Okay, I know it is a crass title but one that I could not resist. Yes, I am the proud owner of a Nintendo Wii. Last week we played with a friend's Wii (sorry) and had a lot of fun, so much, in fact, that we went out yesterday and purchased one for ourselves. The Wii really does take gaming to a whole new level. You become totally immersed in the game. The controls are simple and so user friendly that games can be enjoyed by the whole family. It is also makes you active, some of the sports games, for example, require a level of physical exertion. After five straight boxing matches on Wii Sports I had worked up quite a sweat and whilst it is not exactly the same as sparring in a real ring it is a most enjoyable recreation. Hopefully it will make couch potato gamers more active.

Another interesting difference is that high-level graphics are sacrificed for greater user controls. With the current trend in realistic graphics this makes a refreshing change and the popularity of the Wii reflects that people will favour controls over visual quality. It has been well over six months since the Wii has been released and they are still difficult to come by both online and in shops. Also, the relatively cheap price of the console, when compared to the Playstation 3 and the Xbox 360, makes it even more attractive for those put off by the usual high prices.

The possibilities for the Wii are seemingly endless. Sports games are a completely new experience, the excellent Wii Sports serves as a demonstration of what the Wii is capable of. I cannot wait until EA Sports release Cricket, Fight Night, NHL or Tiger Woods 2008. But at the moment we are content training our brains on Big Brain Academy, ten-pin bowling on Wii Sports and riding cows on Wii Play. Surely gaming was never meant to be this fun?

Yes, the sequel to the game that was withdrawn from circulation has been banned by the BBFC. I am not a gamer but find it surprising that the BBFC needed to reject this title. I do not doubt that it is excessively violent but when will the BBFC learn that people do not copy what they see on screen? Earlier in the year the BBFC produced a report on violence in games that led to the decision that they would relax the games ratings system yet now they choose to ban a game because it is violent? Perhaps the reason for doing this is to avoid the media panic that would have no doubt emerged once had the game been released. And with the global nature of the media what is stopping the gamer from ordering an international copy? It would probably be cheaper to import the game than buy it in the UK anyway. At least they are no longer banning horror films.

Back when I was teaching secondary and A Level education I decided to purchase an Xbox as a way to unwind after dealing with not so delightful children. I also had the Xbox modified in order to play backed-up games. Sadly it has not been used and has been living in a loft for well over six months now boxed-up and ready to be sold on.

A few weeks ago I decided to sell it on Amazon Marketplace but then remembered how a colleague at UCE uses an old Xbox as a media center, networking it to several hard drives around his house and streaming video onto the Xbox. In fact, a modified Xbox running a program called Xbox Media Center offers numerous possibilities to the user. So I have decided to undertake a little project to turn my old modified crystal Xbox into a fully operating HD compatible media center as an addition to my ongoing research into digital counter-culture as well as pursuit of general interest. I intend to add the following additions:

Once these have all been added I should be able to store media files, such as music, films and television shows, on the Xbox hard drive as well as stream video from my laptop. The necessary components should cost no more than £100. So not only do I get a new wireless media center but also some desperately needed storage space. More information on Xbox Media Center (XMBC) can be found on the official site and the non-academic source Wikipedia (a little reminder for any of my students that might be reading this). I will update my progress with this little project over the coming weeks.