Investors play the market for hot video games

— -- If you see your nephew or daughter waving a plastic wand like a crazy person at the TV, rather than calling a shrink, you might want to dial your broker.

Novel types of controllers, like the motion sensitive wand used to move on-screen characters on the Nintendo Wii console, have shown investors that video games have burst light years beyond the dark basements of geeks.

Games like rock 'n' roll simulator Guitar Hero and exercise game Wii Fit are luring people who'd never thought of themselves as "gamers" to play video games — and investors are hoping to cash in. "Nintendo has struck a chord," says Michael Pachter, video game research analyst at Wedbush Morgan. "It is really expanding the market to people who thought they'd never buy a console in a million years."