Our Wii has been online for almost two weeks now. In that time we’ve added people from all over the English-speaking side of the web.
All that talk about the Wii getting non-gamers (particularly girls) into gaming? I am unconvinced.
Here’s a photo of the boy Miis that we’ve been sent.
Here are the girl Miis.
The Mii Parade gender split is very similar.
Are the girl Miis shy? Does your normally non-gaming sister/mum/girlfriend turn the mingle option off? Or is everyone making boy Miis regardless of their personal gender?
I’m curious.
Popularity: 13% [?]
December 21st, 2006 at 8:40 pm
Bear in mind that the owner of the console would set up the Mii etc, even if his mother/sister/girlfriend/wife plays. Notice I said he. I am still fairly sure that most owners of the Wii will be male, and the other parties who play will log on using their ID.
December 21st, 2006 at 9:28 pm
I dunno… For multiplayer you need a Mii each and you can set up a Mii from a template in a minute flat. Surely a guy setting one up for his mum/female friend/whoever would pick a girl for them anyway?
I should point out, Miis are not like Xbox 360 gamertags, which surprised me when I found out. A Mii isn’t attached to an account or savegame in that sense. It’s really a representation of you when used in certain games. In Wii Sports you gain or lose “ranking” points depending on how good you are at that particular sport. I don’t think any Wii owner would be impressed by members of their family screwing up their scores.
January 5th, 2007 at 3:19 pm
It was actually my wife that wanted a Wii moreso than me and mostly because of the motion sensitive controller. While this may not be the case in every household and my wife tends to like gaming more than a lot of other females (she owned an NES, N64, and PS2 when we met and has also owned an X-Box and Gamecube in the past), she’s also far from a hard-core gamer.
January 7th, 2007 at 10:46 pm
Yo Jake, I’d say your wife sounds pretty hardcore compared to a lot of females! She had a pretty decent console history by the looks of it. I hope my next beloved likes games because the last one wasn’t impressed…
June 22nd, 2007 at 1:11 pm
HI,
I might sound very shallow, but I will be honest here. The options of miis for girls are a bit limited, the haircuts are absolutely horredous. My boyfriend just got a wii and we created his mii in a couple of minutes but mine always ended up looking like I am some sort of nun!!!!! wii has to improve the hair styles for girls before more girls are willing to mingle
see ya
June 22nd, 2007 at 4:22 pm
Nope, not at all shallow. Miis are totally defined by how they look. Hair styles are important and you’re right - they are pretty ugly. That’s why I chose the beanie cap ;)
July 7th, 2007 at 4:31 pm
I want to learn how to use Mii parade and meet other miis!!!! I am a hardcore girl gamer but I am also a dumbsh!t that doesn’t know how to use her own wii!!! How do you meet other Miis?? >:0
July 9th, 2007 at 2:10 pm
Read the manual.
July 10th, 2007 at 12:26 am
Jennifurry:
Or see this post - How the Mii Parade Works.
August 10th, 2008 at 12:54 am
I think the disparity being seen here might reflect more about you, than anything else. You’re pretty vague about how you’re meeting these people. Are you meeting them on gaming forums? People you know in real life? Where you go to find other Wii owners would have a heck of a lot to do with it. Even the reaction to you, yourself, of different demographics would impact this. Maybe girls who buy Wii’s and are the primary users are less likely to have an active WiFi connection in there home. There are a LOT of possible factors beyond, ‘Do I know more boys or girls?’
Personal experince, alone, doesn’t work as a very good indicator of psychological phenomena.
I will tell you this, however. My technophobe grandmother is getting a Wii, because her fellow 60 year olds have them. They have them in nursing homes and use them for physical therapy. And, given Nintendo’s sales, it’s fair to say that the demographics are deffinetly changing.
August 10th, 2008 at 1:59 pm
Thanks, Nicholas. Don’t forget, this post was written in December 2006 when the Wii was only just out and very difficult to buy. A lot has changed since then and yes, I agree that the older demographics have very much embraced the Wii.