A Wii Thanksgiving test on the family

by Alexander Sliwinski { Nov 24th 2006 at 7:55PM }

With Nintendo marketing the Wii to cross demographics outside the realm of the hardcore gamer, it seemed only fair to test out the system at a family friends house after Thanksgiving dinner. Bringing the system over and saying I wanted them to test it out, the most apprehensive person wasn't the adults, but 21 year-old Meredith McSorley saying, "I'm not good at that stuff. I can't do the button things." I informed her this would be different.

After dinner ended we proceeded to their modest television room, I handed over a controller to Meredith and asked her to figure it out from there. She got through the menu controls good and fine, took her a second to get used to the buttons until she said, "It's like a TV remote." When we started our first game of Wii Sports tennis, that's when she got excited.

"NO WAY!" She yelled excitedly while swinging her arm to serve, "Can I do a backhand?"

"Try it."

"I could really get into this," she said instantly understanding the game, her learning curve was nil. After that we tried Wii Sports bowling and Rayman, every title she instantly understood what she had to do, and playing well, with only the basic instructions given to her by the games. After an hour she started asking where she could get a Wii, how much it cost, why hadn't she heard about this?

Wii Sports Boxing has another title she really got into, KOing her first opponent and slowly picking up the subtleties of the game by the second opponent, and then asking, "Are mothers buying this for their kids to get them to be more active?"

The adults that ended up coming to the room were a little more difficult to gauge reaction. Their learning curve was pretty steep in comparison. They kept trying to hit buttons, even though we explained they didn't have to, and generally didn't put enough force into their movements for the Wii-mote to register what they were doing. Meredith wanted to get back to playing so the adults didn't have too much time to continue testing.

So, there you go, 21 year-old sporty female who isn't into video games likes the system enough to want one for herself. The adults we'll have to re-test another time, when girl-who-likes-the-system-too-much-to-put-it-down isn't around.

Tags: test, thanksgiving, Thanksgiving test, ThanksgivingTest, wii

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Kevin @ Nov 24th 2006 7:59PM

Pretty cool to see a total non-gamer pick it up so well.

Also, you misspelled "it" in "girl-who-likes-the-system-too-much-to-put-iy-down isn't around". :P

Mattson42 @ Nov 24th 2006 8:01PM

she's hawt, thanks for posting hte pictures of her playing and not any others

James @ Nov 24th 2006 8:05PM

Meredith is more than welcome to play with my wiimote whenever she wants.

cody @ Nov 24th 2006 8:05PM

I brought my system over to my brothers house. He has a ps2 but rarely plays it. He loved the Wii, he made his wife and her sister play it. My parents even got into Wii bowling. I know he said he was buying one, and probably his nephew was gonna get one to they all loved it.

AnnieTaintUrWagon @ Nov 24th 2006 8:10PM

Uh oh its like prison in here. The first female these guys have seen in about 5-6 years.

Blair @ Nov 24th 2006 8:08PM

Nice good to see people can pick it up and play. Thats what Nintendo wanted wasn't it :P?... And stop druleing over the girl, get out and get a real one...

lopez1004 @ Nov 24th 2006 8:09PM

I had the same experience with the Wii on Thanksgiving...check out my story here by clicking on my name.

Jeff Ramos @ Nov 25th 2006 1:00AM

I brought mine to my brother and his wife's apartment before we were all going to spend a night partying in New York City and needless to say, we didn't leave until 2:30am.

My brother's wife had the best reactions. "This is the most future shit ever! It's like Minority Report! Oh my god, how much does this cost? Really? I think we need one."

I don't see Gears of War or Resistance doing this to non-gamers.

Embassy @ Nov 24th 2006 8:10PM

umm..is it me or is the second picture blocking an entire paragraph of text..?

Stop Bytching @ Nov 24th 2006 8:12PM

Yea people always respond like that then we they get their own you come over two weeks later and its in the closet. But i guess if nintendo can get that 250 even if they only use for a few weeks they still get the money. Because most non gamers dont know about trade in and not everyone wants to be bothered with ebay.

