by Jeremy Matthews

Created on: May 06, 2010

First and foremost, this article is being written from a personal point of view.  Why?  Simply, I was one of the gamers who ran out and bought Nintendo's Wii when they first came out.  In advance of my purchase I knew the target audience of the Wii was children and families.  The games I typically play do not fall into this category.  But seeing as how the Wii was the 'next big thing' and they were pretty rare when I bought mine, part of the fun was actually getting one.  So I did, and after about a month of occasional play, it started to sit around powered off and not being used.  If it had a voice, it would probably have mentioned it was afraid of being sent to the 'Island of Misfit Toys'.  The only time it would be turned over the next six months would be when we had company who wanted to play.  I thought the Wii was fun, there just didn't seem to be many games to catch my attention.

Then one day about three weeks ago, I decided to pick up my Wiimote and fire up 'Super Mario Galaxy' and actually give it a chance.  Since that fateful night, I have picked up 'Red Steel 2' and 'New Super Mario Bros' and rented 'Mario Kart'.  And I have had a blast.  Nintendo has proven to me that their games actually don't have to be aimed at the hardcore FPS shooter player (which is what I am or...was).  As long as the games are fun they've hit gold.  If you believe what you read, the critics say the Wii has a long list of  mediocre games.  To be short, I have quite reading Wii game reviews from the big websites and game magazines.  Back in the day, when 'Super Mario Bros 3' came out; did we read game reviews before we bought it?  Surely they would have read: 'Nintendo gives Mario a squirrel tail and let's him fly.  What's next, a baby dinosaur he ride around on?!'.  That's exactly what would be said today.

Is the Nintendo Wii as powerful graphically as the PS3 or Xbox360? No, it's not.  But it doesn't need to be.  For far too long the multiplayer gamer has had to experience the thrill of playing with others from long distances or at LAN parties.  Clearly, Nintendo's goal was to bring that type of experience back into the living room.  And this is how Nintendo is and will be getting even more fans back in their court.  And from previous experience, if you want to really have a good time.  Check out 'New Super Mario Bros' and play with at least one other person.  You will not regret it!  And in the meantime, I am eagerly awaiting the opportunity to trump my high score in Wii Sports Resort's Bicycle Riding.  Go ahead, laugh.  I dare you.

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