I like the Wii. As a console, I really enjoy it.

I also frequent many video game sites, and have gotten the impression that, at best, the Wii has a few pretty good games, and at worst, it’s a mockery of video game consoles and an insult to serious gamers.

I don’t know if I’m a “serious gamer”. What I do know is that it’s as though Nintendo probed my brain to find out what I’d want in a video game system, made most of it happen, and threw in some extras that I would never have dreamed of.

Here’s the thing. I do not like first-person shooters. I don’t like sports games. I don’t like horror games. I do not own a high-resolution televison. I do not have a home theater surround sound setup. At this point, Xbox and PS3 have pretty much already lost me.

What do I like? I like platformers. I like humorous games. I like adventures and solving puzzles. I like being able to hold my hands more than a foot apart and still play a game. I even like to work up a sweat while playing a video game in my own home sometimes.

You know what else? I have no problem whatsoever with not playing a video game for months on end. When it’s the summertime, I want to be outdoors more often! I want to do other things sometimes! Video gaming is not my life!

I like Mario. I like Zelda. I wish I could buy about 50 of the games on Virtual Console. So what if I have to store them on SD cards, I don’t care. There is more than enough video game entertainment to last me a long time on the puny little white console. And when the time comes, I’d love to design a game for it. I already have design documents for it.

Yes, there are really people out there who play and enjoy the Wii. And I am one of them.