Defining the Nintendo Wii

In the book “Codename Revolution”, the authors, Steven E. Jones and George K. Thiruvathukal describe the Wii as a social gaming platform. “Smaller, less expensive, innovative, accessible, casual, family-friendly, classic, revolutionary, and fun— all of these descriptors have been successfully associated with the Wii” (Codename Revolution 6). According to the authors, the Wii is social in that it incentivizes physical, in-person, interaction during playtime. The Wii was initially conceived with social interaction in mind. A marketing campaign “Wii Would Like to Play”, aired when the system released, featuring two people driving from house to house playing Wii Sports as a group with various families. Early on the authors describe how civic life in the U.S. has been on the decline, which may partially be due to the rise of video games. This is what Nintendo aimed to change, “the topic of bowling as a social activity has been redefined since 2006 to feature Nintendo’s bowling simulation game” (Codename Revolution 2). The Wii can even be defined by its name. “Wii”, it has two ‘i’s to symbolize multiple people, and of course, it’s pronounced “we” as in the multiple people playing. Summed up, the Wii defines social interaction between children through enjoyable and memorable gameplay. For adults, the Wii is a very nostalgic and still enjoyable experience, however to many it will appear as a very dated tech demo that would be better left in the past.

Video games can be broken up into two categories, single player, and multiplayer video games, simple enough. Despite the Wii featuring both online and local multiplayer, the local multiplayer was its focus. “The emphasis is on the social contexts that give the games meaning and the social interactions that are encouraged by the games, even if those interactions are not at the center of actual gameplay” (Codename Revolution 2). While playing online games with others can be great, it is no substitute for a child’s civic life. Social interaction at young ages is not only necessary to build social skills but to stay mentally and physically well.

The Wii is not just for children, it is very easy for adults to also find enjoyment from this system. It is easy for adults (that grew up with this system) to be reminded of their childhood, sitting in the living room playing Wii with their friends, siblings, and parents. It is a reminder that that time has come and gone, a reminder that they now have responsibilities and probably do not have time to play video games for hours like they did as a kid.

The Wii attempts to address a few issues present in society and video games, socialization, health, inclusivity, and complexity, many of which can be partially accredited to video games for creating in the first place. “Like the Wii in general, the Balance Board was introduced in an attempt to undermine stereotypes about the negative social effects of gaming” (Codename Revolution 80). Many children can be reluctant when it comes to socializing and getting exercise, all they want to do is play video games. The Wii is designed to take care of all of those, “Wii gameplay with health, exercise, and fun family activities pursued in the social space of the living room” (Codename Revolution 80). The Wii can be a decent source of exercise for some, of course it is no substitute for real exercise. Although many Wii games cannot be considered healthy or active, the Wii Fit and its required peripheral, the Balance Board, is evidently a game designed to keep you fit and monitor it. The Wii fit has a selection of activities such as yoga, strength training, aerobics, cardio, balance, etc. Apart from fitness, it also has the capacity to be a social game; many of the activities in Wii Fit have multiplayer capability. While the Wii Fit may not be all that vigorous when it comes to exercise and the balance board may be obsolete, my sister and I have countless memories of playing various games and activities on the Wii Fit together.

Many of the Wii’s titles revolved around a local experience. Many titles such as Wii Party, Mario Party, and WarioWare for example are each a game packed with many mini games that require players to compete or co-operate in a party like scenario.  “It’s designed around the notion that gameplay ideally happens in a shared space where social interactions, at least potential ones, are at the heart of the experience” (Codename Revolution 4). While the minigames within these games may be simple and now dated, they are a blast to play and of course great for children. The social capabilities of the system vary greatly. During my time at SUNY New Paltz, my friends and I will often get together and play Wii Sports, especially during the winters. I often joke about doing a Wii Sports tournament here at the school one day. It would be a great opportunity to meet people and more importantly lots of fun. Thus, further displaying how it can function in a social scenario.

Works Cited

Jones, Steven E., et al. Codename Revolution : the Nintendo WII Platform / Steven E. Jones and

George K. Thiruvathukal. MIT Press, 2012. https://suny-new.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01SUNY_NEW/bih0dd/alma996680216604844