Wii zardry or Why Nintendo Rocks
Prior to reading any more, go here, and click on the Fresh Experiences link and watch the entire video.
If Nintendo doesn’t find massive success with the Wii console then we are a sad lot. Revolutionizing the console through the interface–it’s brilliant–and it’s both behind and ahead of its time.
I remember when the first VR games came out–big stand up machines in big city arcades and theme parks… I thought that was going to be the future… but they were too clunky, too expensive, and all together didn’t have very compelling applications. Now there is the Wii and a new form of virtual reality has arrived–and it isn’t virtual.
Personal technology and applications are moving from the bi-polar online-offline schism–to a world of analog–a world of gradients rather solid fields… a world of dials rather than switches… an organic rather than simulated world. Technology isn’t so scary anymore… and it’s becoming more integrated into our daily lives. When I was in junior high, very few people in my age group could type faster than 15-20 wpm… I wonder what the 14 year-old average wpm is now?
The Wii is emblematic of what is happening with our culture–and it’s the healthy part of integrating technology. It’s a matter of more healthily bridging human behavior and technology. Yes–even in gaming. I think, after watching the video, if the Wii really delivers that experience, the concept of gaming will radically shift. Learning button presses and thumb jockeying won’t suffice.
I think the most interesting aspect of Wii is the possibility. Imagine the social games that can be enabled through the interface–not just combative, but cooperative. Gaming becomes a social rather than anti-social pastime.
Enter the Wii zardy. You can have your Xbox 360 and Playstation 3… I’m waiting for the true breakthrough gaming.