Wii + Parents = ???

by Alexander Sliwinski { Nov 23rd 2006 at 12:30PM }

Considering Nintendo designed the Wii, and its marketing, to appeal to a wide demographic, it's time to put it to the test. We here at Joystiq will be testing our family over Thanksgiving on how intuitive the Wii is and we'd like to hear how things go at your home. YouTube some video, take pictures and let us know how it goes.

Tags: parents, test, wii

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Crazylink @ Nov 23rd 2006 12:37PM

My mom seems interested, but she hasn't had time to play it yet.

007craft @ Nov 23rd 2006 12:38PM

honestly my parents and sisters think it looks cool (well except my dad, the only game he has ever played in his whole life is duck hunt (hes a hunter) and hes never used a computer)

But even then, I could not get them to play it. They say the same ol "im too tired" or "ill play it later" and of course they never do. And even if they do, they dont continue to do so. I somehow got my mom to play XBLA games once. shes seemed to enjoy it, but never touched the thing again... always filled with excuses.

stupidgit @ Nov 23rd 2006 12:42PM

I just let my dad try Wii Sports. He liked golf and bowling, tennis was okay. It's a step in the right direction, but there're just some people who'll never get the hang of new things like that.

Brian @ Nov 23rd 2006 12:44PM

My dad is a huge fan of Tennis and Bowling from WiiSports, and he told me he read a review of Zelda. My mom likes making caricatures of family members on the Mii channel, and sucks at tennis but seemed to enjoy trying.

Neither of my parents were particularly interested in videogames prior to this, so the fact that they tried, enjoyed and, in some cases, excelled at these games is a terrific sign for nintendo's marketing machine.

I've been very happy with the Wii so far. I was going to bring it to thanksgiving but, of all things, I'm afraid little kids are going to break it ;)

Brian @ Nov 23rd 2006 12:46PM

@ stupidgit,

I have a feeling everyone's dads will like bowling. That game was absolutely designed for non-gamer dads. My mom likes watching because she sees the characters walking around in the background, and I suppose because she likes saying "you're putting too much spin on the ball" or "you're hooking your arm, you need to release it straight" and such. What fun.

PM @ Nov 23rd 2006 12:46PM

My Dad loves Wii Sports, and this is also someone who has not played games since NES. He has played it a few hours everyday since I got the Wii and he loves it. My mom on the otherhand watches us play but seems intimidated to try it herself.

Slyght @ Nov 23rd 2006 12:47PM

My dad is a gamer, namely likes JRPG's, but also is a Zelda addict. He had to have a Wii on day one. But guess what? He doesn't like the Wii controls! He doesn't want to swing his arms around. He hasn't started TP yet, but I explained to him the game only needs wrist movements, and the same can be said about any Wii game really (it's just more fun to emulate the motions in Wii Sports than sit there flicking your wrist). He thinks Wii games should have the option to use the Gamecube or Classic controller.

I've tried explaining to him he has to be open to new things. We'll see how he feels after trying out Zelda.

Guess_Who @ Nov 23rd 2006 12:48PM

My family thinks its pretty cool. My dad enjoys Wii Sports, Zelda, and Red Steel; my mother loves Wii Bowling (even if she smashed the Wiimote against the ground the first time she tried); and my sister loves Wii Boxing.

My brother is an OMG GRAND THEFT AUTO W*EHFWEPIFJRF kind of gamer, so there's nothing out to please him yet. He's a wigger, though, so he doesn't count as a person.

Hana @ Nov 23rd 2006 12:49PM

My mom loves Wii Sports. She's a huge fan of boxing and tennis. And when we were making our Miis...that was pretty amusing, setting star eyes, unibrows and mustached women...haha...good times! Nintendo just may save the American family structure. JK... =oP

Eric Von Shpeel @ Nov 23rd 2006 12:53PM

my mother used to play the Atari when she was a teen and the only game shes ever gotten into since was Gauntlet 2 on the amiga. I showed her the Wii and asked if she would be interested, and asked why she doesnt play games and she said controls are not the issue, the issue is free time. She said it didnt matter if it was a 50 button control pad or motion sensing, she didnt have the time to play games and thats something Nintendo cant just add on to their console.

vidGuy @ Nov 23rd 2006 12:54PM

My mom, who hasn't played a video game since the original Mario Bros, and then only because I was little and begged her to play, is ASKING to play Wii Sports again. The first time I explained tennis, she was like, "which button do I press?" When I said none she was amazed. Then she got into it. Two games of tennis and 5 frames of bowling and she had it down. She beat my 16 year old brother at both games and was jumping up and down laughing like a teenage girl.

