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Issue Date: March 9, 2008
Video games for the young at heart
Credit Nintendo's Wii system for getting seniors active again in a virtual world full of sports such as bowling.
By John Gaudiosi
Ted Campbell once bowled a perfect game. In 1962, he competed in New Jersey's state bowling tournament. He was an avid bowler for almost 30 years, but after experiencing multiple back and knee problems that required surgery, Campbell figured his game was in the gutter for good. That was before last summer, when the retirement community in Springfield, Va., where Campbell and his wife, Isabel, live hosted a virtual bowling tournament using the popular Nintendo Wii video game console.
Traditional video games never interested Campbell, 78. ("It was just sitting on a couch, pushing buttons.") Still, he got a team together and signed up. "We bowled three games," he says. A video clip from the tournament ended up on YouTube. "What this did for our group here was give them exposure to the game and how much fun it was to play it," Campbell says. He was part of a group that talked to the community's staff about starting a virtual bowling league; four Wii game systems were purchased and set up in an area with TVs. Now, there's a four-lane "bowling alley" on site.
A feature that distinguishes Wii from other video game machines is its motion-sensitive controller, which allows players to act out the gameplay. In "Harry Potter" titles, for example, you wave your arms in imitation of using a magic wand. Nintendo bundles its console with five simulated sports games. It's proved to be a hit -- and not just with the targeted youth audience. According to the Entertainment Software Association, 24% of Americans 50 or older played video games in 2007 (up from 9% in 1999). "We actually began targeting seniors and the boomer generation with "Brain Age" on Nintendo DS more than a year and a half ago," says Perrin Kaplan, a former vice president at Nintendo. "Wii caught on organically with seniors at retirement communities once they found out how easy it was to play." A year ago, Nintendo donated Wiis to nearly two dozen retirement homes in Boston, Denver, Houston and other cities.
There are 22 teams that play a set schedule at Campbell's retirement community. The league has about 24 alternates. "You need a lot of subs," Campbell says, "because of illnesses and vacations."
The Wii is part of a trend in the use of what elder-care professionals call "nana-technology": technology your grandma can use. "The Wii will become a staple in retirement communities in the coming years," says Andrew Carle, director of George Mason University's program in assisted living/senior housing administration. "Wii sports games offer low-impact exercise with a full range of motion that's similar to tai chi or chair aerobics, only these games are more fun, and it brings just as many men out as it does women."
At Campbell's retirement community, some of the residents roll their wheelchairs or electric carts into the game room to watch the virtual competitions. Jack Guthrie, a retired Army general who uses an electric cart, became so engrossed in the new league that he bought his team bowling shirts with their team name, The Stoppers, printed across the back.
"These old people get competitive," Campbell says. "I haven't seen any fistfights yet, but they're truly enjoying it." WThe Wii is"nana-technology,"or technology your grandmother can use.
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3 other health-oriented games
Nintendo offers the new "Wii Fit" game; it can measure a player's body mass index and uses a "balancing board" to encourage exercise through games like soccer and skiing.
Players are encouraged to be active in the real world this summer with the Nintendo DS game "My Weight Loss Coach" (Ubisoft), which ships with a detachable pedometer. Every step a gamer takes in the real world is tabulated inside the game world.
Those who don't own a gaming system can break a sweat with the new Guitar Hero Air Guitar Rocker (Jada Toys), a belt buckle that plays songs from the popular "Guitar Hero" game and lets you strum air to play along.
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