Tuesday, August 05, 2008

Wii! Wii! Wii! All the Way Home.

WII Sports is a lot of fun. I am not so impressed with M&Ms Racing, but it is what it is, a cheap and cheesy marketing tool for M&M Mars. The controls on that game are pathetically unresponsive, though it is fun to crash into obstructions until the novelty wears off. It is particularly entertaining to watch the G-Man try his hand at driving a 3-wheeled speedster on the M&Ms Factory racetrack. We really want the Mario Go-Cart game, but good luck getting a copy of that. Apparently, local stores get a few copies on Sunday mornings, and if you happen to be there at the right moment, you can actually buy it. If you are a few minutes late, forget it. You can’t even find it online at Amazon or New Egg. Maybe we can find it for Christmas.

I would say that Nintendo of America was shortchanging their profit potential, but on the other hand, they certainly do understand the law of supply and demand, and also the words of Ronaldus Magnus, regarding the vaudeville mindset of his younger years: Always leave them hungry for more. I suppose as long as NOA does not make enough WII consoles that the stores are always out of stock, they can keep the prices high, and people will always be scrambling for the games. That is the essence of supply and demand. Shucks! It is working, but we got our WII, so take that, Nintendo. Talk about irony, huh? They got us to buy one! =)

MLB Twins. Notre Dame. Wii!

Heather and I were trying to coordinate a Minnesota Twins game with my nephew, Marty, his wife, Tara, and their two boys, Brady and Ben. I wonder if Marty has taken his younger son to a baseball game yet. I am sure that they did go to Marty’s baseball games, but a pro game? No doubt. I remember that in Brady’s first year of life, he went to quite a few games. I think that is great. That is how sports fans are built, starting them out right and what is better than the sounds and the smells of the game, live and in-person? Do you know what is crazy? Gabriel is three years old, and he has yet to go to a baseball game. It is getting kind of late in the season, so the Twins games are becoming rather meaningless. Still, it would be interesting for him, and a new experience. The Dome isn’t a great stadium for baseball, but it still a cool experience. A Vikings game would be better, but any pro sporting event has its energy, so we will try to still go to a game this year. NFL games are just so expensive. We are settling for televised sports, I guess.

I bought Heather a book about Notre Dame football (concerning this year’s team). Heather does love her Notre Dame football. I really need to watch some college football games with her, especially since Smosh lives in Indiana. I guess some day, either we need to move to Indiana, or the rest of the family needs to move to Minnesota.

But back to sports... I think that college football does not move as fast as pro football, but IMNSHO, the penultimate sporting event is football, if you ask me. Basketball is for sissies. Baseball is for old-timers with plenty of time on their hands, and guys who like a slow pace (not as slow as golf… yawn!). I admit that baseball is the perfect sport for a hot, lazy summer Saturday afternoon, but this is August, baby, and to paraphrase the son of Bocephus, I AM READY for some football!

While I was talking about sports I find too slow-paced for my taste, I didn’t mention the sport for geriatric light-weights. GOLF. Talk about dull. To be honest, I am not a golfer, in case you didn’t know that. However, let me tell you, golfing on the WII is fun stuff. Gabriel and I golf either a practice round of three holes or a full round of nine. The funny part is that the G-Man gets a big kick out of hitting the ball in the water hazard and puts a big effort into making a splash with the ball as often as he can. I am getting some practice, and I admit (quietly, secretly) that getting a bogey making par is satisfying AND fun. I doubt that I could do as well with golf in the real world, but this gets me off the chair, away from the computer, and having fun with my son. The WII has been a good investment for us, because we have fun together. Sometimes Heather, G, and I all bowl together. When Josh was visiting, he was bowling with us, too. He adeptly repeats the exact same stance and body movements so that he gets a strike three or four frames in a row. What a booger!