Wii for Women Best Buy Event

[MirandaMW87]

Originally Posted by gametab.com

Wii For Women: Did It Work?
We crash Best Buy's party to see how Nintendo went over with women gamers.
By Kris Pigna, 03/31/2008



In a sea of display TVs looping the same promotional scenes from Finding Nemo, The Rock, and Pirates of the Caribbean, two plasmas in particular are serving a higher purpose -- Nintendo's purpose. Set up back-to-back, one dedicated to Wii Sports and the other interchangeable between Cooking Mama and Carnival Games, this was the epicenter of the Wii for Women event at the Best Buy store in Boca Raton, FL. But we wondered: how many women would it actually convert to the Wii?
Consider Aisha, mother and quintessential Lapsed Gamer -- i.e. the perfect target. She's played games from the "old Nintendo" up to the original PlayStation (Twisted Metal was her favorite), but then, as it tends to, adulthood got in the way. "I just don't have the time, and I have a two-year-old in the house. So it's kind of hard," she said. "My husband has a PlayStation 3, but I don't touch it. I just watch him play it."



So what did she think about the Wii? "It was pretty good, I really liked it," she said, after having played a few rounds of Wii Sports. "My brother works here, and he told me about the event. I decided to come because I never actually played with the Wii, only seen it and heard about it. I liked the whole physical part about it, getting some exercise -- I definitely would like to buy one." Seems Nintendo owes Aisha's brother a thanks for their latest convert.

Then there was Maria, another recent addition to Nintendo's fold, who was at the event with her friend Roma. "I played it with my niece, and it was fun," Maria said. "So I told my parents and all my family to get me gift cards and I bought the Wii over the holidays." Unlike Aisha, though, Maria had no prior gaming experience. "It's my first time owning a gaming console. I liked that you actually get up and move around and do stuff, instead of sitting there with the controller." But Roma, meanwhile, wasn't quite impressed enough after her hands-on time with tennis and golf in Wii Sports. "No, I won't be buying one," she said. "I'll just go to her house and play it."



Nor was Trish enthused enough. She spent at least 10 minutes with Carnival Games, appearing to have a good time while her husband lobbed various questions at a nearby sales clerk ("I actually think the Wii has better graphics than the PS3 and Xbox 360," remarked the blue-shirted employee -- no one ever said retail was an honest job). But appearances can be deceiving, as Trish wasn't a successful quarry. "I think it's more for the teenager and middle school kids than the moms," she said. "It didn't appeal to me. Not at all." Wii Fit peaked her interest after the attending Nintendo rep informed her about it, but only enough to "come see it" when it releases.

Not every battle's a victory. But then it wasn't all battles, either, as there was a healthy showing of Nintendo die-hards as well. "I love Nintendo," said Karen, who didn't seem too far removed from the teenager and middle-school-kids crowd that Trish mentioned. "I've been playing Nintendo since I was a little kid. I find other systems just aren't as fun. They're more violent. I like to play games for the adventure and the fun and to just chill with friends." Karen's already a Wii owner, naturally. Her favorite games? "Guitar Hero, that's definitely a big one. I don't like the kind of music on it that much, but it's definitely fun to play." Maybe Boogie would be more to her liking? "I didn't play Boogie," she said. "I don't dance." At least she's not the only one.

So in total, that's three in the flock, two flying free. But five out of the nearly 100 people who attended the event throughout the day isn't exactly the best representative sample, and for what it's worth, the Best Buy management was happy with the outcome. "The event was to get women more aware of the games and stuff that are available for the Wii, that's geared more toward the female gender than the male gender," said Best Buy marketing manager Charles Atwell. "It was a huge success. We had a lot of people that came, that wanted to demo the Wii and of course purchase the Wii too."



According to store associates, Best Buy received a stock of around 45-50 Wiis, which sold through in an hour and a half (an eternity in Desperate-Wii-Seeker time). A few lucky folks also got some swag from raffles held every half-hour, with the grand prize winner getting a Wii of his own. He was ushered away by the store management before we could have a chance to speak with him, but we did get a chance to congratulate the winner of a Garmin Nuvi GPS unit: Aisha.

"This is great! I never win anything," she said. Make that two thank-you's owed to her brother.