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Wii Ambassador: Subject 1 - Published by N-Philes, Feb 25, 2007

In many ways, Mary is the quintessential target of the Wii console. It wasn't that long ago when she was strongly against the idea of having a video game system in her home. But as a mother of two children who love videogames, Mary's stance on gaming has softened ever so slightly. Is the Wii the gaming system that can melt her inner gaming heart, or is it simply another distraction to entertain her children?

Weapons Arsenal:

Wii – Nintendo's fifth home console. It's a small, affordable gaming system that features a wand-like, motion-sensing controller.

Mii Channel – An integrated Wii feature that allows users to create a simplistic, but uncanny representation of themselves to use in various games.

Photo Channel – An integrated Wii feature that allows for pictures from digital cameras to be shown, altered, and shared with friends.

News, Weather, and Internet Channels – Wii features that allow users to surf the internet and get news and weather updates straight from the console.

Wii Sports - A Wii game packed in with every console. It allows players to enjoy tennis, golf, bowling, boxing, and baseball by using the Wii Remote to simulate the activity of each sport.

Rayman Raving Rabbids - A minigame-structured game, created by acclaimed game designer Michel Ancel, set in a bunny-ravaged Rayman universe.

Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam - A downhill skateboard racing game that takes players around the world. It stars Tony Hawk and a cast of fictional racers.

Elebits - A game where you find and capture little creatures that hide inside a typical suburban home filled with interactive objects.

Mary, Before Wii:

"I'm not opposed to videogames," Mary says with an air of diplomacy, "but I do think that videogames do need to be monitored in the household. I wouldn't let my children have complete control as to how long they play or what they play. I think you need to put a cap on that. I don't want my kids spending three hours in front of a tv screen playing videogames on a daily basis. I think that half an hour, an hour max, is ample."

It's clear from the start of our interview that Mary has reservations about videogames, and gaming in general.

"No," Mary laughs to my asking if she would consider herself a gamer. To most of the general public, being labelled a gamer usually has a negative connotation. "I hear that label quite a lot. To me, I would have automatically thought that was somebody that plays [games] all the time. Not ever waking hour, but all their spare time is spent playing videogames.

"But I have since learned, and fairly recently, that it doesn't necessarily mean that. I guess a gamer is somebody that is just into the technology and into the new games coming out and somebody that just really enjoys playing videogames. It doesn't necessarily mean that they're spending their whole life gaming."

Everybody reads and watches television and movies, but there aren't many out there who could consider themselves readers or movie buffs. While it's true that anyone who plays any game could be considered a gamer, that concept hasn't really hit the mainstream. Along with the definition of the word "game," what is means to be a gamer is something that Nintendo aims to change with both DS and Wii.

Our subject openly admits that she doesn't have a lot of experience with electronic games. "I don't know a whole lot about videogames at all," she says. "I watch my kids play and now and again I'll play with them. Not all their games, but there are a few games that I do play with them. Monkey Ball I've played, the NHL Hockey one, Battleship, the conga one... I guess that's a videogame isn't it?"

She's referring to Super Monkey Ball 2, NHL 2005, Super Battleship (Minescape's SNES game), and Donkey Konga, respectively. Because she's big on the music scene, I had her check out Karaoke Revolution Party one time, which she really enjoyed. "There's some games that I quite like and that are a lot of fun," Mary mused, despite not being able to name very many games that she's played.

Which consoles does Mary have at home? "What games are in my house? We have Nintendo [64] and GameCube." It's important to note that the two Nintendo consoles are owned and used primarily by her children. Mary didn't really want gaming systems in her home, so how did they get there in the first place?

"How it ended up getting here was fairly interesting on its own just because I didn't want a game system in my house. [Two years ago], my sister in law bought a new system, her old system made it to my in-laws, and while my husband and the kids were visiting, she said, 'Why don't you take this home?' And they did. I wasn't very happy when it first came in, but I think I've definitely become a little more open to it because my kids do really enjoy it, and I think there are some good things with videogames. You can learn things; it is good for dexterity. There are good things, but again it is something that has to be monitored. Your kids still need to get outside and play and ride their bikes and read and play games and do other things."

Mary, After Wii:

After talking to me about her views and experiences with videogames, Mary got her very first look at the Wii console. In almost no time, she was customizing her Mii, bowling (though she can't seem to shake her leftward spin), playing baseball against her kids, throwing cows, and skating downhill like a pro.

Suffice it to say, Nintendo managed to impress her. "I think it's fantastic, actually. As far as videogames go," Mary admits with a touch of enthusiasm. "I think that it's great for families, great for parties... I can't believe that I would actually consider going out and buying one, but I am. I almost wish I hadn't purchased a GameCube six months ago."

The best feature of the Wii is that it's not just staring at a screen and pressing buttons, according to Mary. "What I love the most about the Wii is the fact that it's fully interactive. I love the [Wii Sports] games, those are great!"

One of the problems with conventional controllers is that they look and feel complicated to those who haven't kept up over the last 20 years. Mary admits to feeling uncomfortable with the GameCube controller. "I don't really know what I'm doing," she says, shrugging and shaking her head, "it's like, hit A, B, A, B, A, B. I see that something's happening on the screen, but..."

She loves that the Wii Remote goes far beyond that in many ways, but despite it being more inviting and wanting to know how to use it, the ease of transition wasn't immediate. "I just haven't spent enough time with it. Given, even a week, I'd probably feel very comfortable with the controller. I would get the hang of it and get more comfortable. It's pretty simple logic, if you're going to hit the ball as you would, or if you're going to shoot, push A or move the controllers up and down or to and away from the screen... but its different because you're playing a videogame and you, not forget that it's interactive, but you have to remember to do those things."

