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Video games are one of many pass times that are typically take place in teenager’s bedrooms. You get them a games console when they’re about ten (because all their friends have one of course) and then they disappear for lengthy periods, surfacing once in a while to load up on snacks and fizzy drinks.

However, the release of the Nintendo Wii console changed all that. It soon became obvious that the Wii was a console better suited to the living room than the bedroom. There are a variety of reasons for this.

In the first place, the Wii’s motion sensitive controller meant that the way games were played was much more intuitive. Games were considerably easier to learn, no need to remember that button X is to run, button Y is to punch and button Z executes a back-flip. In fact, Wii games are so easy to play that even adults can learn them in a matter of minutes.

Also, due to the physical aspects of Wii games, there’s some exercise involved. Not just Wii Fit – but virtually all of the Wii games involve a certain element of jumping around, much more so than the typical games found on other consoles. That requires some space to move around in.

Somehow or other, for reasons which are difficult to pinpoint exactly, the Wii console and Wii games seem to have a more social element than has been previously seen with other console or PC games. As with other consoles, you can play against the computer should you wish, but Wii games tend to be a lot more fun when played as part of a group.

It might be the fact that you have to prance about, wave your arms around and generally make yourself look a bit daft at times. Whatever the reason, the Wii is undoubtedly a group activity.

It may sound a bit corny, but the Wii really is fun for children of all ages. Wii games can be a social event, they can help you to exercise and lose weight and they are a lot of fun. The key thing is that the Wii has taken video games out of teenager’s bedrooms and placed them right in the middle of the family living room.

In fact, this could go some way to explaining the success when Nintendo recently “went to the dark side” and launched a black Wii console in Europe just before Christmas. It turned out to be a very popular choice with customers – maybe due to the fact that the black colour matched the other devices in their living rooms. As yet, the black Nintendo Wii console has not been launched in America.