Vince @ Nov 24th 2006 8:18PM

In my experience most non-gamers when confronted by the latest system, or any system for that matter, will enjoy it and have fun, but that tends to be as far as they'll go.
It's like any activity that a friend introduces you to, you give it a go and you enjoy it, but you've got your own hobbies and pastimes to fill your free time.

dia @ Nov 24th 2006 8:21PM

I took it to my grandparents house for thanksgiving and my whole family absolutely loved it. My 69 year old grandfather and my 50 year old uncle who have never played a video game in their life absolutely loved it and even commented they would like to have 1.

Howard Moon @ Nov 24th 2006 8:24PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFTjbdvjBas

Anand @ Nov 24th 2006 8:28PM

Joystiq, you guys should have the same test for the PS3 and Xbox 360 as well. Get your relatives to play these systems and see how they like it. The response will probably be similar.

pixelator @ Nov 24th 2006 8:40PM

My family went apeshit over my Wii, too (two early 20's guys, my old self and my younger nieces). There is definitely a newfangled appeal for the controllers, but as with any novelty, the question is how far that will go. The Wii will need games that use the controllers in optimal ways like Wii Sports - as well as traditional titles that aren't too adversely affected by them.

That said, the Wii definitely scores right now as the drinking-adults and family-party system of choice. I can't even imagine all the drunk hilarity possibilities.

Matt @ Nov 24th 2006 8:41PM

"21 year-old Meredith McSorley" Hot.

Matt @ Nov 24th 2006 8:45PM

Wow, now that I think about it: I'm suprised nobody's made a "I'll make her McSorley" type joke.

PRguitarman @ Nov 24th 2006 8:43PM

I had a similar situation thanksgiving night, but it was with my brother(Christian) and his girlfriend(Lucy). Lucy was nervous about playing because she didn't know what she would have to do, and even though my brother wasn't so sure about it either, he had heard that Wii Sports contained boxing and wanted to play that immediately.

In the end they both had a blast playing the five games and spent around 2-3 hours playing until the turkey kicked in and made us all tired. Very fun times

Vince @ Nov 24th 2006 8:53PM

You need to get out more Matt.

Elrando @ Nov 24th 2006 8:56PM

This is the kinda reaction Nintendo is looking for, they just need to market it differently ie "After an hour she started asking where she could get a Wii, how much it cost, why hadn't she heard about this?".

Also she's cute.

Ozyman666 @ Nov 24th 2006 8:56PM

My eight and ten year old granddaughters adapted to it easier than my hard-core gaming 12-year-old grandson.

Nathan @ Nov 24th 2006 9:04PM

@13: That has almost the same results as when you gave your family a PS2 or N64 to play with in a holiday, it just brings "It is too complicated!" quotes from senior family members and non gamers.

My Dad has an Oblivion Character like at level 2 which has been there for around forever since he created it. Gears is just "Way to complicated for him" as he say's, and so is Dead Rising, and Project Gotham Racing 3.

He also play's my DS which he absolutely loves, he can spend most of his free time playing Brain Age or Trauma Center. That is the reason why I want a Wii, since it delivers awesome and simple gameplay, and I can keep my 360 for Hardcore games.

Saying that the 360 or PS3 is family friendly is just a big lie. Keep the 360/ps3 for yourself and the Wii for your Family and Girlfriend... if you do in fact have one

bruterules @ Nov 24th 2006 9:25PM

Ok liking it and being willing to pay $250.00 is pretty far apart. If they had kept the price around $100.00 then the chances would have been much higher. When people are non gamers they will pay around $100 to get started but $250.00 is asking a lot in my opinion. That leaves you with hard core gamers that will buy the 360 or PS3. oh, and there will always be the people that own all three like i will end up.

moofree @ Nov 24th 2006 9:24PM

If only nintendo would get around to responding to my "My wii sports disk is defective" email, so I could actually play it.
24 hour response time my ass.

riCKY @ Nov 24th 2006 9:32PM

@ 7 Embassy

The picture is blocking the article for me too. WTF?

Figboy @ Nov 24th 2006 9:34PM

my fiance wants a 360. i want a PS3. she's going to buy the 360, i'm going to buy the PS3. i win either way.

she prefers the PS3, because she likes the games and the Blu Ray player, but i honestly have no idea why she wants a 360. she's never given me a reason. she just wants one. she doesn't like Halo (neither do i), and Gears of War does nothing for her (me neither, actually). she likes Rumble Roses (she thinks the chicks are hot), but hates DOA (thinks the chicks are scary unrealistic. she also loves Fable on our X Box, and Knights of the Old Republic (which is why she refuses to let me trade in the X Box). all in all, she's pretty fricking nuts, but whatever, i'll get a 360 out of it.

she's also addicted to Oblivion, which she hogs my computer for, so once it comes out on the PS3, i'll probably pick it up for her, or just let her monopolize the computer some more, as i'll probably be monopolizing the PS3 (though we enjoy playing Untold Legends and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance together).

