Hi - I’m Mark. I’m 33 and I still play video games. [Hi, Mark!] As part of the original generation of kids that ruined our eyes by staring blankly at giant pixels forming Yar, Mario and Link, why would I NOT keep playing, especially now that I can afford to buy games? I’m not ashamed to post it (obviously) but I think that my recent purchase of a Wii is clearly becoming one of the best gaming decisions I’ve ever made.

August 14 was a National Holiday for Madden gamers across the land, unbeknownst to sissies and sub-rock dwelling humans. Madden 08 is here and I had mine pre-ordered for overnight delivery, which meant that it was on my doorstep August 14 when I got home from work. On the Wii, it’s pretty awesome - on offense you make the hiking motion, the throwing motion and even catching motions. You can make juking and stiff arm motions to fake out defenders while you’re running. On the defensive side you use a stabbing motion for a big hit or a swatting motion to bat the ball away - if you can get the defender in the way rather than having him writhe around the field after you make him dive 20 yards away from the play like I do. The Wii version keeps you from getting “gaming thumbs” but it also is a light upper-body workout.

OK, my point is that I love the Wii and don’t regret the purchase one bit, especially if companies keep coming up with Wii-specific features. BUT - I will be buying an Xbox360 soon…why?