There was nothing St. Patrick’s Day-ish about this party, except that it fell on March 17. Oh, and the shamrock cookies, the Guinness and Harp’s on ice, and the various Irish people in attendance. So, good enough for me!
The new Wii U game system launched last fall, and I hosted this gathering so that my friends and their kids could take a spin at it. My family attended a cool preview event several months ago, where we were introduced to the system at a tricked-out Hollywood studio. We were most interested in the new game tablet, which can serve as a fifth remote, a game control device, and even an alternate platform so that you can play Wii games while your family does other things with the TV, like…watch TV.
When we got our own system courtesy of Nintendo, the kids ripped into that box like it was Christmas morning. You’ve heard of digital natives? These kids definitely are, and I would go further to say that they are Wii natives, because the Wii was the first digital device that they played with as soon as they were old enough.
There are a lot of new features that are built into the Wii U that are not available on the previous Wii console, but in the end, our family is most focused on the games. It doesn’t really matter what features any gaming system has, as long as they are available for the games my kids want to play. For example, the new Super Mario for Wii U can only be played on a Wii U…so it comes in handy. But Mario Kart can only be played with a steering wheel accessory, and we don’t have that, so we don’t have Mario Kart.
Now that we have the Wii U, though, we are happy to engage in the games that fit the system (all previous generation Wii games work on it, too). The addition of the game tablet provides a nice comfy role for me as a parent playing games with my kids. In Super Mario Bros U, I can tap the screen to add temporary blocks for Mario and pals to hop on to reach higher goals, or not fall into deadly chasms. If I lag, though, and one of their characters dies, I get scolded by the kids, so it’s helping train my brain to react faster!
At our March 17 Wii U party, two Nintendo consultants, Chris and Brian, led the guests through the new games. First they introduced the system to all of the adults gathered, then they invited the kids to join. Adults and kids alike cheered each other through rounds of Super Mario Bros U and Nintendoland, and then all of the guests belted their way through SiNG Party! Everyone was singing or dancing. It was a beautiful sight.
We wrapped up the party with a short trivia game – guests who answered the questions correctly got prizes like Wii Points cards, video games, or branded swag – and then after everyone left, Chris and Brian cleaned up, took out the trash, and vanished as quickly as they came. But not before taking all of these awesome pictures:
I received a Wii U console and games, and food and beverages for the party, to facilitate this feature.
OMG, we are going to HAVE FUN when we come to visit. You can guarantee “Chicken” will have the place rolling on the floor laughing..oh wait..ROFL?
I believe that the proceeding struggle in between the PS4 as well as Xbox One could only benefit gamers, The high quality of current game releases shows it.