Has anyone heard of the Nintendo Wii game system?

[jess_g]

I just heard about this from a friend of mine and it sounds like something my son would just love. You get to somehow be in the game by doing body movements. I don't know much about it or how new/old it is but it looks like something very different from ordinary arcade style games. Anyone know anything about it? Anyone seen any reviews of it? And what ages is it best for? I am thinking of my 7 year old. He has a lot of motor planning issues so it might help get him to copy the movements on the screen.

http://wii.nintendo.com/software_index_en.jsp

Thanks,

Jessica.

[clc053103]

My just turned 8 year old nephew has this and loves it. And while it's a video game, at least they are moving and active. it won't replace a game of kickball but it's better than being a couch potato with a remote!

[lhk777]

Yes. We have it and love it - DH and I that is.

This came out around the time the PS3 came out and it has been in high demand but out of stock in most places.

We play this just about every other day - it is interactive.
It comes with a Sports Game - tennis, golf, bowling, etc.

For tennis, you actually have to swing the controller like a tennis racket. It's a riot when you have 4 people playing tennis at the same time. It can be dangerous though - my 3.5 DD got smacked in the head once - thankfully not too hard.

I would say this would be good for 5-6 yo and up since you need to be coordinated and have to act like you're really playing tennis, bowling etc.

We have been using this as our form of exercise. We figure it's better than nothing.

HTH.

-Linda

[jgriffin]

Yep, it's a great system! My best friend has 2 boys (8 and 10) and they both love it. They do have a "no boxing" rule, though...we've all seen too many pictures of controllers stuck in walls, windows, and tvs, and broken lamps, etc. (See http://www.wiihaveaproblem.com/ for some interesting pics.) While it's not a workout per se, it does require that you move around, so it's better than a traditional console system.

You will probably have a difficult time finding one right now, since it just came out and was very successful over the holidays. We've only got a couple of games for it, plus the included Wii Sports title, and it really is a lot of fun.