I’m a big Wii fan and not just because I can occasionally beat my hard core gamer son in the boxing and tennis games. I’m a big fan because Wii changed the game–they created a system that doesn’t require pushing a zillion buttons–they made it simple and simply fun. It’s no substitute for exercise but it burns a lot more calories than its more sedentary competition. Oh, and, by the way, according a very green renegade, Wii is the most energy efficient of all the gaming systems.
One sure sign of Wii’s success is that it is creating cottage industries around it. The Wall St. Journal wrote about one of these secondary markets last Friday:
Now, another feature called the Mii, which lets users create their own game characters using a selection of facial characteristics to appear on the screen, is sparking a creative frenzy. Over the past few months, the Mii has spawned a fast-growing secondary market, with more than a dozen Web sites selling T-shirts, beer mugs and statuettes with Miis on them, or simply sharing Mii creations of celebrities, politicians and fictional figures like Darth Vader.
According to MarketingVox:
Nintendo is pushing its Mii concept forward, adding elements that will let users become immersed in interactivity – in hopes of creating a social-networking community to rival the likes of MySpace.
A feature of Nintendo’s Wii is an avatar module, known as Mii, that lets users create their own character. But TopTechNews reports that Nintendo is expanding the concept by creating a Mii channel later this year that will allow users to chat with, rate each other’s Mii and otherwise interact. Nintendo will also let users play as their Mii in some games.
Mii makes Wii more personal, more social and more fun. While Mii and Wii won’t save the world, it provides a welcome break from the chores of the day. Sometimes even Marketing for Good needs a fun break.