By: Thai Truong

Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Select, Start. Man, those were the days. Life was simple. Button mashing blocky graphics with your closest childhood friends, it didn’t get any better. The original Nintendo Entertainment System (“NES”) had the magic Kool-Aid everyone was drinking, despite the other technically superior systems out at the time.

Game systems have killed the modern arcade. Remember the magical place you went to as a child to unload all of your quarters? The place your parents would drop you off while they went shopping in the mall, because they knew you’d never willingly leave. Sure you could find similar experiences today at places like Dave & Buster’s, but it’s just not the same.

I’m tired of having to buy a Power Card every time I forget to bring one of the many I’ve accumulated, and what irks me more is that I have no idea how much each game costs. I just swipe and play irresponsibly. The thrill of the destination has also been removed, as current game systems can easily match or beat the graphics of any fancy rig at Dave & Busters.

All they leave you with is sitting in a ridiculous contraption to play a game that can otherwise be easily rendered on a home console system.

The new crop of home consoles such as the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 have ridiculous specifications that provide ever realistic experiences, but after a while it can get old. Like going to a movie with crazy special effects only to find out the story sucked and Jar Jar Binks is really, really annoying. We have become so accustomed to high quality graphics in everyday media that the novelty has worn off and we now appreciate and demand better content. Drum roll … In comes the Wii. The Wii is Hot. It’s flying off store shelves before they’re even stocked while PlayStation 3’s and Xbox 360’s are still relatively easy to obtain. The latest stats out of market watcher NPD in February have about 335,000 Wii’s sold in the U.S. This is almost as much as Xbox’s 228,000 and Sony’s 127,000 put together. Why?

First, is the obvious price difference. You could buy 2 or 3 Wii’s for the price of one Xbox 360 or PS3. In a complex economy where housing costs, gas prices, and college tuition far exceed average wage increases, money really matters! In fact, real wages can barely keep up with inflation. Therefore, buying power is way down for everyday costs that seem to be increasing in every other direction. For the majority of Americans, this hurts and families have to budget accordingly. What usually get’s trimmed first? Entertainment. So how could popular game systems that rarely topped $200 in the past go for $400 to $600? All of the sudden a $250 Wii seems very reasonable. How could costs get so high for the Xbox and PS3? The quick answer is the pissing contest between Microsoft and Sony to see who could build the most powerful game console while they leave the paying consumer behind. Nintendo, in a stroke of accidental genius avoided that and did what they did best. They released out a simple game system with simple fun games.

Wii games are uncomplicated, easy to play and addictive. It can actually be fun to watch someone play a video game again. I think most people are tired of watching immersive first person shooters designed for mainly one individual. Also, the Wii has this nifty controller that allows a new level of interaction. It’s more natural than trying to learn 12 button combo kill moves while trying to hold on to a vibrating controller and talking smack to your Xbox live buddies. Wii games bring me back to friendly competitive days where my buddies and I would have impromptu Mario Kart competitions. However, do not mistake this controller for revolutionary. Remember the terrible $100 Power Glove? Not even Fred Savage from the Wonder Years could make this buyable when he displayed it as a magical plot turning device in The Wizard. It’s amazing what 20 years can do in technology improvements. The Wii controller is completely wireless while the glove was still attached to the NES; and the Wii sensor bar is much more sensitive than the Power Glove sensor. Just the accuracy of the accelerometers in the controller alone are amazing with precision once found only in military applications. Technology aside, the games are most important to the success of a system. The Wii has many games designed for use with the Wii-mote and I’m glad they were smart enough to include the controller and a compatible game in the box.

I must say I’m not surprised that the Wii is a success. After being displaced from their gaming dominance following the decline of the popular SNES, Nintendo has embraced playing second fiddle to the graphics power of the competition and has been able to carve a good niche. On the other hand, I am amazed at how well it is handily beating the incumbent competitors in the current round. I am also willing to put myself on the line and say it was more fortuitous circumstance than business acumen that made the Wii a winner. After all, Nintendo didn’t really change their model. They introduced a competent, well priced, but not ground breaking console and wrote games for their target younger audience while trying to introduce a new controller. This is the only formula Nintendo knows. Remember the stupid R.O.B. (Robotic Operating Buddy) that was a miserable failure? What about the Light Gun that can only be remembered for shooting Ducks, or the Power Pad that made gaming seem too much like exercise that it too failed? It’s funny that games like “Dance Dance Revolution” have brought back the pad and physical interaction into general popularity. Nintendo, albeit stubbornly, stuck to their figurative “light guns” and the stars have lined up for them. Well played, Nintendo.

Thai’s Current Top Book Marks
Some will change some will stay, these are the bookmarks currently on my radar.
Great News Aggregator that looks like a dedicated News Site: http://www.newsvine.com/
PopCulture Aggregator: http://popurls.com/

Deals. Good deals on general stuff: http://www.bargainist.com/
Good Deals on Gadgets: http://www.gottadeal.com/
Gotta Love Free Stuff: http://www.absurdlycool.com/

General Reference. Still love WikiPedia: http://www.wikipedia.org

Gadgets. All About Cell Phones: http://www.phonescoop.com
Coolest Gadget Right Now:http://www.usbcell.com/

Music. Learn about your tastes in Music (Damn Impressive, Free with limited use, pay for premium access):http://www.pandora.com/

Housing. Awesome Mash-up Site that overlays Craig’s list listings on google maps: http://www.housingmaps.com/