President Obama owns a Wii – Nintendo start new world order
The rise of the Wii has been phenomenal to watch. It’s gone from being a console no-one fancied as having any chance of battling the PS3 and Xbox 360 to one which is dominating the home console market. And now it has emerged that the new President of the United States, Barack Obama, owns one. That’s it, Nintendo now truly does rule the world.
When I first heard about the Wii, I was intrigued by it but didn’t imagine it gaining mainstream success. I thought it would be one of those consoles which gained some very loyal fans but quickly faded into obscurity. Kind of like the Dreamcast Mk II. And in a lot of ways, the Wii is like the Dreamcast, boldly innovating but facing competition from two much more powerful competitors.
However, unlike the Dreamcast, which befell a horrible end at the hands of Peter Moore, the Wii is doing brilliantly. As if you didn’t know. Despite what I and a number of other gamers think about it – a novelty, good for parties and not much else, vastly overrated – it starts 2009 with almost 50 percent of the home console market, with the Xbox 360 taking a roughly 30 percent share and the PS3 struggling with just 20 percent.
The Wii has done something no console before it has ever managed. Sure, there have been other consoles almost solely geared towards the more casual end of the market but none that has dragged people who previously would never dream of touching a controller or playing a video game into the industry in the way the Wii has managed.
We’ve already heard that Posh Spice, Victoria Beckham, is a fan, along with that weird kid who got so excited about receiving one he managed to score a hit on YouTube. But the latest famous face to come out as a Wii fan trumps all others, with The New York Times reporting how Barack Obama, the President of the USA (I know he hasn’t quite taken office at the time of writing but I’m thinking of the long tail here) has been playing the Nintendo console.
Mr. Obama said he’d have his hands full attempting to rescue the American economy. But he has gotten in a little practice in bowling lately on the Nintendo Wii his daughters received for Christmas. Mr. Obama, who famously struggled in bowling during last year’s Democratic primaries, said he performs better in the video game.
I know it’s his daughters’ Wii rather than his own but the fact that the most powerful man in the world is playing a video game console and openly admitting to it is big news. Politicians are notoriously anti-video games so while I’d rather see Obama revealing he’s a passionate Xbox 360 or PS3 gamer, the Wii will do for now.
Nintendo couldn’t ask for better PR than the new President of the USA talking to a newspaper about how he plays on the Wii. If the Japanese company can just persuade him to drop his Blackberry in favor of carrying a DS around with him at all times then the new Nintendo world order will have definitely begun.
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23 Responses to “President Obama owns a Wii – Nintendo start new world order”
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January 9th, 2009
Like you say, it is better than nothing. We need all powerful people to accept computer games, instead of Jack Thompsoning them.
January 10th, 2009
What??? Why aren’t his daughters playing Gears of War or Resistance on a 360 or PS3 instead??? Unbelievable… the nerve. I mean these games would train them better for world domination in the future, right?
Seriously though, another thing now that I think about it… if I was going to have a second console beyond the 360, I think it would be the Wii. Yes, I would like to play PS3 games, but the ones I want to play on the Wii, especially all the VC games (NES, SNES, N64, GameCube, Genesis,etc. in one console), outweigh the 5 I would really like to try on PS3. That, and the fact my wife would be more into it, it’s $150 cheaper, I don’t need (or have) a Blu-ray, I’m eyeing Dragon Warrior IX, and even WiiFit.
January 10th, 2009
As much as I hate on the Wii it may be my second console of choice too. Getting a PS3 just seems like paying more for the same thing I already have in the 360. The Wii would offer me something different. And yes the wife may adapt to it more in my case too.
January 10th, 2009
DAMN YOU ALL LIBERAL HIPPIES!!!
real gamers play on the dreamcast…
yeah I said it…
January 10th, 2009
I can see your point CAD, though I hope you can appreciate that there is some great games on PS3, which are not available on the 360. Likewise the 360 has some I’d like to have.
The Wii is not something I would purchase as a second console – I’d go for the 360 for sure. That said, PS3 is still my baby and you can’t take her away from me.
Does anyone think, that if you are ’seriously’ into your gaming, you would have all 3 consoles, and a decent PC to boot?
