Washington (DC) - Nancy Davies, an 84-year-old woman living in a retirement community, defeated a real-life bowling champion in a Wii Sports tournament in the nation's capital.

Davies played Hal Winters, 79, in the final match at the Riderwood Retirement Community.  While Winters has been playing bowling for most of his life, and won a bowling tournament earlier this year, Davies was able to defeat him with just one year of Wii practice.

The DC area retirement center received a few Wii units in March, and spokesperson Daniel Dunne said it instantly became a hit.  It also hosts hockey and shooting tournaments.

Davies' final score was 202, edging out Winters' 182.  She used to work in a bowling alley, and has watched her grandsons play the Wii game, but she said she just "got lucky".

The Wii has made headlines for its ability to appeal to the senior citizen crowd, as well as other groups that have traditionally been considered non-gamers, including the middle-aged and women of all demographics.

According to the Associated Press, the American Association of Retired People (AARP) said its most popular attraction at its annual meeting in Boston was a booth showing off the Wii.

Meanwhile, even some die hard gamers are still trying to get their hands on one.  The Wii has been a consistent sell-out ever since its debut in November 2006.  It became the first video game console to be completely sold out for two Christmas holiday seasons in a row.

wii bowling

Dec 26, 2007 10:58     

wii bowling is a water down bowling game that is so easy... just like late night's Conan wins the william sister on tennis also....it's pointless. it's a game for babies and old fokes. Wii sucks .
andy report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

die hard?

Dec 26, 2007 11:32     

The wii is not for die hard games, all the games are kiddy and are as anti-die-hard as possible. Die hard gamers dont buy the wii. Kids, elderly and girlfriends do.
NEIL report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Ah... No,

Dec 26, 2007 12:04     

The wii is not just for die hard gamers. I consider myself a die hard gamer, mostly PC. But I still enjoy playing the Wii for fun with family or friends. it is relaxing and just for fun, it is definitely not die hard, but it is HARDLY true to say that "Die Hard gamers dont buy the wii" or that the "wii sucks".
Crawlgsx report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Why So Angry?

Dec 26, 2007 18:44     

Why does a nice story about some elderly people who are doing something fun with technology have to turn into a lame debate over a choice of words from the source author. Whether the Wii is good or not is hardly the point of the story.
Andrew report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Is so funny...

Dec 27, 2007 01:01     

These poor guys don't realize that everyone get old and yet you must have some fun. What is funny is imagine yourself 50 years from now playing 'hard core' games. Life is more about funny than just play.
Dari report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Actually,

Dec 27, 2007 07:53     

It just comes to show that the wii is weak when it comes to the amount of skill needed to play. My personal all time favorite game is Gran Turismo: A-Spec, just cause it balanced dificulty with fun gameplay. and believe it or not, when I got into the drivers seat a car for the first time, I felt right at home. I hardly believe that some old lady will ever be able to bowl in RL as well as they can in a console game. The wii is good. But not for die hard gamers. its for the relatives of die hard gamers.

ninjaquick report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

...skill needed to play...

Dec 27, 2007 10:39     

Are you serious ninjaquick? Are you really saying the Wii console sucks because one game requires less actual skill to play? By the same logic, I find the current and legacy PS consoles to be horrible as there are far more games available for those platforms that you do not have to be skilled to play effectively. I certainly hope you are willing to open your eyes and try it out, you may be surprised with what you find.

samagon report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Not Die Hard?

Dec 27, 2007 11:00     

The Wii is not for die hard gamers? Then you've lost the basic ideals of what playing a game is all about. I haven't seen any console embrace the concept of "playing a game" better than the Wii. And good for her, I hope that when I retire they have Wii's for us to play. I have a Wii and also play PC games.
bad report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

I have the wii and ps3 and the wii hands down sucks...

Dec 27, 2007 11:16     

I have the wii and ps3 and the wii hands down sucks. basically for bowling you just swing the controller. For baseball, it simplify it down to just swing for timing. you don't hit low or high or left or right...just time it right and you got it ... there is no button for stealing base etc... just simple swing and throw. talk about kiddy...
andy report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

@ninjaquick

Dec 27, 2007 11:24     

You sound like someone in their mid-teens who just got their license. Please, please, please don't try to drive a real car like in GranTurismo. If you do, do so at a track or auto-x. There are too many idiots on the road already. As for the Wii -- it has it's place. It's no "next-gen" gaming system, but it has it's merits. I consider myself a hardcore gamer (PC 360), but I find myself spending hours on a Wii as well. Games like Golf and Madden Football are just not the same on any other system. Sure the graphics are better on other systems, but the Wii has them beat on interface for game play. Besides, this story is about a 84-yr old playing video games. I sure hope I can still hold a Wii-mote when I'm 84... :)

TJ report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Try something aside from the free games

Dec 28, 2007 00:35     

Nintendo never meant for those games to be the most popular, they are basically tech demo games. Try playing The Bigs or the AMF bowling. They both require more skill and are leagues better as far as gameplay goes than any PS3 game out. Comparing free games to games that cost $60 and up is about as stupid as comparing a Ferrari to Focus. If you want bleeding edge graphics, get a PC. Any Quad core/8800 combo will dominate the PS3 or 360 in resolution and effects capabilities. The PS3 and 360 essentially have last years mid range GPU's in them. Nothing to call "Hard Core". Lets see you hard core games play Crysis on your fancy schmancy console. Personally I'll take the Wii any day over a PS3 (and did take) as i've seen dozens of girls want to play the Wii and never one want to touch a PS3. You guys can stick to your sausage fest night with the guys and I'll invite all the girls over to play some tennis and bowling.

Gary report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Agree with Gary. PS3 & 360 can eat dust.

Dec 29, 2007 00:26     

Halo3 is a joke comparing with most of the games in the same catagory on PC. Got Wii, lots of fun when friends and family come over. Got PS2, this console never dies because of old favorites and new releases. PS3? I'll see how blue ray goes. Xbox 360, I have enough Microsoft, don't need another one. I still enjoy the most on my PC with a GF8800 and a 36" HDTV 8ms as a monitor! Now that's called geared up.

Doug_d report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Wii is in a different category

Dec 29, 2007 23:34     

Get over the wii outselling your precious PS3 or 360. It is a family console and is selling to a different crowd than PS3 and 360. It has a much larger market than just "Die-Hard-Gamers". My 3 year old can bowl, golf, play baseball, etc. easily. That is what it was designed for. If the wii sucks at what it does than 18 million people got suckered into it. I purchased my 360 for me to play and the Wii for the family to play.

pomaikai report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

You go Granny!

Dec 31, 2007 20:42     

Woot! :)
Narg report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

who ever said anything about realism

Dec 31, 2007 23:19     

Who cares if a game is unrealistic: Mario goes through sewers and jumps on floating blocks, when i did that for the first time irl, i felt right at home too.
skythra report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0