My parents have always supported me and video games. My dad was the one who bought me an Intellivision II and an Amiga 2000 when I was little. My mom was the one who would always drive me to video rental places in order to rent my “game of the weekend”, which I would play from morning till night until I beat it. They were the ones that allowed me to subscribe to EGM when I was in middle school and the ones that let me stay up late at friend’s houses playing 007 on the N64. But regardless of how many game endings I proudly showed off to them, I never thought in my wildest dreams that I could ever get them to play games with me. I had tried in the past with more “simple” games like Tetris, but they just never took a liking. Well, that was until the Wii came along.

As you all know, we all got Wiis as a lovely Christmas surprise this year. I took my Wii and made a trip up north for our family Christmas gathering. Within the first couple hours, I set up my new toy and introduce everyone to Wii Sports. Out of all things, I really wanted my mom to play Wii tennis since she’s already the kind of person who wakes up everyday at 7AM to play on the courts. To be honest, at first she didn’t like it. But like most athletes, she kept trying and after a few rounds, she got the hang of it. By the end of the night, she was working up a sweat playing round after round of matches - and she kept winning! I even got her to play Wii golf, which she was a natural at. Unlike me who is always over-hitting the ball, my mom hit it with ease and finesse and was hit par or below, hole after hole. Pretty good for a beginner!

I never thought I’d see this - my mom playing Wii golf!

Over the next few days, I had my family playing tennis, golf, baseball, and 4-player bowling. I also introduced my sister to Rayman: Raving Rabbids. I think the last time I got her to play a game with me was Dr. Mario, which she refused to play after a while because I consistently beat her at it. Even though the Rayman story mode is a 1-player game, we made it a 2-player game, taking turns during all the mini-games, laughing and eww-ing at all the gross parts, and drumming to the beat of the dancing rabbits.

It was a great holiday. Family, food, and video games - what more could you ask for?