“Wii promotes family bonding”

Nintendo Wii games help boost family interaction at a time of growing youth violence, according to new research. The report says that Wii games aid bonding more than its rival consoles, PS3 or the XBox 360.

The GfK NOP research reveals that four out of five (83%) of people in the UK believe that the Wii console increases family interaction, versus just half for the PS3 (52%) and XBox 360 (49%). It also shows that half also believe that both the Wii and the handheld Nintendo DS (50%) had a more positive effect on children, compared to just over a quarter (28%) for the XBox 360.

The report found that half (49%) of those who regularly use a Wii stated that it helped them to feel close to their children, compared to just 38% for the XBox 360. Also four out of five Wii owners (79%) agreed that the Wii is a good source of entertainment for family occasions, dropping to just over half (56%) for PS3 owners.

Richard Matthews, director of insight at GfK NOP, says: “The Nintendo Wii has been innovative in breaking down age and gender barriers and in changing traditional perceptions of gaming from solitary and anti-social to healthy, educational and interactive. The opportunity now exists for Microsoft and Sony to encourage the development of new content for their devices to appeal to these new audiences.”