It’s easy to talk about Nintendo Wii or PlayStation games that we’ve played over the years and how they shaped us or got us through tricky times. But when I come across personal stories of how gaming consoles have either saved our lives or played a significant part in bringing us happiness, I always feel very sentimental.
I don’t think that gaming consoles get enough attention for how much joy they have brought us over the years. Maybe you agree or maybe you think they get just enough attention. Either way, I’m writing another gaming console story so I hope you don’t mind me taking you with me while I pen a love letter to the Wii.
Yes, the iconic Nintendo Wii.
Although my friends and I wouldn’t call ourselves classic ‘gamers’ nor are we ones to sit around a play a new video game together, we owe a great deal to the Wii. Not to be dramatic or anything (who am I kidding? I love being dramatic) but my friend’s Nintendo Wii console has helped keep our friendship group alive.
Just like how birthdays or different events bring friends together, the Wii is somewhat like the force that brings our group together and bonds us further. This isn’t something that we as a group have observed and thought, “Wow, this Wii has kept all of us together,” it’s just something I’ve taken note of over the past couple of months.
We have, however, made countless jokes about how we always default to playing the Wii whenever we are together, no matter the situation. Sometimes we play the Wii as our pre’s for going out for the night or as post-club entertainment before we go to bed. We’ve played it when we need to kill time and we’ve played it over dinners and lunches.
Basically, if all else fails, we will always just play the Nintendo Wii.
And no, we don’t hang out just to play the Wii, sometimes the Wii isn’t even involved. But more often than not will we find ourselves sitting in my friend’s games room and turning that bad boy on and dancing to the Wii theme music while we scramble to find working batteries. At this point, it just feels natural to play the Wii while we are all together. It’s basically become custom at this point.
My friend’s powerful, enduring Nintendo Wii is the same one she grew up with and the same one she played as a kid.
While all of us grew up separately (our lives all intersected around 2016), the one thing that bonded us all, without even realising it, was that we all had Wii’s growing up. And if we didn’t then we played other on other people’s consoles. And no, we aren’t Wii experts by any means at all. Half the time we fail miserably at games we’ve played hundreds of times.
Our go-to game is Wii Party or the occasional Mario Party if we’re needing a change of scenery. Mario Kart sometimes makes an appearance too.
One of my favourite memories of our group playing Wii at weird times was when we had come back from the clubs, half still drunk and half wishing to have been in bed three hours ago.
But still, we all gathered on the lounge and started playing Mario Kart while we ate Maccas (a difficult task I might add) at an obscene time of night.
We were about two laps into our first race when I looked down at the other three screens and noticed that someone hadn’t even moved from the starting position. That was when we all turned around to realise one of our friends had fallen asleep, Wii controller on the ground, Maccas still in hand (priorities).
Sure, playing the Wii at our age may seem juvenile and we rarely bring it up to other people our age because on the outside it does seem a little freakish.
“Are you guys going to kick-ons?”
“Nah, we will probably just grab some food and go play the Wii”
Like if I were an outsider and heard that I would think we were a bunch of weirdos too but the Wii is so intertwined with our friendship group and the stories we share together. It’s like a silent member of the group.
Whilst the Nintendo Wii was there when we were having fun, it also remained a strong pillar for our group during bad times too.
When our friendship group ran into problems and there was some awkwardness or tension between a few of us, we would just play the Wii because that is what felt natural to us. That’s what we knew we all shared together and it was something we knew we could all laugh about.
For those brief few moments we were playing, it felt like we were back to normal and all of our problems dissipated, albeit for a few hours.
You know the kind of glue you would use you would do arts and crafts as a kid? The glue that seemed able to hold literally everything together? Well, I like to think of the Wii as our friendship group’s weird glue.
And yes we’ve played every single minigame that Wii Party has to offer, especially Board Game Island but for whatever reason, we still always seem to play it.
I think it’s because it reminds us all of a time when we were younger and things were a little bit simpler than what they were now. We were all still in high school, working at the same bowling alley and our problems were dependent on what boy would be wreaking havoc on our emotions.
And whilst those days weren’t that long ago, it’s no secret how much can change within 5 years.
Now with half us of already having graduated university and all working different jobs, the only thing that seems simple enough is to play the Nintendo Wii.
It’s the only thing that connects us back to our teenage selves, even our childhoods. It’s the same time that our friendship group felt like it would be unbreakable, our foundations seemed too strong to be cracked by anything.
But just like how time weathers down concrete, our friendships eventually started to crack. While most of those cracks have been patched up since then, the Wii still sits idly in my friend’s games room, waiting for us to come back and pick it up.
I do want to stress, however, that the Nintendo Wii isn’t the only thing keeping us all together. We have been great friends for many years now and have worked hard to maintain our friendships amid all the changes we are going through.
While I’m sure there will be a time when we no longer play the Wii or it, heaven’s forbid, dies, I’m still eternally grateful for how often it brought my friends together and gave us memories that we will laugh about for years to come.
I know our friendship will most certainly outlive that Nintendo Wii console in my friend’s games room but it will forever be part of our foundation.
Love you, Nintendo Wii.
Leave a Reply