In this month’s issue of GamePro (May 08 issue) there is a GamePro Poll towards the end of the magazine, asking how often gamers play the Wii. The results were 33% play it less than other systems, 25% play it more than other systems, 10% play it the same as other systems and 32% don’t own a Wii. Although the results were interesting, what I found to be even more interesting was what the poll was actually about – how often gamers play the Wii.
We are starting to see a shift in how video games are viewed today. Video game companies, but Nintendo especially, are starting to direct their attention more and more to games that can be played in short bursts. Rather than play a game for hours on end, companies like Nintendo would rather have you play for just a few minutes each day. Granted, there are games that companies expect gamers to sit down and play for extended periods of time (such as Zelda or Metroid), but increasingly, we are seeing “lifestyle” games, as I call them, games that are integrated into your everyday life. Take Brain Age for example. This is a game that is meant to be played for short periods of time each day, after all, the title is Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day! This is a game that has capitalized on the idea of pick up and play. I have been playing Brain Age 2 for about five minutes every day since December and must say that I enjoy the experience quite a bit. It’s nice to be able to just sit down for a few minutes and feel as though you accomplished something. With some games, it can take just as long to boot up and get back into the game world as it does to do a day’s worth of training in Brain Age.
With the Wii, Nintendo seems to be continuing this pick up and play philosophy with the imminent release of Wii Fit which, as with Brain Age, is designed to be played for a few minutes each day. Nintendo (and to a lesser extent, other video game companies) want games to become part of our daily routine. They want video games to be as part of our daily routine as eating or brushing our teeth, something we don’t even think about. Between schoolwork and other activities, I do not have as much time for gaming as I would like, so it’s nice to know that every morning I’ll at least have a few minutes to use my DS, even if it isn’t for a “traditional” video game.
Many games, especially arcade titles, are also built for quick bursts of play, however, they are not games that you would necessarily want to play every day, nor are they games that everyone can enjoy. The difference with games like Brain Age and Wii Fit is that they are targeted towards a much broader demographic and are directly related to improving your physical and mental well-being. These games were specifically designed with personal improvement in mind. More and more, whether it be the DS and Wii or Xbox 360 and PS3, gamers seem to be turning on their systems more than before. Whether it be new daily content delivered over the Internet, or games like Brain Age and Wii Fit, gamers of all ages are finding more reasons to game every day than ever before. Every morning, after I eat breakfast, I use Brain Age; I don’t even think about it anymore, it’s just part of what I do on a daily basis.
Other games, such as My Word Coach, have followed Brain Age’s lead and offer similar experiences (although I have found that My Word Coach can eat up significantly more time than Brain Age if you want to advance to the next “level”. There will be more about this in my forthcoming review of the game). Nevertheless, all of these new types of games are helping to bring video games to more people and allowing games to be enjoyed on a daily basis without requiring a significant dedication of time.
Nintendo’s goal of integrating video games into people’s daily lives certainly seems to be working. Brain Age has sold incredibly well, as has Wii Fit in Japan. With so many innovative concepts coming to the market in recent years, it’s now easier than ever before to add gaming to your daily routine. From managing our weight, to increasing our vocabulary, to improving our Brain Age, video games have infiltrated our daily lives. Although video games have been an important part of many people’s lives (myself included) for many years, now more people (even traditional gamers) than ever before can experience video games on a daily basis in an easy and beneficial way.
Filed under: Nintendo, Nintendo DS, PS3, Technology, Video Games, Wii, Xbox 360 Tagged: | Brain Age, Brain Age 2, GamePro, Metroid, My Word Coach, Nintendo, Nintendo DS, PS3, Wii, Wii Fit, Xbox 360, Zelda
i agree!