I had previously mentioned that one of my neighbors has all three of the latest consoles, including the Nintendo Wii, and has allowed me to try the consoles to review. So this afternoon I went to his home to try the Wii console and see how it compared to the other systems.

Wii, pronounced ‘we,’ was actually purchased for use by the entire family since it is the only gaming console that requires the user to get off the couch and physically do something. I fired up the Wii and the first thing I noticed was the graphics were just OK, not stunning like the PS3. But they were still equal in quality to a DVD movie, which I think is pretty good.

It took me a few moments to get used to the wand controller, but once I did, I was bowling up a storm. Like any game, the more you play, the better you get. I was actually enjoying the game and physically moving, which was so much different than just parking your rear on a couch or chair.

Plus what struck me was that this could be used to entertain the entire family. Everyone can get in on the action, like bowling. Another thought that hit me is that this would be great to have at family gatherings. I recalled just before Christmas we had 21 family members over, consisting of 16 adults ranging in age from 18 to 66, plus five kids. Everyone could have played and joined in on the action. Especially since the learning curve is very easy.

And being a cheapskate (LOL), this is the least expensive unit of the bunch - that also makes it attractive. Though the graphics were not as good as the PS3 I tried, they were very acceptable. My overall conclusion was that I like it very much, so much so, that I would have no reservations about buying this unit for the family.

One problem, there is currently a shortage of units and you can’t buy one.

See my previous take on the PS3 here.

[tags]nintendo wii, family, fun, game[/tags]