Thursday, March 15, 2012

Reflecting Back on the Nintendo Wii




It was Christmas 2006 when I unwrapped my Nintendo Wii. The tag on the paper informed me that "Santa" was the one who purchased me this gift. Although I was in my 20s, this still seemed more believable to me than my mother actually finding one during the holiday rush.

I had read all the launch reviews, I had studied all the media reactions to the console, and I knew that it was near impossible to get one by Christmas. I didn't expect to be able to get my hands on a Wii until the following spring, which only hyped the system that much more for me.

My only real experience with motion controlled gaming came from light gun based games, or arcade machines that used plastic motorcycles as a controller. Honestly, I wasn't completely sure what to expect from the Wii motion controls at first. I had seen the commercials of kids diving behind their couches to duck from enemy fire...did I have enough space in my bedroom to play the Wii?

My adventure on the Wii began with Legend of Zelda: The Twilight Princess. It was without a doubt the launch title that received the most praise, and after a few hours of playing, I completely understood why. I was in the zone when I played Twilight Princess. I was on my feet the entire time I played, slashing at enemies in an overzealous manner. I was a master of the bow and arrow, holding my arms out as if I were firing the real thing.

While I wasn't as involved in the motion controls as the gamers in television ads, I was still letting my imagination run wild. I enjoyed the Nintendo Wii experience immensely; it certainly lived up to the hype for me in every way during our initial romance.

Little did I know that somewhere along the way that romance would sour. At some point in the future the love I had for the Nintendo Wii would fade, and my love for other game consoles would resurface.