OK... I did it. Our game system-free home is getting a Wii

[LuckyTheDog]

We really resisted getting a game system. But this year, we gave up. The boy (just turned 9 years old) is getting a Nintendo Wii from Santa.

Please tell me this thing won't rot his brain.

[LynneSin]

1. I like the Wii plus they have great exercize games for all ages

Just don't waste your money on the FIT

[LuckyTheDog]

2. Really? I think my wife wants to add the FIT

Why is it a waste of money?

[LynneSin]

3. To me it seemed more focus on balance, which annoyed me because I have no balance

So the entire time while I exercized I had someone yelling at me to get in balance and well, I just wanted to exercize and lose weight.

There are plenty of other exercize Wii games that do not utilize the Wii.

But if you really want a FIT - I'll sell you mine for half price.

[hunter]

4. Our "no video game" resolve fell to Playstation.

Both kids graduated from high school with honors and are now attending excellent colleges.

Good Luck!

[seaglass]

5. Nah, won't rot the brain - both of my kids had game consoles

all their lives and neither has a rotted brain :-) The only difficulty I see is getting their attention away from the device - they do tend to suck kids/adults kids right in - kind of like the internet and texting and everything where you get so absorbed you lose track of time.


I bought our Wii for myself. I've had every Nintendo game system since SNES to play Legend of Zelda games.

I also have the Wii Fit which I use on the days I don't go to the gym.

[pitohui]

6. wont rot his brain, wont even be in use 10 days after xmas

he's 9, his interests & habits are formed

he'll play it a lot the first day, a smaller amount on a few subsequent days and then it will become yet another dust catcher, simply more expensive than most

at least that's what i see around here

[NuttyFluffers]

7. you can only rot his brain if you do not pay attention & buy whatever he wants.

some of the smartest people i've met have been gamers. some of the most rock-headed, numbskulls i have met have also been (more casual) gamers. it just depends on what sort of material you give them access to.

i recommend spicing up the gaming with games that stress thinking and reading occasionally. just put the kibosh on buying the umpteenth button-mashing game and make sure there's diversity in his collection. there's a time for hand-eye coordination and a time for tactical/strategic planning (and they don't always have to be in a tactical or strategic game).

maybe you should start taking an interest in your kid's hobby so you know a little something about the options available. sorta like learning how a public library or movie rental place works, it'll be useful to know a bit before buying them any ol' thing.

[pitohui]

8. if he was interested in tactical/strategic planning...

they wouldn't waste their money w. a different game machine, there is this thing called the personal computer and this other thing called the internet where you can play online poker with people all over the world and will eat the kid's brain with all the math, game theory, scheming, strategy, etc. that anybody could wish

there's also online chess and suduko if anyone was really concerned about the legalities and seriously crazy enough to think it's somehow more moral to play grand theft drug dealer at age 4 than poker

the smart people you knew who were gamers...what were they really playing? oh, past a small brief wasted moment of their youth that even they now regret they probably did waste a lot of time on some pointless nonsense game but...at some point and it usually comes pretty early, smart people lose interest in fake stuff when there's a real "game" going on out there

[LuckyTheDog]

9. Actually, yes, I know there are games on the Internet

But I also think the Web can be a dangerous place for a 9-year-old kid and even if we take precautions, that still can be the case. With the Wii, we'll at least know what he's playing. Grand Theft Auto will not be among the games we plan to buy for him.

Sure, when he is older he might buy some of the "bad" games himself and play them when we're not around. But by then, he'll also be older and more able to handle it. For the time being, he'll be pretty happy with Lego Batman and Lego Star Wars games and the Wii Sports/Resort stuff.

