Let's Talk About age and gender sterotypes in gaming.

I have a Wii in my room. Great place to start, right? Casual consumers. So last decade. Poor man's switch. (In my case, it literally is, I am saving all my money for a Switch but I have no intent of getting rid of the Wii.) But let's talk about the Wii. And me. I'm a cisgendered female. I'm 16, 17 in June. I've been playing the Wii, or some other Nintendo console almost daily since summer of 2016. First it was my friend's Wii. Then it was her 64. Then it was my 3DS (which I don't play anymore, I just lost interest.) Then it was the Wii U. Then it was the 64 again. Then the Wii again. Then GameCube games on Wii. Then the SNES classic. Now it's the Wii and 64 again. In the future it will be the Switch. Then the Wii again. I just know it. I always come back. 

It seems that people my age and gender aren't supposed to be playing the Wii, or maybe Nintendo at all for that matter. Well, there are lots of other brainless things for teenage girls to do. Spend hours on makeup. Watch shitty reality TV. Browse social media and post obsessive selfies. I don't usually wear makeup. I'd like to more, but I'm too lazy. I don't watch TV, I watch people whining on YouTube and sometimes Twitch and Gorillaz music videos. Fake edgelady aside, (I really DO love Gorillaz, I know that came off edgelord tho.) I do use social media a lot. I'm active on YouTube, and I make my own videos about music and my writing and whatever I want to talk about. I post dance videos too. I'm in high school. I have Irish Dance class. I have Twitter and Instagram. I'm always listening to new music, hence my bio. I'm extremely busy making content, as well as my other hobbies including writing (future career path aswell) and I've gotten back into art lately. That's cool. I make cringy TikToks on occasion. I do loads of things other than playing my Wii, many of them more brainless and stupid. 

I'm not saying girls who are "preppy" or "Instagram chicks" are worse for it, and that I'm superior. As long as they aren't catty about it, they do them. But I've always been a bit of a nerd type, not only with music, but Star Wars, superheros and other "guy fandoms". I'm okay with that. Getting back to the games themselves, I play exclusive Nintendo outside of going to friends' houses and a few mobile games to pass the time. It's not because I'm an elitist, it's because they make the games I enjoy. And going back to mobile games, I don't get invested in them. I play when I'm bored or at the psychiatrist or too tired to get out of bed. I don't play shitty simulation games. I like bite-sized arcadey fun on my iPod when I go out. Anyway, back to the games. Oh, yes. 

I remember playing a bunch of Mario games in flash and back on my mom's laptop when she was sick to pass the time. My friend loaned me her old Wii, and that is where it all began. I'd always played Plug n Play arcade games and the like, but then I played Mario Galaxy. One reason I own a Wii and always will. A breathtaking nostalgia bomb. My favorite game of all time. I've probably played it at least a dozen times, and that's a lot, even for me, who can't afford a lot of games so I always replay them. I'll never forget the magic feeling Mario Galaxy 1 gave me the first few times I played it. Like how those 90s kids played Mario 64 and felt that way, that was me. I LOVE Mario 64, don't get me wrong, but Galaxy has a magical quality to me. I eventually got a Wii U I share with my dad, and I still have my friend's N64. I bought my own Wii for my room as well as a GameCube controller and Mario sunshine. My dad found me a SNES classic for Christmas much to my delight. 

As frustrating and downright infuriating as it can be sometimes, gaming can be a great distraction for me. Nintendo doesn't take itself too seriously. The drowning animation in Mario 64 gives me anxiety. I used the plants in Skyward sword as exposures. In the end, games are challenging, and I'm not good, but I've gotten better. It helps me learn patience and perseverance to push on. Certain games stimulate my brain while others help me relax, while giving me workable goals. I've spent way too many hours with my dad playing Breath of the Wild. Raging at Mario sunshine while getting 100% just for the bragging rights. The millions of times I've been immersed in Galaxy. Getting out my anger at Super Smash Bros. The satisfaction of solving puzzles in Ocarina of time or to a lesser extent, super metroid. My Mario 64 speedrunning endeavors. Now i record and stream my gameplay on YouTube, and I have a blast. I don't care if anyone is watching. It's a huge part of my life, and I don't care what society says, just let me kill one more Moblin, please. 

Written by Riah (G-notes.)