Saturday, April 26, 2008

To Wii or not to Wii?

Assuming I'm in charge of a fairly small library that currently has no gaming program, I would decide which console to get by doing the following:

  • Survey parents. See if they will allow their kids to use the library for gaming and see if they have a preference for which console is purchased. Use an online survey program like surveymonkey from the library website or written surveys in the library. Talking to parents will also work.
  • Survey the kids. Use the same methods as above but could also go into the local school libraries to get feedback from them there as well.
  • Research the consoles.
Criteria:
  • Cost
  • Interest
  • Target demographic
  • How many people can play at a time?
  • Space--Will there be open game time or will this only be brought out on special occasions.
  • Can patrons bring in their own games/consoles?
Decision:

I would have a tough time deciding between the PS2 and the Wii. They are both relatively low cost options that have their own advantages/disadvantages. I think my decision would depend a lot on the feedback I received. The Wii is excellent for all ages (my parents play with my kids) so personally I'm partial to that system. However, PS2 has a lot of games which are cheap to buy. Having said that, a lot of kids already have a PS2 so having a Wii might be a good way to lure people into the library to check it out.

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