As a new parent a decade-and-a-half ago I decided that I was going to raise my children in a commercial-television-free/video-game-free household. At the time, the American Pediatric Association was suggesting that children under 2 watch no television/have no screen time at all and that children over 2 receive [no more than 1-2 hours of quality programmin](http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/family/tv_habits.html "APA guidelines on "screen time"")g/screen time per day. I was going to do the American Pediatric Association one better, however: I aimed for no commercial television for anyone in the house at all (and only very-occasional use of the VCR for my son). When the time came to discuss video games, the conversation would be simple: my children would ask and I would earnestly explain, "You may play video games when you're an adult."
We made it through 4 years (and one month-long hospital visit with kiddo #2) of parenthood before we did a complete about-face and caved on the no-television. Three years after that we were buying our first gaming console–a Playstation 2. This was followed almost immediately by a stream of Gameboys, Nintendo DSs, and iPod Touches provided by a loving, collaborative team of aunts, uncles, and Santa Clauses. In 2007 we purchased a Wii and just last month we bought an Xbox 360 to celebrate kiddo #2's accolade-laden report card. All in all, quite a fall from screen-free grace.
It has been a fall with benefits, though. Despite thousands of hours spent playing Ms. Pac-man, Galaxian, Space Invaders, et. al. as an adolescent, I am not a gifted adult gamer–and yet, if I ask, my teenaged sons and their friends will stop immediately to let me join a game, shouting encouragement and instructions as I struggle to master a controller with way too many buttons and toggles for my taste.
As it turns out, video gaming with my sons has become one of the best tools I have for keeping our channels of communication open. The fact that I am talent-less and require a good deal of coaching actually works in my favor, I think, because for once Mom is not the all-knowing boss. What's more, time-limited sessions sitting in a room of video-game-playing boys provide me with reams of insight: "who's got a crush on who," "who is having a hard time with what subject in school," and "which distant acquaintance is having a party while their parents are out of town." This winds up being almost as informative as driving the entire gaggle somewhere (some cloaking device must descend when I get behind the wheel of a car because invariably the group will converse as if I'm not actually there listening to every word).
Out of all of the games and systems we've owned, the Wii games have always been my hands-down favorites. As a brand, Nintendo games seem to be designed to be more collaborative and whimsical, more likely to evoke delight, and less-focused on killing/bludgeoning/first-person-shooting than games on competing platforms. Additionally, as a non-native, I find the Wii controllers and screen-display intuitive and manageable. I thought Kirby's Epic Yarn was completely charming and I've really enjoyed watching the extended family of cousins, aunts, and uncles when they've come together to play Mario Ware: Smooth Moves or Wii Sports. The Wii has done what I would hope any good game would do: it has provided us with many happy, shared, inter-generational memories.
Even so, as I mentioned above, my sons have gravitated away from the Wii this last year, experimenting with adventures more grisly: Skyrim, Team Fortress 2, Half Life. I think that part of the allure of these games is that my sons, now teenagers, want to be challenged emotionally: they want to feel like they can handle scary situations and survive the dystopic futures that seem to populate every book that they read these days. We do talk about these game choices as a family: misogyny is a deal-breaker in any game but mature language and gore are allowed, with limits...
So, when we received an invitation to preview the new Wii U last weekend, I wondered what my sons' reactions to the system would be. Fair or not, I equate the Wii and its' games with an innocence they seem rather happy to leave in their wake.
As expected, they loved the experience of attending a pre-release game-system viewing–but what did they think of the actual games? And what did they think of the new Wii U game pad (which seems to be a hand-held game system in and of itself, and is sure to add a great deal to the price of the new system)? Did it add to the game experience? Sure these are my children answering the following questions but the stated opinions are entirely their own...
A Brief Q&A with Kiddo #1
Q. All right, this is for posterity: what were your favorite games at the Nintendo Wii U Experience?
A. Batman: Arkham City, Rayman Legends, and Nintendo Land.
Q. What specifically did you like about these games?
A. Well, in the Batman game there is a detective mode reminiscent of x-ray vision that you can use to inspect your environment. I liked how I was able to incorporate the game pad into the game exploration.
Q. Are you saying that you could see different things with the pad than you could on the television screen?
A. Yes! You can access your menu and utilities from the game pad in your hands. This means that you can go through the entire game without pausing–everything you need tool-wise is on the game pad. That makes the game play feel much more immersive.
