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The role of Wii in retirement communities

Imagine going to visit your grandparents in their retirement community and finding them not in their room, the dining hall, or the garden area, but in the entertainment den playing video games! This scene isn’t far out of the realm of

possibility as Wii continues its marketing campaign to include everyone under the sun.

Recently, more and more health professionals have been touting the benefits of using Wii for fitness. Critics of the new philosophy don’t seem to understand how playing video games can possibly increase one’s activity. They obviously haven’t seen the Wii in action!

About this time last year, the Chicago Tribune did an article featuring a retirement home that hosted its first Wii Sports bowling tournament. When 20 people came out to attend the tournament that was hosted by the home, heated Wii competitions ensued. Grandparents took the time to teach their grandkids to play and everyone had a good time. This is part of why the Wii is getting so much coverage; it’s much more than just another gaming device.

In the Wii Sports pack, bowling is recreated by holding the wiimote in one hand, swinging it backwards (as you would a real ball,) swinging it forward, and releasing the “ball” by pulling on the trigger finger. The points are scored automatically right there on the screen as you play. The game is for individuals or teams and promotes very friendly competition as the characters and text on screen let you know when you’ve made a strike, spare, or other challenging shot. The elderly enjoy playing because they can still be active with the Wii while not taxing muscles and bones too much. The younger folks love, of course, to enjoy video games with their family. Executives at Nintendo love that everyone is involved and playing more games. It’s a win-win-win situation!

The trend towards using the Wii for fitness doesn’t start and end with the aged, but they are definitely a booming demographic that few expected. One thing’s for sure, with brain training games and games that can be played even with limited mobility, teens are not the only group interested in being entertained by the Wii. As one internet article put it so eloquently Wii + retirement just might equal Wiitirement!

Young at heart: How the Wii is catching on with the 55+ set

As the Wii was unveiled back in November of 2006 at an unconventional conference setting, many knew that this wasn’t your typical teenage toy. What was the venue? AARP’s Life@50+ Convention in Anaheim, California was where the first game for Wii, the sports pack, was introduced to those who weren’t necessarily hardcore gamers. In fact, these would-be gamers were part of the Pong, Frogger, and Pac Man generation. (And no, we’re not talking about the cool 3-d Pac Man World game, either; they played the arcade version, long before there was a Ms. Pac Man!) The first generation of gamers are now parents AND grandparents, and Nintendo knows a marketing niche when they see one.

Eyes were opened to a whole new world with Wii. The sports pack was in the spotlight, with bowling being the favorite of most of the participants. One man who has difficulty bowling now, due to a health issue with the muscles in his arms, smiles on as he “virtually” bowls with a younger member of the family. Dexterity is not the problem with Wii that it is in other consoles.

Critics of Nintendo’s marketing strategy say that they’re missing the mark and the elderly will never become part of the real market for gaming entertainment. What do the seniors say? Pishaw! Seniors in Japan are just as much into the craze as here in the U.S. They are buying brain training games in record numbers, making it difficult to keep stocks on the shelves.

The fitness benefits of the Wii are also not lost on the over-50 crowd. Men and women with decreasing mobility or individuals who are wheelchair-bound can swing their arms and wrists in various skill games that the Wii offers. Stretching and challenging the muscles and bones even in the mild way that Wii does is good for a body that is advancing in age. Many people use the Wii for fitness reasons and I certainly don’t see why the 55+ set should be any different.

WiiFit, (PRE-ORDER TODAY) a new game coming out for Wii later in the year, will offer a hard plastic pad that one can stand on as an accessory to the console. The receptor picks up where the individual is standing, how their weight is distributed, and how their body is posed. The person is then called on to copy-cat the moves on the screen. These fitness movements range from simple Yoga-style positions to more difficult techniques like push-ups. You don’t have to be a mom, dad, grandma, or grandpa to enjoy getting fit with the Wii, but you can definitely still join in the fun if you are!