I would of said ‘yeah’ before, but now I’m not sure. Because I have played the Wii, and I would not buy it for the games which are good on it.
January 10th, 2009
(Marine Master Sergeant turns around w/M16 and 54 other armed Marines in Iraq) Did somebody say the L word with the H word directed towards me? Oh yes, I loved the Dreamcast. Still have my shirt and Blue Stinger to prove it.
January 10th, 2009
Royzy,
Out of curiosity, how old are you?
January 10th, 2009
I’m 19 – are you about to follow this up with a dig at me?
January 10th, 2009
Nah, I can understand though… pre-Playstation Games just might not have as much appeal to you as they do for me, which is one main reason why I really dig the Wii’s VC philosophy with all the past consoles. There is a lot of memories in those games.
January 10th, 2009
Ah fair enough. Yeh PS1 and N64 were my proper introduction to gaming, memories for me only go as far as back as the release of Pandemonium 2 (1997).
January 10th, 2009
wait a second??? carl?? youre a liberal hippie??
I KNEW IT!!! I knew you were a tree hugger…
you dont scare me… Im a level 19 Witch Hunter with Stealth and I play Counter Strike… yeah Im cool…
January 10th, 2009
‘I would of said ‘yeah’ before, but now I’m not sure. Because I have played the Wii, and I would not buy it for the games which are good on it.’
Doesn’t mean you don’t love games, just not willing to go the extra mile to play some of the ones you don’t have.
Wii’s VC stuff is decent, I wouldn’t mind seeing a tiny reduction in price tho. And the wii is worth it for mario galaxy, resi 4 remake, and the latest zelda. Just need uber cool F-Zero
January 10th, 2009
darkwhitehair,
Yes, this is why I get along so well with the boys at Berkeley and have diplomatic immunity. You caught me. Please come and say hi to me and all the other liberal hippie tree huggers in Iraq. We would love to show our gratitude to you personally.
(smiling as level 19 Witch Hunter tries and epically fails to stealth his way through a wall of 5.56 rounds all engraved with the words “liberal hippie” while his dying words are “what happened to my spell of destruction”? The respawn he was expecting from Counter Strike somehow doesn’t happen in real life.)
January 10th, 2009
HEY!!! How weird… I have diplomatic immunity in America… we have soo much in common…
you shouldnt make fun of Witch hunters… we are a proud race… and we kick ass in Warhammer Online… who you gonna call when a Witch Elf is at your throat with a pocket knife…
yeah I thought so…
also… gawd told fox news and fox news told me… that liberals are the debil… Id like to see you say thats not true… yeah didnt think so…
are we taking this joke too far?? am I gonna have to confess to a priest or something??
January 11th, 2009
DWH,
You take EVERYTHING too far.
As for the Wii’s virtual console, I used to say it was the best thing about the Wii. I realize I was wrong, however… it’s the ONLY GOOD thing about the Wii.
-Arvis
January 11th, 2009
darkwhitehair,
Pocketknives don’t cut so well through kevlar neck protectors… but I suppose I would simply call one of my Marines after the initial amusement.
Everyone is the devil, some just hide it better than others. Did that priest do bad things to you or something?
January 11th, 2009
*sniff* does that mean we are no longer fwends arvis?? *snif*
I dont like to talk about my personal life Carl… *sniff*
January 12th, 2009
It’s okay… don’t cwy.
January 12th, 2009
I agree with what Carl and CAD were saying about having the Wii as a second console… The Wii has the advantage of being really different from the 360 and the PS3, which makes it more appealing as a second console. I’m holding out until the Wii goes through a few more price drops first though… hopefully by then, they’ll be more than 5 games I want to play.
January 12th, 2009
The only thing that really turns me off to the Wii is lack of achievements. It’s amazing how much of a difference they can make.
January 13th, 2009
At least Sony has started to catch on.
January 13th, 2009
I have to admit, I do like having them… but a good game is a good game regardless. We don’t get achievements for the PSP or DS and we still play and enjoy them, right?
January 13th, 2009
Actually, I have no choice right now, and it is about a fraction of fun as playing on a console. It would be awesome to have them on PSP or DS. Good thing I can still squeeze time in on one of the platoon’s 360’s every once in a while.