[NuttyFluffers]

12. what on earth are you talking about? fyi, the internet is new in relation to my gaming years.

and the smartest people i've ever known in gaming were console gamers, another bit of information for you. actually the smartest were those that read the most books, but often they were the ones who played a lot of console games as well. it just is what it is. there's rot your brain games on all gaming formats -- just like there's a lot of rot your brain entertainment on all media formats.

computer games are great, but they often don't have the same control experiences as a console (historically). also consoles have simple plug 'n play w/o the hassle -- which was a very big issue growing up. and since most people i knew played games across overseas licensing restrictions, we usually had quite the collection of interesting stuff from all over. most of this was pre-internet, and even then internet gaming really took years to develop into what we know of it today. bulletin boards, mucs/muds, etc. al those precursors i grew up with friends hammering out the kinks and crashes. nothing like the ease of today.

yet both formats for playing games encompassed a huge array of topics and experiences. that "fake stuff" covered things from history, foreign languages, culture, accounting, war, strategy, creativity, reading comprehension, etc. all of these things build skills that are relevant to the real "game" going on. my friends and i received from gaming a respect for skills and finesse on a variety of topics where it was not normally possible to practice.

in fact, those who were more interested in "real things" found that they had a difficult time keeping up with critical thinking and comprehension around us until they played similar games as my friends and i did. afterwards they began to see the levels of nuance in other things. they've said point blank that gaming helped them read into situations, pay attention to detail, and learn a much larger vocabulary (thank you tabletop gamers, D&D and the like who love obscure, polysyllabic vocabulary).

... and we all still love gaming.

so really, what is this screed about? some cri de coeur about your antipathy to all things fantastical and artificial? are you one of those that finds only value in non-fictional books? ;)

[JonLP24]

13. Not much drug dealing in those games

At least the playable character in either game of the series doesn't engage in it. In the latest one, GTA IV. There is an optional (not required to play to defeat the game) side missions you can play. They call it delivering packages of marijuana but pretty much all it is, is driving. Some of them are timed, like you have to get to one location in a certain amount of time. The un-timed missions means there is going to a group of guys ambushing you when you get to where you're supposed to go. There is 10 of them. The only drug dealing in the entire game and it's optional.

A lot more fun than online poker, which I love BTW. The same makers, Rockstar, created Red Dead Redemption where you can play as much poker as you want (well until you run out of money that is) in the game. That is fun too.

[LuckyTheDog]

10. Trust me, we'll be screening the games he gets

We also screen his TV viewing. Most of what he sees has been recorded and pre-viewed by us -- except for totally innocent PBS Kids stuff. But even with PBS stuff, one of us usually watches with him.

[Kali]

11. tee vee will rot his brain LONG before games will

[slay]

14. Get the new Donkey Kong Country Returns

that game is awesome! And it's tough too - a nice challenge for kids of all ages. New Super Mario Bros Wii is good too (4 players at same time possible) as are the Zelda games for those with longer attention spans. And Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2 = heaven. I'm sure all of yall will enjoy it. As long as game players take regular breaks and don't play for hours on end I'm sure all will be good. At least it is interactive - far less brain rot than tv. :evilgrin:

..........

[JonLP24]

15. I'm not at all a fan of the Wii

but if I had one, I'd probably get that game. I loved the Donkey Kong games for the old Super Nintendo. It was simply the best series for that gaming system.

Donkey Kong Country was the best. The sequels were good but not nearly as great as DK Country.

[slay]

17. I don't really care for the Wii either, but

these new first-party nintendo games like DK, SMB, SM Galaxy, are all playable with the Wii remote turned sideways so is like the old NES gamepad just with way better graphics. So much fun.

*And for those of yall with pretty good PC's - there is this thing the Dolphin emulator - it emulates most ALL Wii and Gamecube games so you can play them on your PC. Works with Donkey Kong Country, SMB Wii, SMG Galaxy 1 and 2 - all nearly perfect. Just use a Logitech gamepad as controller and mouse as Wii-mote screen pointer. Another nice bonus is you can increase the resolution from the Wii's non-HD 640x480 to 1440x900 (which is what I play mine at) or higher - and it looks so much better than the Wii. And it's free! Check it out -- http://www.dolphin-emulator.com/

[Frank Cannon]

16. The missus and I finally broke down and got a Wii last summer, and we love it.

The Wii Sports Boxing game alone is a great workout. And the streaming Netflix interface is an additional benefit that works great on the Wii.

Sounds like you all will have a fun Christmas.

[Roon]

18. Awwww!!

That is so sweet!

[Brickbat]

19. What changed your mind? And if you're ambivalent, why are you doing it?