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A Wii Diversion: Console Gaming and Scheming Monkeys |
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Dr. Samuel Says -
Smart Design
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Written by Dr. Samuel Centralia, Ph.D., D.D.S., Esq.
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Thursday, 28 May 2009 |
In the interest of research, I recently convinced the Powers That Be here at Dyscern to outfit the labs with latest in console gaming technology. I like to track emerging trends in graphic engines and game design, and the rhesus monkeys like to play Fallout 3. Something about the destruction of the human race seems to delight them.
 So we now have all three competing game consoles -- Microsoft’s Xbox
360, Sony’s PlayStation 3, and Nintendo’s Wii -- set up in the server
lab. You gamers out there will already be aware of this, but there’s an
interesting pecking order among this newest generation of consoles. The
PS3, the most powerful of the systems in terms of graphics, is the
third-place console in the market. The Wii, the least powerful, is by
far the leader in sales worldwide. Credit Nintendo’s motion-sensitive
controller -- the Wiimote -- and the company’s success at pitching the
Wii as a social, family-friendly activity center.
Each system has its strengths. Xbox has carved its niche by striking
exclusive licenses with certain developers. I like that the PS3 plays
Blu-ray discs, and the Wii’s motion controls really do make all the
difference. Anyway, came across this earlier today, looking for console
goodies: Project Sustain is a modest little enterprise that sells
eco-friendly accessories for the Wii and Nintendo DS handheld game. I
rather like the bamboo Wii stand, pictured here, and the company also
makes carrying cases, styluses and wrist straps with the usual
selection of green materials -- hemp, organic cotton, soy-based inks,
etc.
The bamboo materials seem to calm the monkeys, which is good. Every
time they toss a mini-nuke in Fallout 3, they point at me and giggle.
It can be unnerving, I tell you.
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