kottke.org posts about Wii
Senior living communities generally don’t go viral or gain media attention for positive reasons, so it’s nice to see this story about the University Village Retirement Community in Tulsa, Oklahoma and their champion Wii bowling team.
On this recent Thursday in June, their hopes are pinned on Phyllis Wimer, known as Phyllis Killer or Phyllis the GOAT for the many strikes she bowls; Charlene “the Grasshopper” Giles, whose hop gives her some extra oomph as she releases the ball; “Marvelous” Marcia Ness, who describes herself as a “tough old broad,” ready to bowl after recovering from a broken wrist and back; and “Rollin’” Ron Demaree, who grips the lower-left handlebar on his motorized wheelchair to propel himself upward and forward for more power in his roll.
Phyllis the GOAT is 95 years old and rolls 300s in practice sessions like it’s nothing. Here’s a local news segment on the team from a few months ago:
I was very into Wii Sports 20 years ago (!!!) and still occasionally play Switch Sports with the kids (golf, bowling, and tennis mostly). They’re great party/gathering games and evidently also great for staying active and sharp in your 90s.
In this clip from Koyaanisqatsi, Andy Kelly replaced Philip Glass’ score with music from the Wii Shop Channel. As he notes, the movie doesn’t seem quite as haunting now. (via @daveg)
This is possibly the most American thing I’ve ever seen:
Such ingenuity combined with such conspicuous waste. (via waxy)
New on the Wii Virtual Console: Super Mario Kart. Many consider this the finest Kart made.
Might have to dust off the Wii for this one: New Super Mario Bros. Wii.
Features include four-player collaborative play (!!) and something called “demo play”.
The game will also be the first game on the Wii to feature “demo play”, where players will be able to pause the game, let the game complete the level for them, and resume play at any time by unpausing.
In my house, this was called the “give the controller to my 11-year-old cousin and let him show you how it’s done” feature. I both hated and loved that feature. (via object of my obsession)
Punch-Out is coming to the Wii (@ Amazon)…the teaser commercial features Isiah Whitlock, Jr., who played Clay Davis on The Wire, as Little Mac’s trainer. It’s worth watching to hear Whitlock’s comparison of comebacks and yo-yos. (thx, rob)
Wiigobot is a robot built out of Legos that can bowl a perfect game in Wii Sports bowling. Just another step on the way to total human obsolescence. See if you can stay awake during a video of a robot playing a computer in bowling. (via thih)
We interrupt this vacation for an important message: there’s a new episode of The Wire where Bunk and McNulty go skiing. Here’s a screenshot.
The Wii Balance Board, the new exercise peripheral for the Nintendo Wii, was reviewed favorably by a number of people for the New York Times. A fitness professional at the Sports Center at Chelsea Piers gave it pretty high marks:
“Actually I think it’s pretty good,” she said. “You can definitely get a workout. When I started doing it, I realized all the activities were pretty much on point. There were some things I didn’t like, like the alignment in a couple of places. But over all, I thought they did a good job and this will be a good tool for people who can’t make it to the gym.”
The Wii Balance Board will be released in the US and Canada early next week.
Update: Joel Johnson has a nice round-up of exercise-themed video game accessories, from the unreleased Atari Puffer to the Wii Fit.
Ooh, there’s going to be a Dr. Mario game available for the Wii at some point, playable over the network. It’s already downloadable via WiiWare in Japan…which should not be confused with the Virtual Console downloadable games even though the difference is really confusing.
Mario Kart Wii will be out in the US on April 27!!!!!!!!!!!!! Why so many exclamation points? Feast thine eyes on this:
This game has been announced as supporting the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service. This will feature online racing and battle modes, both of which are capable of up to 12 simultaneous players. It has also been confirmed that there will be online leagues, with international and local rankings. This will take place from within an entirely separate Wii Channel. This channel will also feature the option of sending saved time-trial ghost data.
IGN has several videos for your online viewing pleasure.
Remember the Wii Tennis competition held last year at Barcade in NYC? The organizers are taking on the road with Wiinnebago this summer.
Wiimbledon’s back, and this year we’re kicking it 3,000 miles clockwise from NYC to San Francisco. The plan: Leaving the first week in June, we’ll ‘Bago it Madden-style cross-country, stopping here and there for mini-tournaments, and gas, and probably your couch. We’ll hit SF June 20th. The 2nd Annual Wiimbledon Tournament’ll be held Saturday, June 21st.
A collection of time-lapse movies of people playing Wii. One fellow plays for quite some time while holding a newborn baby.
A pair of videos showing off Wii Fit, a balance board device for the Wii. Looks pretty interesting, although if it’s marketed as exercise equipment, I fear it may not do so well. The board and a Wiimote in each hand could make for a pretty convincing skiing experience.
Update: Hmm, the Honda Fit and Wii Fit logos look pretty similar. (thx, dave)
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