I WILL have my say! Yes I WILL! :-)

[songwriter15]

Hi all,
I'm a middle-aged, very happily married guy with an incredibly wonderful daughter ( Hi Amber! ) who's been gaming since way back in the days of the very early 80's. I'm registered disabled because of a spinal problem and, although I can "get about a bit", a lot of my time is spent in a "laid back" mode, reminiscing on all the things I used to be able to do, and enjoy, but which, sad to say, I no longer can......

....BUT one thing I CAN do, is enjoy the most wonderfully innovative games console, in my ( very ) humble opinion, that has ever been invented!

Some of our board's more "gentle" readers will, hopefully, understand, in a sympathetic way, why the Wii has improved my quality of life to such a degree that I could cheerfully kiss it every morning

I used to play golf at least two or three times a week before my condition began to beat the crap out of even the best of my positive thinking!
The same with tennis, bowling, and running......not to mention, having been a musician all my life, gigging ( and there's not a trace of bu.l sh.t here guys believe me ) around 200 to 250 nights a year!!

All of that taken from me - and I'm not being a whingeing wimp or asking for "violins"! That's just the way the cards were dealt for me. - in what seems like, taking life as a whole, a mere moment!

So - if you're still here - you may well wonder, how the heck has the little Wii managed to make such a difference to the loss of so much of what my life was before things began to " go pear shaped" ?

Well, with the "Cube", the "PS2", and the "360", sure there was a shed-load of excellent stuff to divert my mind from being down in my more "difficult" moments.
Some really great games which I could play and enjoy and which played a big part in making the time go along more pleasantly, particularly when Phyl ( my wife ) was working and Amber was off learning what life is all about!

BUT......they were as nothing compared to what my oh-so-precious Wii has done for my life!
NOW I can play a round of golf, and get as close to that "pumped-up" feeling as I'm ever likely to in my own lounge! I can "swing" ( okay, I still have to be "careful".....but I can do it! ), I can judge the distance I'm likely to get out of the rough, I can fade the ball round a bunch of trees..........and I can curse when I hit a 4 foot putt and it winds up twice as far away on the other side of the hole!

I can whack a tennis ball around, and actually drive a ball down the line because that's the way I played it!

I can ride "Epona" through a canyon, and know that, only if i aim right, will I shoot the guys on the hilltop!

I can play "S.M.B." in the way that it was surely always meant to be played? A way that changed an already brilliant game into something so tactile and "connected" that it's like a whole new experience! - sure it's got it's flaws like almost every game ever made....but I can live with very one of them!

P.O.P. has become a thrill filled ride that's so underated that it's almost a crime.
Sonic has been, literally "reborn"
....and, yes, even " Meet The Robinsons" is so much fun ( if you give it a chance ) that I take my, metaphorical, hat off to that rare breed - a decent move licence!

Now you can say that I could have enjoyed a lot of this stuff ( or similar ), just as much, on a different console, using buttons and joysticks......but you'd be so very wrong!

Remember, I'm just talking for "me", and, thus, I can only "tell it like it is" from my own point of view, and my own situation and circumstances.

I could NEVER have had so much enjoyment, satisfaction, stimulation ( steady now !! ), and pure, unadulterated, FUN, as I've had, and am continuing to have, with the Wii !

I'm happy to acknowledge the excellence of the "360" and the "P3"...but,
in my own, as I say, very unique ( as we all are ) situation, the Wii IS, quite simply, the most brilliant games console that has EVER been produced!

It is a wonderful piece of kit now, and we all know it will get even more incredible as the months go by, with more and more games, and ever more astonishing innovation, that will leave many of us lusting for the next " big thing" from Nintendo.

Personally, and with a huge thank you to anyone who's read my waffle as far as this, I can't wait.

I feel a massive debt of gratitude to Nintendo, their R & D teams, the games' creators, and, of course, to the legendary "Mr M" !

Thanks a million!

 

[captainff]

WOW! Good on you.

Don't be embarressed about loving your Wii, you are among friends here!

