The Dilemma of Having too Few Wii Friends

After months of complaining, bitching, and searching I bought my first game console, a new Nintendo Wii, last May. A mere one month before I’d purchased my first handheld game device, a Nintendo DS, basically because I couldn’t find the Wii anywhere. After over twenty years of screwing around with computers and countless unplayed computers games I’d pretty much convinced myself that I just wasn’t a computer gamer. The thing is that I know that “gaming” is the gateway drug for my students to technology and computers.

For the most part they don’t care about writing or reading and are completely unaware of the creative power to make movies or music. But they are very aware of the power of being transported and challenged by these little devices. And contrary to popular belief, gaming today is not a solitary thing with one social misfit sitting alone in his room staring at a screen killing aliens. Truth is that the most popular computer/video game, World of Warcraft, is based on cooperative interaction albeit generally with total strangers over the Internet. Or as Stan in South Park said, when told by his dad to go outside and play with his friends, “I am socializing, Artard. I’m logged on to an MMORPG with people from all over the world and getting XP with my party using team-speak.“** And maybe that’s why I haven’t gotten into my Wii all that much this summer, I don’t have gaming friends. Ack. Something tells that this gaming thing isn’t going to help me with the e-Harmony ladies either. Damn. JBB
**NOTE: I love that Stan’s dad’s response is a sheepish defensive, “I’m not an artard.”

Click here for an awesome music video summary of the South Park episode, “Make Love Not Warcraft. Click the “Read the rest of this entry” link for a video on the incredible benefits of the recently introduced “Wii Fit.” Looking stupid playing video games reaches new heights!