Matt @ Nov 24th 2006 9:37PM

@ 7, 24

Me too.

@ 18

Get a sense of humor. :(

7r1ck13 @ Nov 24th 2006 9:48PM

For those with problems seeing the article.. Im having the same problem with IE 7 .. Formats fine with Firefox.. Dang MS has to fix these lil bugs with IE 7 yet..

Other than that its nice to see that ppl who arent into games are into the Wii.. This prob explains why its been harder than hell for me, gamer that I am, to get one.. Man Im wishin I pre-orderd now..

And whatz up with GameStop/EB not letting ppl do a post-pre-order if ya wanna call it that.. Dont they want my money.. I mean I offered one of the GameStops in my area full payment in advance on the Next shipment of Wii's, and I woulda got my extras then also.. But Nooooo, they wont do it.. 1/2 tempted to just order a Bundle from TRU the next time the cart buttons there..

Leper Messiah @ Apr 1st 2007 11:47AM

My relatives played my Wii a lot this thanksgiving. The mid-late 20 year old cousins loved it and have all agreed on getting one by christmas, my 60 year old aunt thought it looked fun but was too depressed to play it. And my 86 year old grandma tried bowling, but was unable to figure out how to hold down the B button before dropping the controller and yelling "I tell ya Jake, you should have stayed home and saved your money for school!" (referring to how I waited for 5 hours in line to get it).

Wii sports won most of them over. That, and the virtual console. Most memorable quote from a person's first time playing Wii was while making a mii, my Peter Griffin-worshipping cousin Mike said "You can give the guy a penis for a nose?! Thats awesome!"

Aex @ Nov 24th 2006 10:19PM

I didn't have a Wii to test out on my family, but with 20 + people in the house we had Guitar Hero II Blazing in the living for a solid 7 hours straight. Got nearly everyone to play it my aunt's, my uncles, my cousins, it was a great time.

dolemite @ Nov 25th 2006 8:17AM

For those that think the Wii is the only faminly friendly system; Take Singstar or Guitar Hero over and see what happens. Hell, take Buzz! The result will be the same as with the Wii. Now, if they had taken Zelda, would the girl have enjoyed it as much?

Andy @ Nov 25th 2006 1:00AM

13- "Joystiq, you guys should have the same test for the PS3 and Xbox 360 as well. Get your relatives to play these systems and see how they like it. The response will probably be similar."

LOL yeah right, in your dreams!!!

Wii was a huge hit @ my grandmas for thanksgiving, everyone loved the boxing and seeing my dad and grandpas boxing was priceless!

Tyler Jones @ Nov 25th 2006 1:18AM

the blocked paragraph: After dinner ended we proceeded to their modest television room, I handed over a controller to Meredith and

yay for copy/paste

Ryan @ Nov 25th 2006 7:18PM

I was interested in the same thing. My grandmother beat my wife, myself and one other person (all three of us in our mid-20's) in bowling after only playing it a few games. She could not quite get it down at first, but after a few frames and watching everyone try it out, she really seemed to pick up on it. She most certainly enjoyed it!

seandon @ Nov 25th 2006 2:31AM

Yes, but buy a PS3 and a group of like 10 people run/bike/drive/hitchhike to your house and go "ooohhhh ahhh!!! OMFG!!!" while friggin starting the thing. stinkin blue-ray!!!!

DoctorMandible @ Nov 25th 2006 8:11AM

I had my Grandma playing Wii Tennis/Golf/Bowling on Thanksgiving and she loved it. She got good enough at golf that she nearly tied me her first game. She bowled a 144 her first game. Tennis was mediocre, at best. Overall, I'd say she really enjoyed it. She won't be buying one anytime soon though, I suspect.

MJ @ Nov 25th 2006 8:54AM

Hmmm, this girl must be a genius.
Quote: "It's like a TV remote."
Yes, we know, that is why it is even called wiimote. Otherwise there are enough game on other platforms that can get casual gamers or non gamers excited enough to buy a console.

mrmgee @ Nov 25th 2006 9:31AM

The Wii experience is better for newbs than 360/PS3.