My dad, who bought a 360 for himself, laughs and watches, but doesn't show any interest in playing. He thinks it's "gimmicky". Sounds familiar.

moominsean @ Nov 23rd 2006 1:00PM

i guess it would depend on the age of the parent. I don't have kids, but i'm old enough to have an 18 year old, and i've been playing games since my atari 2600. having kids wouldn't turn off my gaming instinct. but MY parent are in their 50s and 60s...zero interest in gaming. my mom played nintendogs for 5 minutes, thought it was cute, but that was enough. step dad plays windows games like solitaire and flight sim, but thinks "games" (everything he doesn't play) are a complete waste of time.

Thrawn @ Nov 23rd 2006 1:00PM

I'm going to a friend's place for Thanksgiving. He and I both got a Wii on Sunday and we ended up spending the day with his whole family playing it.

I'm bringing my controller over for Thanksgiving, because they want to have a tournament on WiiSports and Monkeyball.

For the most part they are really not into videogames at all. So yes, Nintendo is onto something here.

earl g @ Nov 23rd 2006 1:00PM

Do we get more stories like Vlad's where he lies about not "predisposing" anything about the Wii to his roommate, whom subsequently bashes it with all the stereotypical anti-Wii rants?

We don't need anymore obviously scripted "wii sessions" a la Mr. Troll: Vlad.

M3d1akiD @ Nov 23rd 2006 1:03PM

I had my mom play Wii Bowling after making a Mii of her, which seemed like another good reason to play. Wii(e) played through two games of bowling, and my mom nearly won the game from the last few frames, where she got three strikes in a row. I also brought my Wii to my friends house and played Wii Bowling with his mom, sister, my friend, and I. I game in third behind my friend and his mom. Bowling seems to be the most realistic, simplistic, and all around fun. I absolutely love Wii sports!!!!! (waiting in line at Best Buy for 12 hours was totally worth it!!!!)

Rich @ Nov 23rd 2006 1:06PM

My mom was a little shy at first, but when I showed her the Mii of her, she willingly tried Wii Bowling. After one frame, I could not wrestle the controller back from her. She got so into the game doing weird dances that I'd never seen before after she'd bowl a strike or spare. She also likes watching me play Zelda.

Shagi @ Nov 23rd 2006 1:14PM

My experience with the Wii so far:

A little disapointed in how deliberate you need to be with the wii remote to get it to function properly. Its definately not as imersive as nintendo would have you believe, it still feels like your trying to do something rather than just doing it.

I picked up Zelda (Really boring so far, but I havent gotten very far into it), and Rayman. I gotta say Rayman does nothing to defeat the idea that the controller is a gimik, the mini games are all simple and childish and mostly bank on the 'How long can you do this before your arms get tired' minigame factor.

I think Nintendo needs to be real careful with future software releases or I could quickly get tired of the Wii.

On the other hand my girlfriend loves making Miis but she loves making characters in any character generator so thats not saying much. I'm taking it over for thanksgiving to her parents house so I'll see how a whole family of non gamers takes to it.

I would NOT wan't the Wii to ever be my ONLY console. No way!

Capt. Castellanos @ Nov 23rd 2006 1:14PM

me and my older brother still can't beat my dad at bowling...

he likes the wii somewhat.

he likes watching me play red steel too.

i'm not even sure if my mom
has even seen my and my brother play it yet..

jayman16 @ Nov 23rd 2006 1:18PM

My family loved... I've already posted this but for those that didn't see me flailing around like a jackass here ya go.

http://adidat.blogspot.com/2006/11/playing-with-my-wii.html

fester @ Nov 23rd 2006 1:22PM

As i've said before non-gamers can NOT be completely transformed into hardcore gamers by stand alone consoles. They usually have lots of other things going on in their lives.

Portable consoles? Definitely. A DS can be enjoyed in the kitchen, at work, on a train.. basically it can fit into their busy "non game addicited" lives.

My GF is mad on the DS but she rarely likes to sit "tethered" to a TV playing overblown games that don't interest her.

The only other viable form of gaming for the portable/casual crowd is on a PC where they can send emails, do some "work", browse the net and play some small but decent puzzle or thinking game to relax. That is why I am starting to think the Wii is flawed in it's stance on games for all. The fact is it is STILl the core gamers (who bought PS, N63, Snes, Megadrives/Genisis etc) who are interested in the Wii for the great first party ninendo titles. I can't see a complete non -gamer suddenly saying "I have to buy a Wii to play metroid or zelda". DS did as well as it did due mostly to Nintendogs imo, getting more girls and more casual users into it and then hitting then with other decent games. Wii is a bit off target with it's marketing I believe and it could end up getting into hot water if it panders to two crowds but pleases none.

I am still gonna pick one up next year but right now my PC, 360 and DS give me all I need. And I can't help thinking that in fact the new Wii control system DID need better gfx to back it up if going for the whole one-step-closer to virtual reality thing.