Q. So you felt that the game pad definitely added to the game experience in an important way?
A. I found the controls a little awkward at first, but yes, absolutely!
Q. All right, you also said you liked the Rayman Legends game. Why was that?
A. I liked how fast-paced the game was. I felt it was intense: you had to run away from the scenery falling behind you and navigate treacherous obstacles...it was like Sonic the Hedgehog on steroids! Also, I liked how stylized the visuals were–it was just a fun, colorful game!
Q. Let's pretend for a moment: If you could get any game console that you wanted, and you had to choose between a PlayStation, an Xbox or a Wii U, which would you choose?
A. Are we including a Playstation 4 or an Xbox 720 in these choices?
Q. For the purposes of this argument, let's limit ourselves only to game systems currently in existence.
A. Well, I think different systems appeal to different kinds of gamers. Xbox appeals to a hard-core gamer crowd while the Wii U is going to appeal to a more casual gamer. I think that the library you see on Xbox is going to appeal to older kids, kids beyond the E-10 rating, the ones who spend more time gaming...although I did hear that Wii U is going to offer mature-rated titles like Assassin's Creed, BioShock Infinite>, and Mass Effect 3. Still, I think that Wii U's library will be more focused on a different, more-casual gamer crowd.
A Brief Q&A with Kiddo #2
Q. What were your favorite games from the Wii U Experience?
A: Nintendo Land, Super Mario Bros Wii U, and Rayman Legends.
Q. The mini-games in Nintendo Land were my favorite, too. What specifically did you like about that game?
A. I thought that the mini-games were all fun–my favorite was "The Legend of Zelda: Battle Quest," which was reminiscent of the sword fighting in Wii Sports Resort, only better because you had to play it with other friends. It required team work with two people being swordsmen and one person (the one on the game pad) being an archer. The game pad mechanics were really cool: when you tilted the game pad upwards your arrows would reload and when you tilted it to the sides your character on screen would turn to his sides to see if any enemies were coming. You used your right trigger to charge up your arrows, and the longer you held that, the more powerful your shot would be...
Q. So what you're saying is you really liked the mechanics of the game?
A. Yeah!
Q. Let me ask you: while I was watching you play that game–you were on the game pad–and your focus seemed to be only on the game pad. Meanwhile, your friend seemed focused only on the television screen. Did you feel like you were actually collaborating–because from my perspective it looked like you were having unrelated experiences.
A. No! We talked while we were playing! I really liked the game pad! The thing is, when you're playing a split screen co-op, it can get annoying because you don't get a lot of space. It can be hard to see what's happening to your character. So I found it nice to have my own screen!
Q. Interesting! So, tell me: what did you like specifically about the Super Mario Bros. game?
A. Well, the game wasn't really anything new–the original game was pretty similar except for the fact that there are now five possible players–though to be honest, I think that five players might be too many. It's fun and chaotic and you'll laugh but you won't get your best score. In this version, the person holding the game pad can create platforms that stay around for a limited amount of time so that you can either help the other players or you can be a troll. If someone is making a precarious jump you can place a platform above them to block them, for instance...
Q. I asked your brother this question, too: If you had the choice between an XBox 360, Wii U, or a Playstation 3, what would you choose and why?
A. Well, we already have a Playstation 2...would the Xbox come with free Xbox Live for a year?
Q. Let's assume that there is a Wii U version of Xbox Live included in the Wii U choice...I think I read somewhere that you would have a similar option.
A. Well, I'd go with the Wii U, then. That game pad is game changing! I like Microsoft fine but Nintendo owns the rights to Metroid, Link, Mario...those are just staple franchise characters.
Q. Are those your favorite video game characters of all-time?
A. Well, I just prefer Super Mario Bros., Metroid Prime, and Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. Those characters are original. In a generation of shooters that are all just "Call of Duty rip-offs," those stories just seem more thought-out. You get a totally different experience with them. In Modern Warfare, you have players cussing, people hacking the game. The point of Mario games is...the fun. You get more of a co-op feeling playing them. There's competition but it's still fun and it's not rage-inducing, just fun.
(To sum: It was definitely a fun afternoon! PS: The amount of street-cred I now have with my kids is truly enviable. I have to thank Nintendo for extending their "Wii U Experience" invitation to me and my family!)