Nintendo Wii

 

The Nintendo Wii–it was a cultural phenomenon that changed gaming forever. Everyone and their mother (which is not just an idiom) were gamers when this system was on the market. The platform was made to be accessible, inclusive, and fun. Amidst the early 2000s, Nintendo was falling behind the competition, Microsoft’s Xbox and Sony’s PlayStation 2 had consistently outsold Nintendo’s previous system, the GameCube. Nintendo’s answer to this was a blue ocean marketing strategy. Author Chris Kirk from Slate describes, “Nintendo changed the game. Nintendo came up with the Wii. The console had worse graphics and a slower processor than its rivals, yet it destroyed them in sales, and it drove the company to new heights of popularity, praise, and profit” (Kirk). Rather than try to compete with what was available and make the most powerful and advanced system, they opted for what was new and unique at the time. Hence the Nintendo Wii was born with the idea of being accessible, inclusive, and simplistic, whilst still being a fun experience. Childhood is for learning, play, and family, which is exactly what the Wii is made for.

At the core of the Wii was simplicity, which helped propel it to become what might be the most inclusive and accessible gaming system to date. While many traditional controllers were and still are available for the Wii, it was meant to be controlled through the Wii Remote, colloquially known as the WiiMote, which also had an optional nun chuck attachment. The WiiMote aimed to simplify the complicated control schemes of modern games by having fewer buttons and allowing for motion-controlled video games. As stated before, childhood is a time for learning, play, and family. The Wii offers a platform suited to all three of these. The social aspects are the core experience of the Wii, you wouldn’t want it to be bogged down by complicated control schemes. The simplicity of the console is what makes it so suitable for children and their families. Jesper Juul is a video game designer and researcher featured in the book Codename Revolution. Juul describes “the Wii home console is what Juul describes as ‘mimetic-interface’ gaming: the system mirrors the players’ movement” (Jones, Thiruvathukal 2). By having this overly simplified control scheme where the players’ movement is replicated in-game, it allowed for not only children but everyone to experience the Wii. This is one of the core reasons why the Wii is such a great system for young children, there is no major learning curve to control the game. It is a matter of simple physical motions being replicated within the game. Not only is it simple enough for children but everyone, teenagers, parents, grandparents, etc.

In 2006, video games would not typically be viewed as a social activity. At this point, video games were all heading in a similar direction, a singular local player with online play. This would change with the introduction of the Wii. Whilst many of the Wii’s games did support online play, most were a local multiplayer experience. Taken from Codename Revolution, “Others in the room can at least watch and interact with the player, if not take turns playing. The on-screen game is the occasion and pretext for an off-screen party, to use Nintendo’s phrase” (Jones, Thiruvathukal 134). The Wii is a system that strives off having more than one player. The Wii does not only appeal to children but families as a whole. It is a toy made to be played in a group, such as a family. As a kid that grew up playing video games, Wii Sports was the only video game I can recall my parents wanting to play with me. This has to do with it being such a unique and simplistic game for the time. As a kid, one of the most valuable experiences is playing with your parents. Often that would not be possible, whether it be because the trampoline will kill their back, they don’t have the time for bike rides, most video games are too complicated for someone that doesn’t play often, etc. The Wii was one activity that I was able to play with my parents when I was younger.

Throughout the years, Nintendo systems have always been very competitively priced, and the Wii is no exception. “It was, at $249, cheaper than the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, which retailed at $299 and $499 respectively” (Kirk). As of 2013, the Wii was discontinued. A decent price for a Wii nowadays would be ~$50 or less, making it a great option for young children.

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” (Jones, Thiruvathukal 6). According to the authors, the Wii is social in that it incentivizes physical, in-person interaction during playtime. 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” (Jones, Thiruvathukal 2). The Wii can even be defined by its name. “Wii”, has two ‘i’s to symbolize multiple people, and of course, it’s pronounced “we” as in the multiple people playing. 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” (Jones, Thiruvathukal 2). While playing online games with others can be great, it is no substitute for a child’s civic life. Social interaction at a young age is not only necessary to build social skills but to stay mentally and physically well.

On the contrary, the Wii is not just for children, it is very easy for adults to also find enjoyment from this system. Although they may appeal to adults, video games are often not adult as many lack the time and energy to play them. It is easy for adults (who grew up with this system) to be reminded of their childhood, 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. Although the Wii is a children’s game console, it can be used by many adults, such as my colligate friends and me.

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. 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 a method of doing such, “Wii gameplay with health, exercise, and fun family activities pursued in the social space of the living room” (Jones, Thiruvathukal 80). 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. This shows exactly what childhood is for. Sure, the Wii is not the best for exercise, but it’s about the experiences with your friends and family that form memories and shape your childhood.

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” (Jones, Thiruvathukal 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 would often get together and play Wii Sports, especially during the winter. I would often joke about doing a Wii Sports tournament here at the school one day.

In the article, The Nintendo Wii and Mii, the author Hannah Carapellotti describes her journey with her family and the Wii. Carapellotti describes that she and her sister received the Wii as a gift for Christmas. “For every personal game we each had, there were several that we always played as a group. ‘Wipeout: The Game’ was a glitchy mess, and we would crack up whenever our characters stopped responding to our remotes and ran on their own” (Carapellotti). Childhood is not only a time for learning but a time for play. Carapellotti describes her family experiences that she had growing up with the Wii. From the article, you can see the impact that Wii had on her family relationship.

After graduating high school, the author tells how she went on to college and left home. Soon after, Covid came around and forced her back home. She tells how it was so relieving to be home and that she was not ready to leave home yet. “Being quite literally stuck at home, my siblings and I turned to the Wii to pass the endless time. No other game compared to ‘Mario Super Sluggers’, a baseball game featuring, you guessed it, Mario characters. All four of us could play at the same time, two to a team, and so began an intense nightly ritual” (Carapellotti). Where most would not, the author had the chance to essentially extend her childhood a little bit longer due to Covid. Despite legally being an adult, the author continued her family-centered play.

Towards the end of the article, the author discusses how she will once again be moving out. This time she claims she is ready for it. The author hopes that she can take the Wii along with her but alas is forced to leave it behind and grow up. To grow up in life sometimes you must leave behind what you love, in this case, it is the Wii and family. Of course, that does not mean you can no longer play Wii again or be with your family. Although Wii’s will always be around, after growing up it will only be a nostalgic piece of hardware now lost. Adults often lack the time to play video games as they are occupied with other activities such as school and work. Although lost, it is not forgotten. Upon raising a family of your own, you could show your children what you and your friends used to play. They may laugh in your face from its simple motion controls and poor graphics, however, there’s always family fun to be had, which is exactly what childhood and the Wii are for.

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

Kirk, C. (2012, October 22). How the Wii saved Nintendo and changed gaming

forever. Slate Magazine. Retrieved June 21, 2022, from https://slate.com/business/2012/10/nintendo-wii-the-console-that-beat-the-xbox-and-playstation-and-saved-nintendo.html

Espineli, M. (2019, May 13). The most influential games of the 21st century: Wii

Sports. GameSpot. Retrieved June 21, 2022, from https://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-most-influential-games-of-the-21st-century-wii/1100-6466810/

Carapellotti, Hannah. “My Family Still Loves Our Nintendo Wii.” The Michigan

Daily, 16 Mar. 2022, https://www.michigandaily.com/arts/digital-culture/the-nintendo-wii-and-mii/