The Wii Never Looked So Sexy

Ten years ago video game socializing sounded like a ready made oxymoron. But since the emergence of the Wii the idea of sticking people in the same room and asking them to play a video game isn't so absurd. The very nature of games has changed; they are short and often perfect for social interaction. Call having your friends over to play Wii Tennis or Guitar Hero the new version of inviting someone to the movies. You don't have to entertain and because there's something engaging your guests there's no need to make conversation. But is this a good thing?

I'll offer full disclosure now: I am an owner of the Wii. I've spent evenings dripping in sweat during Wii Boxing or Wii Tennis and even rearranged my living room to accommodate two player sports games. I love having people over to play the Wii, and I think that allowing people to come over and play has resulted in enough Wii sales to give me reason to start claiming a commission. Of course Nintendo wouldn't agree, but that's beside the point.

My real point is that the Wii has revolutionized gaming, and I thought that even before I saw Yann. Wired calls Yann a "Franco-American software developer hacker musicians currently living in Scotland" but I'll tell you he's more than that. Yann is the dreamy creator of the Wii Loop Machine, a software that allows people to create music using their Wii remote control. This makes Guitar Hero look childish but better yet, proves that Wii users are intelligent. With creations like the one you'll see in the video below, who cares if people don't make conversation while socializing anymore. This is just too cool and the Wii remote never looked so good.

Wii Loop Machine 2.0 :: Sampling! from The Amazing Rolo on Vimeo

Air Traffic doesn't use the Wii Loop Machine in their newest album Fractured Life but the US release on February 5th is worth paying attention to. I just reviewed Air Traffic's debut album and the band that has received comparisons to Keane and Coldplay proves they're worth the hype. Give them a listen on their myspace, and if you're willing to give away your personal information to the UK's XFM Radio you can get a free download of their single "Come On" by clicking here.