Actually...yeah.

My oldest son recently had his 10th birthday. Somehow we found a Wii video game console to buy for him. It was meant to be his present. But the whole family is enjoying it. The included disc of games - Wii Sports - is incredible. Bowling, Tennis, Baseball, Golf, and Boxing are all included. You've probably played video game versions of these sports before, but interacting with the actual physical motions of the game is a far cry from a joystick.

For example, when I Bowl - in the real world - the Bowling ball tends to curve slightly left. I compensate by moving right. My wife's ball rolls straight. Amazingly, when we Bowl with the Wii it's the same. I have to start from the right of the lane while she rolls right down the middle. That's how well the experience is simulated.

If only all Wii games were this good. The interaction in Wii Tiger Woods Golf is inferior to WiiSports Golf. Even within WiiSports there's a good deal of difference in the quality of the simulations. WiiSport Boxing is not nearly as good as Bowling.

With this much variation in the quality of the games, it's good to have some guidance on what games to buy. I'm using metacritic.com. It averages the professional game critic reviews into a single score. I plan to buy most of the games at the top of their list (a "green" score of 75 or better).

The Wii comes with a single Wii-mote. You'll want a second remote right away. One good way to get one is to purchase the "Wii Play" package. It includes billiards, ping-pong, a shooting game, a hillarious cow racing game, and a second Wii Remote.

The Wii does more than play Wii games. It is backward capatible with the Nintendo Game Cube. The Game Cube lost the 6th generation video game battle to the Playstation 2 and the X-box. Which is a shame because the Game Cube was a solid little system that had some worthwhile exclusive titles. Our family has had fun trying out some of those games since we got the Wii. I've found several good titles for $10 each. "From Russia With Love" is retro-cool. And check out this list of the top 25 Game Cube games.

The Wii is equipped with a WiFi modem. If you already have WiFi in your home getting on the Internet with the Wii is as simple as turning the modem on in the options. Then you'll want to immediately log on to the Wii Shopping Channel and download the Internet channel. Its a free download of an Opera-based web browser. Don't forget to add "The Speculist" to your favorites.

If Nintendo (or a developer) ever offers a Wii keyboard, I'll probably blog from this thing.

The Forecast Channel is a great way to get a fast five day weather forecast. The News Channel could use some work. How about some video with that? It would be an easy addition. Youtube and several other video services work fine via The Internet Channel.

The Shopping Channel also sells selected games from all previous Nintendo Systems, and some Sega systems. They're a little overpriced. When there's no packaging or delivery costs and the game is old, why should it cost $8-$10? Oh well. I still bought a couple of old favorites - Donkey Kong Country and Mario 64. I guess that makes me part of the problem.

Phil recently suggested that the Wii could be marketed primarily as exercise equipment. I'm not sure if that strategy would sell more Wii's, but I can say that it's possible to break a sweat - especially with WiiSports boxing. Wrist and ankle weights really add to the challenge. A smart developer would do well with a fun, exercise-centric offering.

There's more, but the bottom line (my opinion, no flames please) is that the Wii is more fun and cheaper than the other seventh-generation alternatives. I predict that Nintendo will gain back much of the share it lost in the last generation. And this is good. We don't want to lose another console contender (like Sega). And it'll be nice to see gutsy innovation rewarded.

If you need more convincing, check out this hilarious (not safe for work) spoof advertisement.