I know nothing of your specific condition but if one small white box has given you so much happiness then this can only be a good thing. Carry on enjoying!

 

[surfinrach90]

Woah dude that was so nice

I'm really glad it's had this effect on you and brought you lots of happyness

 

[Dialtone75]

Hey songwriter15, did you write all of that on your Wii in the Opera browser? Just kidding...
I am around the same age as you and can appreciate some of which you speak of. I of course could never understand the daily hardships you deal with, but am glad to hear of your happiness.

 

[Byuakuya]

That seriously touched me. I wish you all the luck and I hope you enjoy your Wii for many gaming years to come. :thumbsup:

 

[Haywire]

I'm truely sorry for your current situation so it is amazing that the wii has given you so much joy and wonderful experiences and I hope you have many more to come. You seem like a really well rounded and strong person with a great family and I offer you my best wishes.

 

[songwriter15]

Re "OHMYGODItsMike"

Well I've read some very disturbing replys on the board at times but this has to be one of the saddest.

I'm not going to respond with "insults" because you must be in a desperately bad way, either psychologically or emotionally - if that weren't the case then I'm at a loss to understand why you would feel the need to do such an unforgiveable thing.

You don't, of course " know me" - if you do, then how many cats do we have and what are their names?

What instruments do I play and what was the most well-known band that I played in? :idea:

What colour is the front of our house?

Of course you don't know the answer to any of those questions -

- anymore than you know the nature of the three major ops. that I've had in the last 18 months, the level of morphine that I have to take every day just to live a "normal" life, and the shed-load of other meds. that I have to take to try and manage the deterioration of my spine.

I posted a open, honest, post, because I really AM so grateful for what the Wii has done for my "quality of life"........

....WHY would you feel the need to try and "destroy" my integrity and the integrity of my simple little post?

What the heck has life done to you that you feel the compulsion to do such a harmful thing ?

I promise you I feel a very real sympathy for you and I just hope that you can look inside yourself and just never do something like this again to anyone else - PLEASE.

 

[Taills]

I'm happy for you. I'm glad that you can enjoy the things you used to do so much.

 

[songwriter15]

Thanks a Million - and I really mean it.

Thanks you so much - all of you brilliant, wonderful people - for the thoughts, wishes, and stuff.

I want to see if I can post a photo of Phyl, Amber, and I on the board....maybe just as another way of saying "thanks...and I really AM who ( and what ) I've said I am" :yesnod:

I'm not in the least concerned about any "privacy" or security aspect, believe it or not! My life is, has been, and always will be, a pretty open book, and I don't believe I have too much to hide - which is one of the reasons why THAT post yesterday just "hurt" a little bit - so if anyone knows how I'd go about doing that I'd be grateful.......I don't really want to start a new thread with " Can you tell me how to post a photo of myself ? "

Thanks again to all of you. It's really appreciated.

 

[Taills]

You can load a personal photo of yourself in your profile.

Also, theres this:

http://www.wiichat.com/lounge/974-official-photo-album-39.html?highlight=photo

 

[Happy]

nice to see the Wii has improved your quality of life :smilewinkgrin: Most of us just take things for granted.

 

[songwriter15]

Thanks again guys.....

.....and I've just noticed this "attachment" option in the "options" and so I've posted a couple of pics with this message in the hope that anyone who wants to can take a peek at a small ( but very important ) part of my world.

These were taken back in 2000 while we were recording the last album I made.
It was becoming obvious, even back then, that life was going to change in a big, and not particularly brilliant, way, so we rounded up as many of the guys that I'd spent my life playing and recording music with that we could find and made the album before it became too "difficult".

Alongside me is "Phyl", and the lady to the right, standing up, is "Amber" - both of whom I mentioned previously - and, for the record, I'm Chris ! :smilewinkgrin:

Anyway, I hope this works, and, just, thanks, again.

 

[TapWii]

What a story, makes me appreciate what I have now even more!

I have to hand it to the Wii though...the control innovation really put some people that are not console gamers at all to pick up the Wiimote and start swinging it around!

