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Categories: Commentary
Tags: libraries, wii, wii bowling
Last month I assisted at a Wii Bowling for Seniors program at one of our branch libraries. It wasn’t called that, but any program at 2:00 p.m. on a Friday becomes a “for seniors” event.
It was held in a large meeting room with one Wii projected on the room’s movie screen and two Wiis connected to flat screens set up in the far corners. With available Wiimotes, 4 players could use the projector set up and 2 players each could use the flat screens – accommodating 8 players in all which is exactly what we had.
Senior citizens playing the Wii isn’t new, but here are some things I noticed:
The Wiimote is perfect for seniors.
After a very brief introduction to the Wiimote, the seniors understood that there were two buttons they needed to be concerned with and that the most important thing was their movement. I can’t imagine launching into an explanation of the Xbox 360 controller and not losing their interest. Speaking of their movement, some of the players had limited movement and it was interesting watching them hack their muscle control – compensating by holding the controller at different angles and adjusting their posture.
It was great exercise.
One senior entered the room, relying heavily on his cane. He asked if that would interfere with his bowling and we said it wouldn’t. And it didn’t. And it wasn’t long before he was bowling without his cane.
Obviously, I don’t know, but I imagine that most of the participants lead sedentary lives. Wii Bowling had them up and moving for the better part of an hour. One guy said that he hadn’t been bowling in years. Which leads me to observation three:
We ran an hour-long commercial for the Wii.
Or the Wii advertises itself very, very well. By the end of the program, we could have sold Wiis to most of the participants. I actually felt a little skeevy fielding questions about how much the Wii costs, how easy it is to set up, and the like. I assuaged this by ordering copies of Wii for Dummies for the system, but still wonder how many new customers Nintendo gets from programs like this and what, if anything, Nintendo is doing for libraries.
The seniors appreciated the program on many levels.
The Greatest Generation is amazingly competitive and ready to shout, “Out of my way, Goldstein!” if someone’s delaying their turn. Another woman was happy because she now feels comfortable playing this when she visits her grandkids (and she’s thinking of buying one for their visits). They might not identify as gamers, but they were disappointed when the program ended and eager to sign up for the next session.
More pics on Flickr: Wii Bowling
Kim Woodbridge:
I think it’s great when seniors get interested in something like this – they get some exercise and feel like the have found a way to connect with their grandkids.
You raise a really good point – Nintendo should do something for the libraries (if they aren’t already) because of the sales the programs are probably making for them.
Bill thinksmartgames.com:
I think this is a great idea. This’s a great example of technology making easy and fun something that might be otherwise impossible for some of the seniors.
I hope you get a chance to do this on a semi-regular basis. Very cool.
Silvercube:
Lol! I loved the 2pm bit. Yeah the Wii is definitely easy to get into. Very cool what your library organized.