By Chris Shott
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

At any age, technology can enhance life. And it may even be an easy way to improve your golf game.

People who live at Brooksby are benefiting from and thoroughly enjoying a contemporary technological marvel—the Nintendo Wii video game system. Attached to large-screen TVs on campus, the program enables participants to simulate competition in five sports—bowling, golf, tennis, baseball, and boxing.

“I love it and I think it’s fantastic,” says Inge Marks, who has lived at Brooksby since 2000. “Anyone can play these games. They’re very realistic.”

The real deal
Through motion-control remote devices, participants emulate underhanded bowling tosses, golf swings, tennis strokes, baseball-bat swings, and boxing punches reproduced on a TV screen and imitating real-life situations. The games require minimal physical exertion and are complete with scoreboards and even crowd noises, much to the delight of participants.

“I like to keep up with life in the 21st century,” says Trudy Dearborn, who has lived at Brooksby for nearly two years. “This is something else we are able to do at Brooksby.”

Fun and good for you
Wii offers players the opportunity to improve conditioning through repeated use of its motion-control device. Nintendo has recently increased its Wii marketing efforts to older Americans, touting it as a viable means of promoting physical activity.

According to a published report, Wii is the only major video game system marketed today that uses motion-control devices. It has sold more than three million, far surpassing Sony’s Play Station 3 and Microsoft’s Xbox 360.

Earlier this summer, Brooksby held demonstrations of the gaming system for community members in the Overlook Lounge of the McIntosh Clubhouse. Dearborn and Marks tested their burgeoning computer skills through a friendly game of Wii bowling. The women quickly grasped the nuances of releasing a bowling ball, Nintendo-style.