 

[dchao]

Hi SongWriter,

I am a mature Nintendo gamer too, my first Nintendo system was the NES, before that, quite a few Game and Watch games as well. Nintendo never stop being innovative and then quickly become the market leader. Sure, later on, some big bad billion-dollor corporations will come in and take their market share away, but then they always fight back and have never been beaten.

One thing you overlooked is the traditional family value that Nintendo is trying to establish. We have 2 DS's, 4 GC controllers, 4 WiiRemotes. There is nothing more fun than playing Mario Kart, SSBM or tennis with family and friends in front of your 50" screen. I also play Pokemons with my son and we trade pokemons together with the two DS's.

Next time, you can introduce Wii to your lovely daughter Amber when she visit you, and you can play the Wii sports together (don't forget to get a 2nd controller), I am sure you will re-discover the fun time you had with her as a child, and bring you back to the memory lane.

I hope your spinal problem will get better, I think swimming is good for you.

 

[songwriter15]

DCHAO, Hi !

Well I have to, of course, agree with every point you make.....basically because you're probably the only member of the board who's around the same age as me ! :smilewinkgrin:

Seriously, though, ( as they say ), it was remiss of me not to applaud Nintendo for always being at the forefront of bringing the "Family into gaming", and not just producing "games for the family".
It's an aspect of, dare I say, the whole "Nintendo Thing" ( which some people "get", but others never will ), which makes the Company, and their whole philosophy on gaming and game development, something very special that goes way beyond the pure generation of profit - although they always seem to remain profiable, despite the cries of the "supporters" of other consoles that Nintendo and it's customers are virtually the gaming equivalent of a third world country!

Mario Kart alone must have been the catalyst for bringing millions of families back to the days when such families would "play" together, whether simple card games, for example, or in the days of the "board" game, with Monopoly, etc.

I could have listed all the Wii kit that we have....which would have given you an idea of the importance ( in an informal, fun, way ) that we place on getting the most out of this brilliant little machine in the context of our own family.
As long as it's not too boring, I'll explain that we have 4 Wiimotes, all ( of course! ) with Nunchuks, along with the Component AV cable.
We don't, unfortunately, have a 50" TV ( god my mouth's watering at the thought! ) but we do have a 32" LCD, which gives us a brilliant view of Hyrule and enables us to use the "higher definition" option.

We've had some fantastic nights ( and days ), as a family, playing everything from tennis, golf, bowling, and even boxing ( although none of us is a fan of the sport I'm afraid ), along with SMBBB and Sonic mini games, and, of course, the infamous Wario, and RRR!......and, DCHAO, whenever we have a night like that. it always takes me back to the days when Amber and I would "struggle" to be the best at " Smash Tennis" on the Super Nintendo! Wonderful days that I'll always have to remember at times when, maybe, I'm just a little down.

So, like I said, I agree with everything you said.

Of course there are many things in our life ( as it SHOULD be with everyone ) that are far more important than gaming.......but that doesn't decrease, in any way, the value that we'd place on the fun that gaming has given us as a family and as individuals!

I've already intimated that we have some classic, hilarious, brilliant memories of the times we had playing on the Super Nintendo - not to mention Duck Hunt on the NES! - but I have a feeling, even though we are all, now, that much older, that some of our best memories are still to come!

That little Wii has a lot more to offer......and I just can't wait!

Cheers mate
Chris

Incidentally - 'cos this seems to be what everybody does - here are the games that, between us, we have:

Twilight Princess
Prince of Persia
Sonic
Super Monkeyball B.B.
Disneys Meet The Robinsons
Wii Sports ( of course! )
Wario
Rayman R.R.
Red Steel
Tiger Woods 2007
Ice Age 2

In addition, on V.C. we've downloaded:

Mario 64
Zelda ( I can't believe how tough this is!! )
Link To The Past ( Still the guv'nor! )
Story Of Thor

Aiming to get Spiderman this weekend, along with one of the "plane" games, but I can't make up my mind which one!