Hey everyone!

Remember Wii Sports?  You couldn't get away from the damn game in 2006... it was the talk of the town.  Okay, maybe not in the gaming forums... it was all about Gears of War and Zelda, but Wii Sports propelled the Wii to Tickle Me Elmo status in 2006 and even 2007.  The Wii was this intriguing little white box that was going to be either the downfall of Nintendo or the downfall of gaming.  Either way, there would have been a downfall of some sort.  So I assume the majority of you have tried out Wii Sports at some point, but have you gone through the stages of Wii Sports?

Wait... there are stages?

In a way, yes.  There are 5 stages a gamer goes through when playing Wii Sports over a period of several weeks or months.  It's nothing like the stages of grief, but there might be similarities that you can find out on your own.  And here they are.

1. Curiosity
2. Addiction
3. Boredom
4. Apathy
5. Acceptance

Oh wait, you want details?  Okay then.

The 1st stage is curiosity and the name say it all.  Face it, you wanted to see what the fuss was about and you either spent the $250 for the Wii and a little more for the many accessories or you visited a friend who happened to own a Wii... and hijacked it for a while.  You probably started with a little tennis since it is the first game on the list and you liked it.  It was simple, fun, and you might have even laughed at your misfortunes.  And yes, you actually went through the full motion of swinging the Wii Remote and nearly knocking out your friend or TV or both.  Your curiosity expanded across all the sports and you quickly picked out your favorites (bowling, tennis) and your least favorites (boxing, golf) and your addiciton began.

The next stage is addiction and it can last either a week, two weeks, maybe even a month or two.  If you didn't own a Wii, you do now.  You try out the training modes and even the fitness mode.  All of your free time is spent playing Wii Sports... it could range from 2 hours to 6 hours a day depending on your personality.  You strive for those medals and you sweat through several hours achieving pro status in every sport.  Then after a week or two, the Wii elbow sets in, the wrist starts throbbing, and you begin to lose weight.  Wii Sports becomes your new temporary vice, but you don't care until... the next stage.

The next is boredom, a stage Nintendo doesn't want you to know about.  At some point, you start to figure out the actual controls of the games and you realize it's all in the wrist, not in the arm motion.  Sure, bowling is still bowling, but tennis, baseball, and golf are ultimately ruined with this newfound scheme.  Now you feel a bit ticked off, but you're not mad... but you soon lose the momentum to play.  You've probably reached pro status in all the sports by now and maybe you have a few platinum medals around your neck, but now you have no reason to go any further.  Those same 9 holes in golf get stale and you've got your bowling style down to a dull science.  You're bored!  Live with it!  Your daily 3 hour sessions are down to maybe a weekly hour session.

You've now reached apathy, a state of mehness that is hard to overcome.  You've now stopped playing Wii Sports all together and you've moved on to other games like Super Mario Galaxy or Super Smash Bros. Brawl.  It's now been a good month or two since you've bought Wii Sports and chances are you won't be playing it for a long time.  You might pop it in for family members or drunk friends, but you won't want any part of it.  Several months will go by until one day, you reach the final stage.

Acceptance makes an appearance as the final stage.  You come to the conclusion that Wii Sports is indeed a fun game and that playing it in moderation is a healthy thing.  Gone are the 4 hour marathons with your buddies, but you'll have a good time for 15 minutes every so often.  Sure, the waggle you've grown accustomed to doesn't feel that immersive, but you shrug it off.  Wii Sports is fun again, albeit for a short time... but that's what Wii Sports is supposed to be.  It's a mild distraction, not a major one.

So that's a basic history of most Wii Sports players.  By now, most of us are either at the apathy or acceptance stage... I've only reached the apathetic stage myself, but I know there will come a time when I'll browse through my Wii catalog and see Wii Sports and remember the good times.  I shall play Wii Sports again, but it will come at a time of my choosing.

And so, your thoughts?  Are the stages accurate?  What stage are you at today?  Am I mad?  Alright, I am mad, but who isn't these days?