Nintendo Wii Fanboy

Ever since the Wii was released -- and even before -- we've heard a lot of talk about Wii parties. Seems like everyone is whipping it out at social gatherings these days. Our question, however, is ... are you? Do you suggest a little Wii Sports or Wario Ware when you have friends over? Or do your friends suggest it for you? If so, did that happen more after you first got your system, or does it still happen with some regularity? What are some of the most popular party games?

Apparently, pretty girly. 'Cause, you know, women only care about cute packaging and accessories. Tee hee!

It's hard to understand why someone would write a piece like this on GameWorld Network. Who's likely to read it -- a gamer who happens to be female, or one of the super girly-girl types whose only encounter with Nintendo occurred during third grade? The article seems to be written toward and about the latter, but the former is more likely to read it, considering the site ... and it seems a little, what's the word here -- oh yes. Insulting.

Sure, the Wii is "girly." It's girl-friendly. Why? Because it's fun. Because of the intuitive nature of the controls. Because even the games that involve what are considered male things -- like shooting, though there are many women who will burn your ass in any FPS -- make sense, with logical control schemes and interesting actions. That's what makes a game appeal to girls. Fun. If you want to pull in more non-gaming women? Great, hand them a Wiimote. If the game takes advantage of the new-gen controls, it probably won't matter what you have inside, whether it's Trauma Center or Madden. In fact, it's likely that non-gamers are going to be more taken in by the unusual controls, because while some of us gamers view the whole process with a raised eyebrow (we have to ... move?), the Wiimote is less daunting than a traditional controller.

The Wii is likely to be something that will, in fact, interest your non-gamer friends -- yes, even the girls. But don't limit them to "girly" games. You never know what will interest someone, or what they'll be good at, and it seems somewhat limiting to assume only certain Wii games will appeal to non-gamers, regardless of gender. Maybe all grandma needed was something to aim with, or she'd have been beating you down all these years.