Rated E for Everyone

According to a recent story published by the Associated Press, Nintendo Co. reported that "Wii video game console sales have topped 50 million since it went on sale worldwide in late 2006." As of today, the Wii can be purchased for about $200 to $300 (depending on the bundle) but some of us can probably remember for months after the console's debut where every store you checked had the all too familiar "No Wiis in stock" sign posted and the price gouging that was occurring on auctions sites like eBay. Regardless, even at a price of $200 per unit x 50 million units...dang...that's a lot of zeros.

I know it wasn't until nearly 6 months after the release before I was finally able to get my hands on one. It was for the kids of course. While it certainly isn't my primary gaming platform, it is a great little system that chugs along reliably (unlike the dreaded red ring of death plague on you know what system). The Wii offers a unique and entertaining gaming experience, no matter what game it's tackling.

Looking back, I think it's ironic how many reputable websites and magazines popular for there previews of upcoming games and consoles were skeptical and some were downright insistent that the Wii would fail; that gamers wouldn't like the new joystick; and that a Nintendo console would always be considered a little kid console. At this point, it isn't really fair to blame those websites and magazines, as their staff who published these articles were certainly entitled to express their opinions, no matter how wrong they may have been. In all fairness, there were some who embraced the concept from the beginning, knowing the success that always seems to surround Nintendo's innovation and creativity.

Well, the Wii has definitely been embraced by the planet and even taken up residence in the White House. I don't think it's just being used by little brothers playing the latest incarnation of Mario collecting stars and saving the Princess. It's amazing to read the number of adults and even senior citizens that have succumbed to the Wii's charm. People who don't consider themselves gamers and perhaps have never really played games before are getting hooked on it.

If you call yourself a gamer, then you should embrace the success of the Wii. In an age where the experts are always trying to prove that everything we do is hazardous to our health, the more people that play video games the more evidence we'll have that games don't turn us all into overweight, antisocial, introverted couch potatoes. Of course we all know that only happens to just a handful of us. The rest of us are perfectly normal, law abiding, zombie killing, citizens training for a post apocalyptic world brought on by the swarms of aliens after the invasion.

All hail Nintendo. Long live the Wii.

"They say that there is no medicine that can cure a fool...I guess that's true."