Imagine if a Wii achieved that. Imagine if my granddad did a round of golf, and got satisfaction from doing so. Imagine if he and his son completed an inning of bowling together, something that neither of them probably imagines ever happening again now. How ace would that be?
It's not all about the Wii, though. My sister and I have chipped in together to give my dad the opportunity to be the Rock god he's always wanted to be. We've bought him the Guitar Hero controllers and the sequel to the most rocking game ever! The night I'll be spending there plays in my mind constantly, me and my old man riffing together, experiencing the glory of the stage and, if we're lucky, the love of our groupies.
This is the kind of thing we should be expecting from games and consoles constantly: recognizable and intuitive interfaces that allow a coming together of people, a way for generations to connect and enjoy one another's company. My granddad doesn't understand the design philosophy of the latest Mario game, but he does know how to swing a golf club. My dad has no concept of how to take on the Third Reich as a one-man army of righteousness, but he does get how to hit buttons on a guitar in time to flashes on the screen. My only fear is that the complex button mashing of traditional consoles will only translate into complex hand waving that will only serve to confuse my grandparents in new ways.
But, hey, there are going to be plenty of great games that don't overdo the new control method. And with any luck, five years from now, I'll be asking my father if he wants "one of those bloody Wii 2 things."
Darren Sandbach is a freelance videogame journalist who spends too much time playing multiplayer games all alone. It does give him a sense of belonging, though, so that's ok. He hangs out at www.alwaysblack.com.
