Sprenzy Shopping Blog

Several weeks ago at a friend’s birthday party, I was knocked out several times by my girlfriend. It was a woodshed beating and there was nothing I could do to stop her fists of fury! My friends, who witnessed the pummeling, laughed and cheered on as I received my beat down.

Mercifully, it was only a virtual beating via the Nintendo Wii, as we were only video boxing. But being the ultra competitive person that I am, I couldn’t bear it and kept asking for a re-match. I lost each boxing match to my girlfriend… ugh!!! I was swinging the controllers as hard and fast as I could, uppercuts, roundhouses, body blows, but nothing worked. After several matches, I was drenched in sweat and completely dejected about losing to her… again! 

On the other hand, my girlfriend enjoyed the limelight and beat all the guys who dared challenge her in boxing. I eventually cut my losses and switched to playing tennis, where I won every match except one to the Wii’s owner.

Despite my embarrassing boxing defeats, playing Wii Sports is actually very fun. The Wii is also a great party game in place of the traditional card, board or drinking games. Well, I’m sure some folks have invented a drinking game with the Wii. At our party, we pitted the couples against each other in boxing. We first created avatars, which are called Miis, for each participant. It’s more fun punching a Mii in your friend’s likeness versus a generic character. Surprisingly, most of the ladies beat their men in the head to head bouts.

I’m not a gamer, although I do own an Xbox. I bought it when it first came out and got addicted to Halo for a several months, but haven’t turned on the Xbox in several years. After playing Wii Sports, I’m pretty impressed and entertained by the Wii. The graphics and sound don’t compare to the Xbox 360 or the PS3, but in my opinion it’s a lot more fun using the motion sensing controllers than just hitting buttons on the traditional game controller.

Another reason why I like the Wii is the ability to get a workout while playing. It’s not a real workout like running or cycling, but it’s better than nothing. You can definitely improve your reaction skills and maybe even your hand eye coordination by playing Wii games. After playing Wii tennis and boxing, my arms and right shoulder were surprisingly sore the next day.

As a non-gamer, I would definitely buy a Wii when it becomes widely available and the price drops. The next generation Wii needs to add foot/ankle motion sensors. Just imagine how much fun it would be playing a video kickboxing, snowboarding or dancing game, if you could kick, run or jump around.

I’ll end with a warning to all the guys. If you are a first time Wii player, be prepared to get pummeled by your significant other in boxing. You may go home physically unscathed but your ego won’t.

Post-Pummeling Note: During a Lunar New Year party this past weekend, my friends and I played Wii Sports again. I lost to my girlfriend the first time we boxed, but afterwards I was able to figure out Wii boxing. It’s all about timing and short, quick motions versus real punching motions. Thank god I figured it out because I couldn’t stand losing to her!

For some Mii amusement, check out the Kottke.org’s Celebrity Mii Contest results.