Hold your wee for a wii

Wed, 17 Jan 2007 21:26:03 GMT

This is not the kind of publicity that Nintendo was looking for, but I guess they have a bit of an issue on their hands. A lady in the US died of water intoxication while trying to win the Nintendo Wii (I didn't even know this was possible until I came across this article). She took part in a contest organized by her local radio station as she wanted to win a Wii console for her kids. The contest was designed to see who could consume the most amount of water without going to the washroom. Although it is an unique idea for a contest, the radio station should have done some due diligence on possible risks associated with their plan. In addition, I am appalled at the response of the radio station when they learnt about one of their listeners passing away as a result of their contest. They should have done something for her and her family, maybe even started a trust fund for her kids or in her name. I guess that is not a high priority on the station's agenda. They are probably freaked out and in conversations with their legal team to ensure that they don't get sued. I am also disappointed that Nintendo has not responded and done something for her family.

Gaming...no longer just entertainment!

Thu, 16 Nov 2006 21:35:37 GMT

Surfing around and reading the news today, I see a lot being written about the new Nintendo Wii (pronounced wee) and the new Sony Playstation 3. There seems to be a lot of hype about these new gaming systems. I was reading into the features of some of these new systems and was amazed to see the processing technology that these gaming systems possess. The new PS3 is touted to have advanced hardware (more advanced than most desktop
computers) and high definition video output. The Xbox 360 also packs a lot of power and is very feature rich. I was playing a game on the Xbox 360 over the weekend and I continue to be amazed at the graphics quality of the games on the console. After reading all of this, I couldn't help but sit back and reflect on my misguided youth, spending time playing the Atari 2600 with its 1 button joystick controller. I remember how much of an upgrade the Nintendo was and how many hours of fun I had playing Super Mario Brothers with my 4-way, 2 button controller!

One thing that I have come to realize is how gaming has evolved from those days. I'm not talking about the complexity of the hardware, graphics, controllers or any of that sort, but from the perspective of the demographics of audience that it intends to reach. Gone are the days of a simple game console attracting youth to sit in front of the TV for countless hours. Nowadays, we have online games. You have online communities where people can play against each other or collaborate with others. You have message boards, forums and blogs to discuss the game within gaming communities. I feel that gaming has become a community experience and has evolved a long ways from a simple console based entertainment system.

An example of this is the ever popular World of Warcraft game by Blizzard Entertainment. People have been known to spend 40-60 hours a week indulging in this game. users log in by playing a monthly service fee and proceed to continuously upgrade their character by performing actions in the community. World of Warcraft has over 7 million members! Another classic game is the Sims by Electronic Arts. In this online game, people create fictional characters and carry out the lives of these fictional people. You can even cheat on your electronic partner with other electronic people! The Toronto Star has an interesting article about this and how the demographics of gamers have changed.

People of all demographics are being attracted to the gaming market in some shape or form. Doing a quick Windows Live Search on gaming demographics, I found a report published by the Entertainment Software Association. I was surprised to see that the average age of a gamer is a remarkable 33 with 44% of the gaming market being between the ages of 18 and 44. Today's gaming has gone beyond the traditional games, people can now buy games like Nintendo's Cooking Mama, which teaches you to cook and awards you points for correctly cooking different dishes.

The gaming experience has come a long way from the days of my one button Atari. It's becoming an entire gaming experience where people from around the world can shed their personal lives and take up a make believe character in a global realm. Gone are the days of simple games, having been replaced with online experiences complete with forums, blogs and communities. It's remarkable to see how far the industry has evolved in just 20 years. I'm very excited to see what the future holds.

SMS: Games

Hold your wee for a wii

Gaming...no longer just entertainment!