the greatest platformer ever created and this is the first time I've purchased it (though I've played through it at least five times). I spent about a year of my teenage life playing Mario Kart 64, so there's a lot of nostalgia there. My wife and I have had a blast competing against each other on our favorite tracks; Mario Kart 64's multiplayer fun still holds up after ten years. Virtual Console is a great feature of the Wii, and Super Mario World and Mario Kart 64 specifically are two of my favorite games. It's great to play them on a television again.
The Wii is easy to pick up even for non-gamers. This means that I can stop being a "closet nerd" and share my love of gaming with people who wouldn't pick up a Playstation 3 or XBox 360. Nintendo has successfully appealed to a larger demographic. In short, it's fun to play games with friends, family members, and co-workers who normally wouldn't play games. The Wii is a great social phenomenon. There's just something really cool about competing with my dad in Wii Bowling--and watching him enjoy playing the game. And while my wife is happy to play Puyo Puyo Box for the Playstation 1 with me, she isn't interested in learning how to play Starcraft or Unreal Tournament 2004. She will join me for a game of Wii Tennis more often than not.
And it's not only fun to play games on the Wii, it's also fun to watch people play games on the Wii. People who are worried about looking silly playing Wii Boxing need to get over themselves and relax a little. The Wii is about fun, and it's hard to have fun with a stick lodged in delicate parts of one's anatomy. Watching people play the Wii for the first time is nearly as entertaining as playing the games on one's own. And it's not fun because people look like dorks (because, in my opinion, they don't). It's fun because people get excited about and involved in the game. Watching people get excited is fun.
The Wii provides an easy way to watch YouTube videos (and other online videos) on my television. I watched the entire College Saga short film on my television using my Wii and it was great.
The Wii gets me off the computer. I work on a notebook computer eight hours a day to earn a paycheck and I spend hours every week administrating two Christian gaming organizations in my free time. When I've been sitting in a chair for ten hours in a day, standing up and playing Wii Bowling is very appealing.
The Wii isn't a powerful machine. I've read that the Wii is only twice as powerful as the Gamecube in terms of hardware power. Its graphics chip isn't powerful. HDTV support is weak, only support 480p output. It doesn't play DVDs. But I don't care about any of that. Why? Because playing games on the Wii is fun. If I want to watch BluRay DVDs, I'll go drop a few thousand dollars of disposable income (which I don't have) on a HDTV and a home theater system. If I want to play first-person shooter games online, I'll get on my PC and load UT2004 or CS 1.6. If I want to play a game to have fun, I'll play a game on the Wii.
I spent years playing Counter-Strike 1.6 because other people played it. I didn't like it, but I enjoyed spending time with other Christian gamers. I can't aim worth a hoot. I need an explosives-based weapon, a vehicle, or team-based (not team deathmatch, mind you) objectives to earn a decent score. I'm not good at CS 1.6 (even after all these years), it's too easy to die, and it's too hard to kill opponents. I don't like playing for only 10% of my time spending the other 90% spectating.
I tried to like World of Warcraft, but, sorry, I don't like it. It's impossible (for me, at least) to accomplish anything in 30 minutes. The game, at least in my experience, is about the goal, not the journey. It feels too much like work. I disliked questing and leveling so much that I stopped leveling my Dwarf Hunter after he reached level 48 and set up camp in a major in-game city to play in battlegrounds exclusively.
Now, after years of playing games that I didn't (and still don't) like to spend time with people I do like, I own a console developed with social and innovative gaming in mind.
Is the Wii for everyone? Certainly not. No game or console is. But I like it, my wife likes it, and even my parents like it. If you prefer the Playstation 3 or XBox 360, then, by all means, please enjoy them. Tribe of Judah has a growing XBox Live Chapter and there's a strong possibility we'll open a PS3 chapter before the year's out. To each his or her own. But as for me, I favor the Wii.
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