Up Up and a Wii

Finally, I had a chance to play the Wii at a friend’s place this week. Wow. And I only played the sports games that came with the system.

I started off playing boxing, which was alright, but then it got really involved. Batting practice blew me away; I had to bend my knees and step into the swing. When I practiced hitting to a certain location, it was a drill I never once did in years of sleepaway camp or gym class.

Sony and Microsoft were focusing on building the next best game systems, and they probably have (I’ve played Xbox 360 but not PS3). Yet with the Wii, Nintendo did something else entirely. They created an interactive experience, something you’d wait on line to try at a World’s Fair.

I know I’m slow in saying it, yet with game systems, I’m hardly an early adopter; at home I have the original Nintendo Entertainment System from the 80s, still working (Dr. Mario’s the current favorite). Despite many thoughts of upgrading over the past two decades, this is the first time I’ve ever really thought it’s worth it.

All I’m left wondering now is how the heck Nintendo did it.