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[Melodic]

Having just gotten out of the hospital for the second time in as many years, I've got sincere appreciation for the Children's Hospital of BC, who put up with me a couple of years back. I'm moving to the west coast again soon, and have toyed around with the idea of outfitting the hospital with some TVs and gaming consoles, both of which they were sorely lacking the last time I was there.

The Wii, on first glance, makes perfect sense to me here, although I've never played with one: the games are mostly kid-friendly and they're cheap enough that I can buy 4 or 5 instead of 2 or 3 Xbox 360s and 1 or 2 PS3s. I am worried, though, that the Wiimote will prove difficult to use for kids with IVs in their arms, which can make swinging your arm around painful. As I said, I've never used a Wii, so I'm not sure how physical things can get but, from ads with Wii Sports I've seen, it doesn't look like something a kid would do lying in a hospital bed. Am I right in this?

I'm also a little confused if the Wii can play DVDs natively or not, which would be a big bonus for me. Is it easy to use?

Any thoughts or comments would be great, as I'm trying to narrow my options. Thanks again.

[Ally]

The wii, while not the equivalent of running a marathon, is more active than the average console. This is good for most people, but would not be fantastic in hospitals. Wiis cannot play DVDs without some special software that they are eventually going to produce.

You should definitely talk to the hospital people before you buy anything. You have really good intentions, but they might not be able to accept the actual consoles (you might just need to give them money?). I'm not quite sure how it works! If you do buy a console, though, I think you should opt for a PS2. They are fairly cheap and high-quality, and I don't think kids in a hospital are really going to complain about them being last-gen. When you're suffering, any distraction is amazing (trust me, I've had a few hospital stints, as well).

Good luck!

[Storm Rider]

The Wii cannot play DVDs natively right now. When they do release that functionality, it will need to be downloaded, at least onto current versions of the hardware.

For the most part, Wii games (at least ones being released right now) are not so reliant on motion control that they can't be played on a bed. In fact, Wii Sports is probably the only game you can't play from a bed, because in order to control it properly you'll need to be emulating the actual motions of the sports on some level. Well, Warioware might be a little difficult too, because of the positions, but still. For the most part I don't think it would be a problem.

A PS2 would certainly also be a pretty good choice. Its library of games is gigantic, and most of them are pretty cheap now that the system is (for lack of a better term) obsolete. The 360 isn't famous for having 'kid-friendly' games, and the PS3... well, let's just say there are options that would be more effective for the money you'd be spending.

So I'd say the Wii or the PS2 would be the best options, really.

[Melodic]

I wasn't overly-concerned about DVD functionality, but it's a shame it isn't offered natively. I thought Nintendo had at least learned from the Gamecube mess. I think I'll eventually just go out and find someone with a Wii to see how it handles, because the PS2 was my second option and I really think the kids would have more fun with current-gen stuff.

Ally, I've already talked to representatives from the hospital and they'd be more than happy to receive anything I bring in for them. The guy I talked to seemed to think a donation towards their research division would be money better spent, but I think I've made up my mind on the matter. We'll see, but thanks for the help.

[Mnementh]

I'd also ask them to make sure that bluetooth doesn't interfere with hospital machinery.

[Melodic]

I wasn't aware that the Wii used Bluetooth technology for its wireless set-up. Thanks for the heads up, I'll make sure to check that out.

[Stryc9Fuego]

There's always Child's Play...

[Melodic]

I was never aware of that charity, but it doesn't look like they offer anything to Canadian hospitals. Still, they could probably use my money better than I could. Thanks for the heads-up.

[öde]

I was never aware of that charity, but it doesn't look like they offer anything to Canadian hospitals. Still, they could probably use my money better than I could. Thanks for the heads-up.

It's got 3 Canadian hospitals on the list.

[Melodic]

Okay, so I failed to look at the maps NEXT TO the map of America. Silly me to assume they'd put them in geographical order. Guess I'm not as original as I thought. Thanks for the links.