I make it a general policy not to write about anything that’s fairly personal or work related. The internet can be a fairly anonymous place but considering my name is plastered all over this site, I only post things I wouldn’t mind telling a complete stranger. That said, I’m going to lead off this post with a bit about the goings-on at my place of employment yesterday. Yesterday was a weird day and telling you about it adds something to the story, I think.
Yesterday, there were a good bit of layoffs initiated by my employer. For the most part, people knew they were coming and that it wasn’t going to be pretty but not everyone was privy to the details. I’ve been through my fair share of layoffs and I have to say that yesterday was different. We lost a decent amount of people yesterday, including the person who was largely responsible for my Living Healthy campaign. Yesterday was the first time I had a pang of survivor’s guilt and that was a strange feeling. The reason I bring it up is because it’s a glimpse into our mindset for the rest of the day.
Given the dealings of the day and the nice weather, a few of us decided to head out on a co-worker’s boat for the afternoon. We headed down to Occoquan and jumped on his boat with a few supplies. Before the afternoon was over we’d had some eats, drank a few beers and tried our hand at water skiing. Now I haven’t been water skiing in close to two decades and my prowess yesterday showed that. Depsite more than a half dozen attempts, I couldn’t manage to get up on two skis. The problem was much the same I had as a kid in that I couldn’t keep myself from doing the splits and eventually letting go of the rope. I used to use skis that were tied together when I was a kid and it appears I still need them. Either way, it was still a seriously good time.
After the boat we headed back to our co-worker’s house to play some Wii. It was my first venture into the world of Wii and I have to say I had fun. Although simple, the interface is very engaging and I can see how someone who wasn’t into video games that much would enjoy it. It brings video games to the masses and does it in a way that gets you up off the couch and moving around. I can honestly say that I worked up a serious sweat during my rise to Wii Sports Boxing Champion. Yeah, that’s right… I won the double-elimination tournament, including a first round knockout in the Championship match, my first time out. I’m just that good.
My experience with the product encourages me to get one but that was a one-off. Like most Nintendo products, it’s great for party gaming but I don’t know the long-term viability as a single-user system. I live in the boondocks, some would say, and my friends don’t want to come out that far unless we’re going for a ride. I think the wife would like it and we would probably play together but I feel that most of the time, I’d be playing it alone. If that’s the case, I’d much rather have an Xbox360. I’ll mull it over while I figure out just how big of a step I’m willing to take in turning the basement into a media room. I have a feeling that if/when I do finish the basement, I’ll have both a 360 and a Wii… also known as a Wii60.
Wii has 0 playability as a single-user system. Sure, there are a very small handful of games, but most people who bought it for that purpose have now bought another system as well.
You don’t consider “Metroid Prime 3” or “Zelda: Twilight Princess” playable? They’re both highly rated single-player Wii games! I admit, though, the lack of high-resolution graphics and true over-the-internet group play makes it a secondary system. Wii is the anti-Halo.
Wow, I just realized how many times I used the word yesterday. :-\
I suppose those games are playable but FWIW, I didn’t like them on NES either. I know they’re both classics but I’ve always been more into the sports and action games.
just hold out for Mariokart on the wii. 12 player online multiplayer. nuff said.
Dear Jennifer,
“Sure, there are a very small handful of games”
I suppose I didn’t qualify it correctly, but my intent was to highlight those games that are a good single-player experience. Unfortunately, those games are too few and far between to make the Wii a viable single-system for someone that won’t be holding gatherings regularly.
I thought the reference to a small handful of games was more in general and not specific to single-player. There just aren’t a lot of titles for the Wii…of any variety. In contrast, the 360 seems to have a constant stream of fresh games – if you like shelling out $60 a pop. Ouch.