Something cool happened over Thanksgiving. Yeah, I know it is almost Christmas, but it has been so crazy lately that my wife just downloaded the pictures from our Thanksgiving trip and I got a look at a couple that really struck a chord with me. We were at her sister’s house and her kids were home from college, so there were all eight of us around together. My boys brought their Wii and it became a staple of our daily fun. But this picture of something even more amazing.

Everyone knows how people of all ages love the Wii. They talk about how everyone loves to play Wii Play and other family friendly games that are quirky and easy yet satisfying – games like Cooking Mama.

And trust me – there was plenty of Wii Play and Cooking Mama action over the long weekend. But the picture above is of two non-gamers – perhaps even anti-gamers – battling fiercely at Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution.  This round of gaming followed some similarly intense rounds of Need for Speed Carbon and Blazing Angels.  I wonder what would happened if I had brought Resident Evil 4?!?!

There has been and continues to be much made about casual games and casual gamers … and how the Wii is bringing those folks in.  And it is all true – I cannot imagine having this much family game time among 8 people!  But the bottom line is that it works because it all integrates into normal family play unlike any other game system before … my mom has fun, as does my wife and just about every other non-gamer I have ever met!

Tags: Misc