Oak Crest gamers featured on community broadcast

By Julia Boyle
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

Nintendo’s latest gaming system, the Wii (pronounced “wee”), has been flying off store shelves since it was released last December. To the surprise of the national media, the game has become wildly popular with older adults.

Nintendo players in the spotlight
People who live at Oak Crest in Parkville have become avid “gamers” since the Wii system was installed in the clubhouse in May. Earlier this summer the trendsetters took their gaming to another level.

Three of Oak Crest’s Wii bowlers competed on camera for the in-house TV station program, Oak Crest Today. Hosts Rob Howard and Josh Runkles, TV coordinator, commented and announced the scores as Bob Gralley, Carolyn Sibley, and Louise Ross worked up a sweat—and not from the spotlights on set.

“Believe it or not, there’s exercise involved in this,” says distance runner Gralley. “In playing a game or two of bowling, you’ll find you’re perspiring afterward.”

At the show’s end, Sibley came up victorious with a score of 149. “I think it’s great that I won,” she says excitedly. “I recommend it to anybody because it’s fun and easy to do.”

No experience required
With the Wii’s wireless handheld controller that detects three-dimensional motion, almost anyone can bowl for hours and enjoy high-tech fun with their friends.

“When Oak Crest set it up in the clubhouses, they wanted a group of people to learn and teach others how easy it is,” Ross says. She, her husband Joshua, and Sibley were recruited to teach, among a few others.

They demonstrate how to use the controller in Crestview Station Clubhouse, which houses the Wii system and a big-screen TV for easy viewing.

Nintendo representative David Young says the company is pleased with its newfound popularity among older adults. He says the Wii controller was designed to appeal to a broader audience.