It's Wii for the Win

With the holiday countdown well underway, I’ve been trying to find the perfect gift for my techie friends; not a small feat whatsoever. After all, they’re often the ones standing in line all night to get the latest, greatest tech gadget, making them nearly impossible to buy for. They pretty much already have everything they want, with one possible exception: the Nintendo Wii.

Last year, the demand for the Wii far exceeded the production; while still difficult to find this year, the increased production caused for a 467% rise in purchases on Pricegrabber alone. The question remains: why should I navigate the perpetually sold-out online landscape (or the antiquated treachery of offline shopping, replete with pushy, obnoxious shoppers) to get the Wii when there are so many other exciting tech gifts that could please even the pickiest person on my list? But before I abandon the plan outright, I figured I may as well see how the Wii stacks up to its hefty tech competition.

Announcing: The Inaugural Holiday Technology Death Match

Round One: Wii vs. MP3 Player
While ‘MP3 Player’ is often synonymous these days with ‘iPod’, this year the trend may be shifting ever so slightly in favor of our favorite love-to-hate Seattle behemoth. Surprisingly, Microsoft’s newly-launched 30 GB Zune beat out the suite of iPods on Amazon’s Black Friday sales. (The Zune was also the most researched term on PriceGrabber.) Still, the Wii is a strong contender in this match regardless of the brand, not only in terms of popularity & total sales, but also for its social value.

Whereas an MP3 is usually an individual device, the Wii, by its very nature, encourages socialization and camaraderie. When is the last time you and your friends got together to practice your air guitar skills? Oh right – when you played the new Guitar Hero III, NOT by sharing some iPod earbuds. There is also the personalization feature on the Wii where you get to create your “Mii,” a customizable cartoon avatar with interchangeable features & clothes that can saves your progress on the various games. Kind of blows away the optional engraving available on an MP3 player, doesn’t it?

I declare the first round winner: Wii

Round Two: Wii vs. GPS Devices
Portable GPS devices are also high atop many a holiday wish list this year...given my navigational skills, I know I want one! The Tom Tom One and the Magellan Maestro 3100 were big sellers on Amazon and Pricegrabber; in fact, GPS products nabbed five of the fifteen top spots on Amazon through the Monday after Thanksgiving commonly known as “Cyber Monday.” Prices on these systems have (thankfully) come down over the years, with robust devices ranging between $150-$250, making them far less costly than the Wii.

Still, they don’t allow for the timid to highlight their closeted air guitar skills nor do they provide for any aerobic nor entertainment benefit. I certainly haven’t sung along to the electronic voice guiding me to ‘take a turn in three-hundred yards.’ That notwithstanding, they DO excel in one area that the Wii clearly fails: quickly and easily navigating me to the stores that have the Wii in stock. And that, for this directionally challenged gal, is good enough for me.

I declare the winner of Round Two to be: The GPS Devices

Round Three: Wii vs. Other Gaming Consoles
Ok, so we’ve seen that the Wii can hold its own against other electronic gifts, but what makes the Wii better than the other gaming systems? Until recently, you couldn’t even play Guitar Hero with it, and isn’t Nintendo just that old-school company that introduced us all to Mario and Luigi? Think again. For one, the Wii has brought the gaming experience outside of the television into the living room with its interactive controllers and included sports package games. And with the forthcoming release of WiiFit, the long-awaited exercise game (utilizing a computerized balance board instead of the Wiimote controller,) there is an added health benefit as well. But let’s be honest here: The reason the Wii wins over the PS3 or Xbox is for one reason and one reason alone: Inclusiveness. Yes, the Wii – with its interactive games and controllers – has been the first gaming console to successfully persuade us women that video games aren’t for geeky boys alone. In fact, it’s not uncommon to see the Wii replacing the family board games as the post-dinner activity of choice, with even our parents’ generation acknowledging that there’s fun to be had in the challenging world of Wii Bowling. And to quote one of my male friends, “The Wii is every SMART guy’s secret weapon to wooing women.” As loathe as I am to admit this, it definitely worked for me.

I therefore declare the winner of round three – and the match – to be: Wii

While the winner is clear, looks like it’s time for me to tackle my next challenge: locating one of these seemingly magical devices before the Holidays. Wish me luck...or at least the procurement of a good GPS system to get me there!