Nintendo 101: A Crash Course in Wii
Ninitendo Wii demonstration units at the 2007 E for All Expo at the Los Angeles Convention Center
Nintendo extended an invitation for a female writer from LAist to meet Perrin Kaplan , VP of Marketing for Nintendo at the E for All Expo. I sent my R.S.V.P. and planned to check out the latest games and technology that Nintendo has to offer.
Now I should tell you that I know next to nothing about video games. As a kid I remember having an Atari. My brother and I would debate the merits of Space Invaders, his favorite, and Circus Atari, my favorite. In the 90's I bought my husband a Sony Playstation unit and found myself to be a terrible opponent, relegated to the free throw competition on a basketball game. One time my teenage nephew tried to teach me how to play Tekken. The controller had so many buttons that I could hardly make my character move forward let alone execute all of the complicated fight moves. I spent the afternoon watching him demolish the other characters and narrating what was happening on the screen. Our young daughters play games on their computer. Lately when they come home from friend's houses they spend much of the dinner hour begging us to buy a Wii.
Friday morning my husband and I headed to the Los Angeles Convention Center. With some trepidation, I entered the reception and hoped that the Nintendo staff and guests would find my utter lack of experience with gaming charming or at least amusing.
While we ate brunch and mingled with the other guests, we discovered writers, bloggers and moms. Some had loads of gaming experience. Some were there to check out all the the music oriented games. One couple from the Bay Area run a website call Kid Confidence that helps parents navigate the gaming world. Perrin Kaplan emphasized Nintendo's desire to develop gaming systems and games that appeal to everyone. One writer challenged David Young, Nintendo's Assistant Manager of PR, to a new game called Donkey Kong Barrel Blast. It was pretty funny to watch them shaking the controllers. Everyone in the room cheered them on.
The Wii jacket was passed around the room. It's a padded sleeve to put over the controller meant to reduce injuries during games. They joked that though houses in Japan tend to be much smaller that the US, we Americans are much more likely to jump around and bump into each other during games. One woman said she bought a coffee table that is easy to move so her family can have plenty of room to play Wii in their living room.
Questions were raised about Wii Fitness, which will launch in early 2008. The new balance board will give people a chance to do yoga, ski, and do many forms of exercise on a small pad all in the comfort of their own home. Then we headed downstairs to the Expo.
We were greeted by characters from several games.
A dude from Civilization Revolution
A lovely lass from Sword of the New World
Mr. and Mrs. Pac Man
At this point everyone started playing Guitar Hero. My husband picked up a controller and shredded his way though "Sunshine of Your Love". At the end, the game told him "You Rock" Then they handed me the guitar. I scrolled though the list, chose "Paint It Black" and tried my best to keep up. Can you guess what happened? Yes, my character got booed off the stage. That's cool. I can take it. Our eight year old daughter has been begging for Guitar Hero. Please tell me that I will get good enough to at least compete with her. More likely she'll leave me in the dust and I'll have to practice in secret to catch up.
The Expo is filled with several music oriented games. Guitar Hero still reigns supreme. There were demo stations for Rock Band and a piano game too. I experienced a window into a world I didn't know. It was the most fun we've had a long time. I can see our future having friends over to play Wii, hanging out with our kids on a rainy day gathered a round the TV, and waiting for the new games to come out. I, Julie Wolfson, am a gamer. A novice one, but I am ready. I just need enough time to practice. My goal will be to get through "Anarchy in the U.K." with a " You Rock" at the end. Then maybe my eight year old will finally think that I am cool, for a least a moment.
Intel Racecar
Metal Gear Solid
Rock Band
XFX Challenge Bus
