The Rat has caught Wii fever. The beloved campus restaurant will host Wii tournaments for anyone who dares to compete. John Creagh, a junior who serves as the Rathskeller Advisory Board’s special events chair, hopes students will enjoy the new event sponsored by the organization.
“We just wanted to come up with an event that would be hosted the Rat and decided we would come up with something that would really interest the gamers,” says Creagh.
The Wii tournaments are not limited to hardcore video game players. Members of Hurricane Productions, RAB’s parent organization, selected the Wii as the game console of choice because the system is arguably simpler than the Xbox or PlayStation.
“We chose the Wii because it is very user friendly,” Creagh said.
The tournaments will begin tomorrow with Super Smash Bros. Brawl. A “Wiimbledon” Tournament with Wii Tennis may happen in the future.
Interested participants are required to sign up when they arrive at the Rat before the tournament begins. The matchups are chosen at random and those who lose are eliminated until the final two compete for the first place prize. Winners will receive gift certificates of varying amounts to the Rat, depending on what place they finish.
In the final tournament of the semester, the winner will receive the ultimate prize. Although HP originally planned to give away the Wii game console itself, budget cuts changed the final prize to a $60 gift certificate to Best Buy.
“I like the idea of a Best Buy gift certificate somewhat better because it gives a wider variety of people the encouragement to try their luck at the Wii tournaments. This way more people will at least go to try to compete for the gift certificate, and if they win they are able to get something else from Best Buy if they choose to,” said Ariell Cooke, a sophomore who admits she not much of a gamer.
Since Wii consoles are inexpensive compared to other game systems and Creagh got a discount from one of the employees at Best Buy, the budget for the Wii tournaments fits very nicely with plans for the future.
“If there is a good enough turnout we will definitely do Wii tournaments at the Rat in the future,” Creagh said.
If You Go
What: Wii Night
When: Tuesday, March 10 at 7:30 p.m. and Tuesday, March 24 at 7:30 p.m.
Where: UM Rathskeller
Cost: free