Had a great day. Mom and Dad came to visit this afternoon and the whole thing played out like a Nintendo commercial. Last time my Dad became completely hooked on the Wii when they were here just before Christmas. This time, he and I finally convinced my Mom to give it a try.


The scene in my living room today.

I'm not even making this up. She LOVED it. We played Wii Sports almost all afternoon and they would have stayed over night if I didn't have to work early tomorrow morning. Mom got so into Bowling, I couldn't believe it. By her 4th frame she totally got the interface and started kicking butt. Within a game she was beating my Dad consistently and by the time they left she'd beaten me a couple times as well.


Mom and her Mii avatar.


Dad and his Mii avatar.

I actually think they want to buy the system when more become available in stores. I'm so very amused by this. Nintendo's goal of involving non-gamers into video games is so very real to me now. I've read articles and watched videos of it but seeing it happen first hand was awesome.

You have to understand how big a deal this is. Mom and Dad don't understand e-mail or websites, never use the internet and the last computer they bought was a Commodore 64. Dad likes Tetris and Bookworm (though I have to set it up for him). On the other hand, Mom has never even given a wayward glance to a video game. Watching her doing a little dance every time she got a Strike in bowling was pretty amazing. When she got a Turkey (3 Strikes in a row) and then another two Strikes later in the same game, Dad and I realized she was a serious threat:


Mom kicks our butt. Slight irony = Sony television.

My parents finally understand the joy of video games. Thanks Nintendo!