I'm going to date myself now, but I was an Atari addict years ago. After playing Pong on a friend's Atari, we bought a unit and hooked it up to the TV in the bedroom.
Bad move.
I became an addict. I'd come home and put the game on to play a few rounds of Pong or Space Invaders before dinner. Then, after watching the 11 O'Clock News, I'd fire up the Atari for some Space Invaders and, before I knew it, it was 1:30 or 2 a.m. or sometimes later. (Oh, that game did wonders for our sex life. Not.)
When we got the more advanced Nintendo games for our son, I saw myself getting hooked on Super Mario Brothers. But I quickly got discouraged when my son would beat the pants off me. And, unlike me, he never even bothered to read the instructions. It was then that I realized it's a generational thing.
With all the fuss over the new Wii games, I've remained totally disinterested. Until I was at Bernie's house the other night. He got a Wii for his grandchildren... or so he says. He admits that he's been playing it a lot. Practicing so he can keep up with the kids, he says.
So we played a few games of bowling on Wii. I used to be a decent bowler, but I got the lowest score for both games. Even my wife, who at the bowling alley would never even come close to 100, beat me. In my second game, I barely broke 90.
I realized that bowling on Wii is not like real bowling. It's not about keeping your eye on the pins on the screen, but about lining your avatar up properly.
The only thing that's like real bowling, I found out, is that you can hurt
yourself playing Wii. As I "released" the ball, I must have twisted the wrong way. Now I have an occasional pulling pain in my upper left thigh. I've read how chiropractors are seeing more Wii-related sports injuries. I can't believe I'm one of those geezers who got a Wii injury.
Well, at least I don't have to worry about getting addicted to Wii. It ain't gonna happen.