The next ninty console should be super powerful. One day we may see a large white supercomputer in a factory somewhere, surrounded by guards with the name "NINTENDO" emblazoned on it in red writing. This mainframe/server will be the 4th most powerful on the planet and be serving a billion gamers experiences straight to their retinal implant displays.

oh yes ;)

RUSKULL @ Nov 23rd 2006 1:23PM

Don't forget about the parental controls, and how the Wii can monitor your play time ;)

-Russ

Huzzah!! @ Nov 23rd 2006 1:25PM

I showed my dad bowling and golf, he seemed really interested and got really into it, telling me what to do and stuff. But he hasn't played it yet. Maybe today?

Back_Lit @ Nov 23rd 2006 1:39PM

While I haven't been able to get a hold of a Wii yet I did manage to get my mother to watch some Wii videos, the ones where people are playing for the first time. Her response was very good saying that, "I can actually see myself and your father playing that." and "Well, I think I know what the family is getting for Christmas." Yes, the family...not me. But hey, if I can get my parents to at least be casual gamers all the better for me.

mike @ Nov 23rd 2006 1:48PM

my dad loves the golf and wants to play with me all the time, i may try and have my grandma play bowling tonight...

Stagger @ Nov 23rd 2006 1:54PM

I didn't even tell my parents about it just set it up for my little brother to play and while I was sleeping they all are hooked on it now and are mad at me for not buying one for them on launch day =P

Eggman @ Nov 23rd 2006 2:09PM

My mom is in LOVE with wii tennis... she even asked if we wanted to play yesterday. I almost died of a heart attack. My mom HATES video games. She's also better at it than my bro (whose been a gamer for the better part of his life)... and she beat us at wii bowling too. yea...

samfish @ Nov 23rd 2006 2:11PM

My mom has only seen the commercials for the Wii so far (and I still don't have one :( ), but on Monday, she told me and my brother that she wants a Wii for Christmas.
After about 5 minutes of asking, "are you serious??" and continually recieving the same answer of "yes", I figured to myself that my mom would probably be getting a Wii before I would this Xmas if that's the case.
It's possibly worth noting that my mom is in her mid-50's and I'm 24 years old and outside of humoring me and my brother when we were kids, has never EVER played videogames...and I remember playing Atari when I was 3-5 years old, too.
So in my personal experience, Nintendo is definitely doing something right!

Thankfully, she said that if I can't find one (after I explained to her how damn difficult it is to find them still) that a photoprinter or an XM Radio subscription renewal would be nice to.

...I'm just glad I don't have to get her more candles and junk this year!

socrates @ Nov 23rd 2006 2:21PM

Trying to introduce parents to video games who don't honestly like to play them is kind of dorky.

On the other hand, my grandparents were into video games before I was...they sent me Dragon Warrior after they finished it, and thus jumpstarted my lifelong love of RPGs.

Homealone @ Nov 23rd 2006 2:23PM

my mother and father went out 10 years a go,
they told me to stay home and be good and play video games well they are out.
Well it has been a great 10 years :)

Max @ Nov 23rd 2006 2:25PM

my dad (49)loved Wiisports Baseball, and my mom(46) can beat me(18) in Wiisports Bowling.

Bryan @ Nov 23rd 2006 2:37PM

My Dad enjoyed the Monkeyball Minigames, My sister, who was never a big videogamer, is becoming an addict, and my 80 year old Grandma dominated at bowling (Although I had to help her learn when to release the B button).

Skatastrophe @ Nov 23rd 2006 2:47PM

Ha, i can never play zelda, every time my dad sees me turn on my Wii he's like "oooh how bout some bowling" i love it, it's really fun to watch my parents play bowling or golf.

Waited 2 years for this system, watching my mom almost fall into the TV while playing bowling. TOTALLY made it worth it.

vidGuy @ Nov 23rd 2006 2:53PM

@shagi,
"A little disapointed in how deliberate you need to be with the wii remote to get it to function properly. Its definately not as imersive as nintendo would have you believe, it still feels like your trying to do something rather than just doing it."

Make sure you have the sensor bar level with the remote in your standard playing position. Use the sensitivity setttings on the console screen and adjust in-game if you can (Zelda has a great settings adjustment). I've got everything perfect and the remote works almost on its own :) No one in my family has had trouble using it, and that includes my mother who hasn't played a video game in 20 years.

Carmel @ Nov 23rd 2006 3:09PM

It's thanksgiving day and my hubby and I are at his parents house. We got his parents and an aunt and uncle to try it out. They thought it was so fun! Absolutely had a blast. And they picked up how to use the controls pretty quick. These are people who only play games every once in a while. I can't wait to show this to my own parents when I see them in a couple weeks! I just know my dad is going to love it. On top of that, my hubby and I are gamers and we're loving it too. So gamers are loving it, non-gamers are loving it. Nintendo, congrats, this is just what you wanted.

pdubya @ Nov 23rd 2006 3:15PM

"they sent me Dragon Warrior after they finished it, and thus jumpstarted my lifelong love of RPGs."

