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WHAT IS.. a wheee (Wii)?

You have probably heard your child, grandchild or spouse (!) say they wanted a Wii this Christmas. I’m sure you thought, “What the heck is a wee?!”

Short Answer: A Wii is a video game console (video game deck) made by Nintendo.

Long Answer: Do you remember the “Atari” game deck of the 80’s? It was a deck that you plugged into your TV. Then you bought games for it that came on cartridges. If you wanted to play “Asteroids”, you bought the “Asteroids” cartridge and inserted it into the game deck. Or, if you don’t remember the Atari, think of the Wii as a computer, the TV as a computer monitor, and the games you play on it are just like the programs you buy for your computer.

You have probably heard of the Wii’s competitors, as they have been advertised heavily in the last year or so: Sony Playstation 3 and Microsoft XBox 360. The person on your gift list may already have one of these. The more practical side of us wonders why they would need another game deck. You must remember that video games are a hobby. A fisherman doesn’t have one fishing pole, a hunter doesn’t have one shot gun, an artist doesn’t use one pencil. Neither does a videogamer have just one game deck.

Witchy Tip: If the practical side of you still cramps up, think in the long term: game decks need games! Your gift-giving options expand with each game deck, as some games are only available on specific systems. Wouldn’t you love to be the cool relative who gives the FUN things?

Now here’s something you probably DIDN’T consider… wouldn’t you love to have a game deck that you could actually PLAY with your child or grandchild? The Wii is specifically designed to be easy to learn and play. There are programs designed especially for non-gamers! And the controllers (the hand-held remote that works the way the mouse does on your computer) function by waving them at the TV rather than complicated button combinations. The Will could be an activity that you can joyfully SHARE with your grandchildren!

To give you an idea of the possibilities of the Wii, you can enjoy bowling, tennis, golf, boxing in your living room. With the Wii, you actually have to get up and go through the motions of swinging or punching. This is not a sit-on-the couch video game. There is also Wii-fit, a workout program that you do in conjunction with the Wii and a balance pad (Wii-Fit’s release date is January 1, 2008 and the balance board will cost about $70), so you could keep a Wii at YOUR house and do the workouts, and then have something for your grandkids to play with you when they come to visit.

SEE THE WII FIT IN ACTION:
Just the game deck will cost about $250 and comes with basic games. If you have wireless networking in your house, you can download other games pretty cheaply. (You buy Wii Points, which you can get on a credit card type of card. The Wii Points cards vary in price depending on the number of points purchased. You can buy these from wherever they sell Wii games). Some accessories you might wish to have are extra controllers and “nunchuck” controllers (at least 2…these are attachments to the regular controllers).I am told that the Wii is getting hard to find in many stores. If you go by a store that should carry video game consoles, be sure to ask the clerk directly if they have them. If you are comfortable with online shopping, you might check out wii locator from xpbargains which is following the deals offered by several online stores.In the interest of full disclosure, I must mention that Mr. Wonderful is a video game designer and makes games for the Wii. I wouldn’t be the Wii’s biggest cheerleader if I didn’t think it was a really great thing on its own merits, though. I bet you will think it’s great, too.

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