My five year old daughter gets frustrated with the 360 controller and gives up after a few seconds of trying to use it.

However, she got the concept of the Wii mote and loves to play it.

There is no contest...the Wii is easier to use than any other console system out there.

Wayne @ Nov 25th 2006 11:09AM

I took my Wii over to my brother's house for thanksgiving. We played a bit before dinner, I had my bro's girlfriend playing a game for the first time since the NES. After dinner we had 4-player bowling going on, my brother only plays SimCity and Gran Turismo was rivited by the Wii. His daughter, age 10, was in second place. My younger brother, has a bowling average of 169 in real life, can't get a score higher then 110 in the game. And last, I was bowling in the game as well.

Everyone else that was there was in watching the game and really into it. We played thru the first game and it was just the feeling that brought us into the second game. It was great, everyone was taken and the fun.

6th frame, my niece is up, she aims, she swings, hits the coffee table, the controller is out of her hands and threw my brother new 57" widescreen rear-projection tv.

We had fun but my tip to everyone is remember to use the wrist-strap so your fun will not end.

The Wii is awesome, that's what everyone said.

Pixelantes Anonymous @ Nov 25th 2006 10:50AM

Anand, I have an XBox and an XBox 360. My wife has absolutely no interest whatsoever in these systems (with the possible exception of DDR, which I don't have), but the Wii she picked up the first night and actually enjoyed it.

The "test" has already been done. Wii wins.

Pixelantes Anonymous @ Nov 25th 2006 10:50AM

[to continue the thought from the previous post]

...the only demographics PS3 wins over Wii, btw, are scalping scum, young boys, who still have the "more expensive -> better" mentality and hardcore FPS gamers.

Every other demographic group will enjoy the Wii more.

tracked @ Nov 25th 2006 12:43PM

Wow you converted one person. Good. Several more to go.

If Nintendo really wanted to get female gamers. They could have added the option to make it rumble for a while :D.

p.s. just for you matt.

I'll make her McSorley

Brian @ Nov 25th 2006 12:55PM

OMFG SHE HAS BEWBS SHE SO SEX I WANT TOUCH HER BEWBS

Ciaran @ Nov 25th 2006 5:57PM

old people are stupid. My parents call computers and games consoles 'machines'.

My mum barely knows how to use a TV remote, she does not even know how to turn on or off a computer or an Xbox 360.

Whilst my parents watch the same 10 TV channels (N.Ireland terrestial TV), I on the other hand am able to watch Freeview (Digital TV with 30+ channels), go on the Internet (equivalent to millions of TV channels), I can record, pause and rewind live TV, play games consoles etc etc. These things are in the home, they bought them but they don't know how to use them.

The bottom line is that older people are used to easy stuff like using the TV and aren't bothered to do or try anything else.

Glynnjamin @ Nov 26th 2006 2:24AM

The Wii was a big hit in the house over the holidays. We had people ranging from 6 all the way up to 83 playing it and loving it. I dont think anyone didn't like it. I know all the little kids were whining that they wanted one for xmas.

we did, however, have a flying wiimote incident. The 11-year old was getting a little too into Bowling and launched the thing. Thankfully she's short and the wiimote landed about 8 inches below the screen of the Sony plasma. Anyways, I am now a believer in the flying wiimotes...but, there was no breakage or anything like that.

Weefz @ Nov 26th 2006 11:16AM

Dude, you know that 21-year-olds are also adults, right? Even cute blonde female ones.

ackmondual @ Nov 26th 2006 10:11PM

Just copy and paste the text behind the picture into a Text file to read it. Here's what's in the background for your convenience....

""After dinner ended we proceeded to their modest television room, I handed over a controller to Meredith and asked her to figure it out from there.""

B1gC72 @ Nov 28th 2006 2:04PM

i broke out my Wii at thanksgiving and everybody absolutely loved it. old and young, they all want one now. my dad even beat me in bowling the first time he played. this man has played mabye 3 downs in Madden as his entire gaming history and has no interest in gaming but he did like the Wii. my mom, who usually scolds me for my gaming hobbie, actually praised me for buying it, especially after a game of boxing got her all worked up and made her feel like she was gettin some kind of workout. Wii will rule lol.