Yeah Dragon Warrior was my first love too.

Alisha Karabinus @ Nov 23rd 2006 4:00PM

Packing up the system and heading over for family time myself... can't wait to watch my mother (who already loves the Wii) convince my 70 year old grandmother to try it.

Seraya @ Nov 23rd 2006 4:04PM

My mother's already said she wants to try Wii Bowling's power training mode (where more and more rows of pins are added to the rack).

Tomorrow will be fun, when we have Thanksgiving 2 in the house where the Wii is actually hooked up.

Zoob @ Nov 23rd 2006 4:28PM

My dad has always been into video games, even though he really only likes sports games and racing games. I could always count on him to play the track and field game on the N64 with me when I was bored.

So, naturally, my dad is a big fan of Wii sports. He really likes tennis, but I think bowling is his favorite.

He also watched me play a little bit of Zelda today, but he said it's too overwhelming and doesn't feel like attempting it.

gentlyporking @ Nov 23rd 2006 4:31PM

my mom and her boyfriend have taken my system ransom due to the bowling. can't get a hand in to snatch it back

Rory @ Nov 23rd 2006 5:35PM

My dad loves Wii golf! He even started playing it when i left the room to do something else. Haven't gotten anyone else to try it yet...

Sonic @ Nov 23rd 2006 6:04PM

My parents love it. They play it even when I'm not at home. They started doing the Fitness part of Wii Sports daily. My dad even wants to try my Gamecube games after playing Wii.

So far so good.

Scoobydiesel @ Nov 23rd 2006 6:38PM

My mom and some closer friends that dont play games much(mom doesnt ever) loves the Wii and all they have played is Wii Sports, i think nintendo has a family winner

Alice @ Nov 23rd 2006 7:25PM

"This is the best thing since Pong!" proclaims my father. My mom is sort of interested but I haven't had a chance to show it to her. I'm pretty sure she's going to say "This is the best thing since Tetris!" which is the only game she ever liked.

john @ Nov 23rd 2006 7:27PM

Took mine over to my aunts house for thanksgiving and it was a big hit. Everyone played bowling for an hour or so. I did some boxing with my 14 y/o cousin then he went a few rounds with his sister (she beat him). I played a couple games of tennis with my aunt and then everyone went back to bowling. Everyone really got into it, and after the initial 10 minutes of getting used to the controls, the playing field was pretty much level. Everyone who played it wants one. If 1/2 the people who got one played it with their family over thanksgiving and had a similar experience, I'd say Nintendo is going to have a huge hit.

GuitarBurst05 @ Nov 23rd 2006 8:21PM

Hunting is big where I live, and over break all the hunters come here because we have a lot of farmland.

They were over last night having a few beers and talking to me and my mom and I brought em in to see bowling on the Wii. I had em try, and they were enjoying it well enough, but I had to go take a call. Much to my surprise, they wouldn't stop. They played every single game on Wii Sports, especially favoring the baseball game. I have a few pics and even a video of two of them boxing.

We also discussed other games for the console and how they really wanted to try Excite Truck, so I may be going to pick it up.

If I can get hunters to set down their guns in order to pick up a wiimote, this console must be doing something right.

GreasyGuide @ Nov 23rd 2006 9:06PM

Our 9 year old bowled a 178 and currently has the high bowling score in the house. She was able to learn how to play in less then 5 mintes and now is a strike master bowling Turkeys and what not. Plus she loves Mario Kart on the DS.

Our aunt is in her 50's and she was able to play tennis and bowling in less then ive minutes. So it is true it is a system that anyone can pick up and play.

Ethan @ Nov 23rd 2006 9:21PM

After hearing about how you play it, my aunt immediately wanted to buy one. My other aunt is considering buying it for her little ones, and my parents are addicted to Wii Sports.

jr @ Nov 23rd 2006 9:38PM

Family was having an absolute BLAST at Thanksgiving dinner until the "unable to read disc" error popped up. BOOOO!

jman @ Nov 23rd 2006 9:49PM

so far every night since i got the wii we have been having nightly bowling tourney's iv'e only one once....

Revo @ Nov 23rd 2006 9:56PM

"11. The first time I explained tennis, she was like, "which button do I press?" When I said none she was amazed. Then she got into it."

Quoted to emphasize for all the skeptics who think the motion controls aren't making games any more approachable to casual gamers.

I thought it would catch on reasonably well with older folk, but I was never expecting this level of parental involvement. If Nintendo can successfully market the Wii to this crowd while still attracting more serious gamers, they'll pretty much have a guaranteed hit on their hands.

My dad hasn't played yet, but he has expressed quite a bit of interest in Wii Tennis.

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