About the Wii itself, Nintendo looks to have hit home on their goal to make it appealing to moms. "It's small and portable, I think it's really nice," Mary says. "It looks pretty simple to hook up and set up. It's great that the Wii is not a huge monster box."

Before getting to play any games, Mary was briefed on how to create a Mii. HairyMelon, a spoonerism of her given name, was born shortly thereafter. The idea of playing as yourself as opposed to a pre-made character hadn't really sunk in until I brought it up. "That's a great concept," she laughingly remarks. "Someone is obviously incredibly clever. You can create a character, play as your character every time, and it keeps track of everything that you do. That's a neat feature. It's awesome [having people you know on your baseball team]."

Wii Sports is the obvious place to start when introducing Wii games to newcomers. Mary was smiling and having fun throughout her play time. Whether rallying a tennis ball or trying to pick up a spare, she managed the controls with minimal explanation. In fact, Mary even managed to knock me out in a round of boxing (and she also beat me down a course in Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam, but that's beside the point). "I like them all," Mary responds to my asking which sport she liked best. "I was very surprised by the boxing, that I was actually sweating. I couldn't believe it. It floored me that I could play a videogame and actually sweat. The bowling is a lot of fun, they were all fun. Wii Sports is fantastic."

Not all Wii games are as transparently accessible as Wii Sports. Mary very briefly tried Elebits and didn't quite grasp what to do, as she was moving the Nunchuk forward and back, instead of the joystick. "I think it's a neat concept. I only played it once, and I didn't really understand what I was doing until I watched you play on your own. That gave me a better overall feel of the game. Next time I'll know better how to maneuver better and get those little guys." Already, she's anticipating a next time!

Would she play Wii with her kids more than she does with GameCube? "Oh without a doubt. I almost never play GameCube. I play maybe once a week or every other week with the kids. They play and I watch them, but I don't normally play with them. If we had a Wii, absolutely I would play with them." Jokingly, she adds, "I imagine I would even have to put a time limit on myself!"

When I was playing Rayman Raving Rabbids with her son, she was genuinely intrigued by some of the minigames that we were playing, especially the cow-tossing one. For someone who never cared much for videogames, wanting a turn at tossing cows and slamming doors is a good sign.

If this is any indication, Nintendo may be bringing family gaming back. I know that when I was younger, I would often play games with my mom, but that time faded as games became 3D and grew more complex. "Even just having the Wii at Christmas time, everybody got a chance to play. Everybody was, not fighting over it, but wanting a turn. And I think that it's great for family gatherings, or even just a Friday night at home with your kids or your friends. It's a really great idea."

At Christmas time, there was a slideshow shown using pictures, music, and video in the Wii Picture Channel. This pretty much sold Mary on that particular feature, especially considering how effortless it was to throw together. She seemed to like the ability to view and create puzzles with photos, but would like compatibility with her camera's media type.

We didn't get a chance to check out the Wii's online features, but Mary, her kids, and I did have a chance to play Bomberman '93 from the Virtual Console. On the subject of classic games, two immediately came up. "[Super] Battleship. I don't know who is getting this interview, but that would be a good one to release! And I like Pac-Man, so getting it on the Wii? I would do that." Mary did mention that the Virtual Console sounds interesting, but it wouldn't be something to explore right away, "because I'd be too busy playing the sports games. It'd be great to update the graphics [on the Virtual Console], but I'd still play anyway."

Wii's graphical power – or lack thereof – is a touchy subject for some gamers, but Mary couldn't care less. "I'm not a big gamer... I mean when I see graphics that are really 3D and really cool, I'm totally mesmerized by them, but it they don't have to be." Is there anything that stood out to Mary as mesmerizing on the Wii? "Absolutely," she replied, which surprised me a little. "That game that the kids were playing just now, Tony Hawk... The graphics and all the different courses and everything – it was very, very well done."

Clearly her stance on graphics isn't very important because she immediately cut back to how the games play instead of how they look. "Wii Sports [doesn't look realistic], but it's still very neat that a ball will be coming at you and you hit the ball as you would when you play baseball, or throwing the big ball down the bowling alley to hit the pins, I think that's amazing."

The big question of course, is whether or not Wii is worth the price of admission. Referring to the Wii Remote, Nunchuk, and Wii Sports, in addition to the console itself, "I think [the price is] very reasonable, considering what you pay for. What's the new one out there? The PlayStation 3. Look how expensive that is. I think for $280 [Canadian Wii price], I think that's fairly reasonable. I can only imagine that, in time, the price will probably come down."

One thing that Mary was very vocal about in her pre-Wii interview was not letting her children play for long periods at a time. Though the Wii doesn't have a built-in timer, it does keep track of how long it is played. "I think [the playing record] is useful. I still think you shouldn't be playing any videogame for six hours a day; it's not a productive thing to do. I'd probably check on that, especially if the kids were playing and I lose track of time, I could check and say, 'No, you've been playing for an hour, it's time to get off.'"

Backwards compatibility seemed to be a big hit with Mary, seeing as there's a 'Cube in her home. "We've invested in buying GameCube games, so when we switch over to the Wii, it's good to know that we can still use those games, that my kids can play what they want to play without pulling out the GameCube. I like the Wii better."

Mary likes the Wii better, but does she like it enough to go out there and buy one? "I could see buying a Wii at some point, and I can see us playing as a family. I hope they continue to make games for it."

Just as importantly, would Mary recommend Wii to others? "Absolutely," she says with confidence, "without a doubt. I already have and I don't even have one!"

N-Philes' Wii Ambassadorship has just begun! Check back later as Ben spreads the word of Wii to more non-gamers and follow along with Nintendo's emergence of the "new generation".

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