Posted: Jul 3, 2008 8:50 AM
Marvin Graham took a moment to survey the bowling pins before squatting down low and releasing the ball. He was slightly miffed after knocking down nine pins on his first turn and a spare on the second shot.
Doris Graff went next and scored a strike. "Now we're back in the swing of things," she said with excitement.
Graham, 86, and Graff, 85, weren't playing at a local bowling center with actual balls and pins. The two were at The Glen Retirement Center playing in their weekly bowling tournament on Nintendo Wii.
The game system's fan base has reached beyond its traditionally youthful crowd and is drawing a new set of gamers — seniors and the boomer generation.
USA Today recently reported at least 24 percent of Americans 50 or older played video games in 2007, up from 9 percent in 1999, according to the Entertainment Software Association.
"It's a lot easier than actually bowling. It's something older people can do," Graff said.
Boomers like Russ Friedrich, 59, and his friends have been hooked on Nintendo Wii ever since his wife, Dr. Marsha Friedrich, surprised him with the game system last Christmas.
"I didn't even play video games, but she thought it might be fun and she was right," he said.
Now, the couple invites friends over to their home every weekend to play everything from bowling and tennis to skiing, car racing and golf.
Unlike traditional game systems, Nintendo Wii games include a remote that players hold onto while incorporating a range of physical motion to execute their moves.
Friedrich said he actually plays golf and bowling in real life and finds the virtual games to be very similar.
"You can be just as active playing it as playing the actual sport, or you don't have to be. You can sit on the couch and wave your arm to do what a tennis racket does, but with us, we have to clear out a large area in front of the TV. We've knocked over vases and glasses because everybody gets into it. It's like a mini-tennis court in front of the TV," he said with a laugh.
"It's absolute fun," said Joey Black one of the friends who regularly plays with the Friedrichs. "The only hazards of playing is you could hit someone or hit whatever is nearby because you've got your mind right on what you're doing."
Black, 61, said she's actually played other video games before, but the Wii is different.
"The Wii is more physical than mental, you're actually doing the moves," she said.
"What's hysterical is the dancing game because you have to get on the mat and your feet have to do what it tells you do. Your body really has to get into different contorted states, but it will make you laugh and it certainly gets your mind off of everything else."
Some physicians and health care workers say such activity is hugely beneficial for older adults.
In fact, it was the subject of a recent presentation at the Louisiana Healthcare Review Summit, a state initiative program that looks at ways to improve the quality of health care.
Local gerontologist Dr. David Henry recently attended that presentation. "It showcased people in nursing homes using the Wii and the effect has been remarkable. Some of the older patients who had isolated themselves in their rooms and hadn't come out or weren't social would come out and play the game and suddenly they were out and interacting with people," Henry said. "Now they were active, doing physical activity and actually working up a sweat."
Henry noted that patients also ate better and the number of pressure ulcers, which typically develop from inactivity, went down. "Some ulcers even healed more quickly, all because of playing that game."
Henry now recommends the Nintendo Wii to area retirement homes and long-term care facilities.
Live Oak administrator Mary Ann Wade said Henry's suggestion prompted them to order the game system for their residents. "It's certainly something that would keep them active, especially demented patients. It may stimulate them and let them have more daily activity to where it would improve everything, thought processes, physical ability, stability, keep from having falls and physical activity," she said.
The Glen introduced the game system to their residents during National Night Out last August. Ever since then, a group of the residents, including Graham and Graff, meet weekly to play.
"It creates a weekly fellowship opportunity for them and its something they may not be physically able to do as well as they used to, but they remember how to do it and still enjoy participating to it," said Michelle Roberts, spokeswoman for The Glen.
Graff said she first learned about the Wii through her 7-year-old great-granddaughter. "She said 'Come on, grandmother' and wanted me to play bowling. Of course she beat me, but I was really interested in it and then I found they had one here," Graff said.
Now she's a regular in the bowling group. "The last game I played, I beat the two other people playing and my score was a little over 200, which they said is pretty good," she said with a chuckle.
Graham doesn't quite see it that way. "(Graff's) getting to be good, but the day hasn't come yet that she could do that. I win some, she wins some," he said jokingly, while mentioning he's scored as high as 226.
Graff said she wasn't too surprised at how easy she fell into the game. "I felt like I could do it if some other people could. I still have pretty good coordination, which I'm thankful for and I felt like I could do it if I try. It's really not that difficult if you can control your remote and release the ball,"
Graham said he enjoys the challenge of Wii bowling. "I can't lift a bowling ball anymore and this game is really very realistic. It's a fun thing for older people to play and then there's the camaraderie against the people you're playing with," he said.
Henry said the effect of the game is surprising, but not the fact that residents are participating in the game or that it's become a part of long-term care. "Every facility that I'm aware of has activity directors that are continuously searching for new and engaging activities for seniors in long-term care," he said.
However, Henry pointed out that it's only the Wii game system that's helpful for seniors, not other traditional game systems. "Things in which folks have to sit down and work a console, older adults don't like that. They won't get involved in that because it takes them too much to move their fingers and hands, but Wii can be for any age group. In fact, we're all considering requiring that residents who get involved are first cleared by their doctor."
Graham thinks he's ready to take on the grandchildren now. "I have four great-grandchildren here and they happen to have the game in their house. They think they could probably beat me. I haven't gotten together with them yet, but when I see them, we'll play," he said.