kwentuhan 2008

No week has passed without someone from the industry claiming that
Nintendo’s Gamecube 2 (or 2 Gamecubes) is but a mere fad poised to make
us look stupid and beyond. And who knows, maybe — possibly — they’re
right. But why do I still want one this Christmas? Here are the 5
reasons:

1. Wii Sports = Wii sweat

Ever since I got a
job, my mom’s been badgering me about those weight loss pills I sort of
promised to buy her when I have the money. Well, I can give her that,
but the righteous part of jg says, "No, make her work for it." Which is
where the Wii comes in. Now my mom could just turn on the system, and
swing, box, and bowl her way to fitness.

2. Family Fun -> ‘Pogi‘ points for the industry

Videogames
have always been a ‘waste of time’ in my parents’ book. It took me at
least 4 freakin’ years of persuading and hinting and wishing to make
them buy a Family Computer. Another 4 years for a PSone (we actually
bought that a year after PS2 was released), and, yes, another 4 years
to buy an Xbox. Ah, the pain of wanting something they call an
‘expensive waste.’ Now, it’s time for them to appreciate the wonders of
gaming, whether they like it or not. Features like Mii, Weather
Channel, News Channel, Everybody Votes Channel, and the porn-friendly Internet Channel will hopefully
become the proverbial Trojan Horse of gaming.

3. It’s cheap. And reliable.

Nintendo,
in my opinion, manufactures the most reliable game consoles in the
planet. So unless I accidentally spilled coffee on my Wii or plugged it
in 220v instead of 110v, I’m good. Hell, even our second-hand GameBoy
Color works perfectly even when dropped almost a hundred times. And compared to the other this-gen systems, this is a bargain. In other countries, anyway.

4. It connects with my DS.

Currently,
the only Wii game that connects to the DS is Pokemon Battle Revolution
(use your Pokemon Diamond/Pearl monsters and fight against other
Wii-owning trainers). So, yeah, the potential is there. Somewhere.

5. It’s Nintendo for crying out loud

I
wouldn’t even bother buying this system if it came from a strictly
hardware-only company. And who would? Nintendo make their system for
their software, not the other way around. Stripping Nintendo’s magic
away from the system is like Apple selling iPods without iTunes — it
just wouldn’t work. No wonder some 3rd-party publishers are hesitant to
the Wii; they’re just too damn scared of the software giant behind it.

So
there, the 5 reasons why I want a Wii this Christmas. I’m no fanboy and
definitely not a PR zombie (though I could be) and probably I’ll change
my mind next year (PS3, perhaps?), but today and until my pre-ordered
system arrived in a balikbayan box, all I want for Christmas is my too-white Wii.