Nintendo Wii cons kids into thinking they’re exercising
By Matt Jansen
Four high schools in Worcestershire are reporting an improvement in student behavior after playing Wii games that simulate real sports. But they don’t mention what, if any, physical benefits these virtual sports offer.
A spokesman for the initiative says “the use of computer games to increase physical activity levels and raise attainment to some would seem contradictory, but with rigid structures in place, and by using specific games, students soon found themselves being active and engaged almost without realising it,” according to BBC News.
The problem? Games on the Wii don’t require the same level of physical activity as real sports. So while it may be a good starting point, swinging a Wii-mote around the room and standing in specific poses will never match the effort it takes to run between bases in baseball or keep up in a tennis court.
Nick Seaton, chairman of the Campaign for Real Education feels the same way, “Pupils would be far better doing serious competitive sports and games than this sort of thing.”
If this truly is a first step toward exercising regularly, then the transition point isn’t coming through clearly. At what point would a student move from the Wii to a real team with some challenging physical exercise?
Before the Wii can qualify as real exercise, game designers need to build a product that prompts players to perform exercises that generate muscle resistance and a cardiovascular workout.
Seaton sums it up, “it looks like another gimmick. It’s pandering to the views of the physically idle.”
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January 29th, 2008
When will this pathetic fanboyish posts stop. Nintendo never said that the wii was a replacement for real exercise. It only said that it does help with your daily exercise routine not replace it. Get that into your thick skull before making another one of these pathetic posts
January 29th, 2008
You have to understand the kids that don’t already like sports barely ever do anything. It isn’t like these kids are going ‘Oh, I can stop jogging now, I play Wii!’ They don’t do ANYTHING most of the time. I was in high school gym class only five short years ago and I can tell you: you are speaking in a way divorced from reality. Anything that broadens these people’s physical horizons is GOOD. Plus, you apparently haven’t heard about ‘Wii Fit’ which is going to be a hell of a lot better than Wii Sports (which never promised a real work out) for your health. Get ready to regret your words, it’s been out in Japan since Dec 1 and is coming to the rest of the world by Mid 2008. It will change everything.
January 29th, 2008
I just wish to reply to Mr. Seaton that ‘fat kids would be better off not being fat, and out of shape kids would be better of being not out of shape. Poor kids would be better off in upper class families and dead kids would be better off alive.’ Again, anything that constitutes and improvement is good for those most in danger. The most lethargic kids are the ones that need desperate help. Obviously just doing everything in gym class isn’t enough for these people, or they refuse to participate. I was IN gym class 5 years ago, I remember what it was like.
January 29th, 2008
And the product which you think is hypothetical that you refer to at the end of your article is real. It’s called ‘Wii Fit,’ it isn’t out yet anywhere but Japan, but it’s coming. It measures BMI and has over 40 exercises from press ups to sit ups to jogging to yoga. Why are you going after Nintendo when you could be going after Sony or Microsoft, who guess what: want you sitting on a couch for hours as a time doing NOTHING.
January 29th, 2008
I’ve got to say, we have a Wii console in our family and IT CAN be physically exhausting, especially boxing. The first time I played Wii Sports, I was left with my left arm aching from over-use in bowling. Some movement in gaming is better than none, although the amount of physical activity exerted depends on the game choosen.
I cant wait for Wii Fit, its due to be released on 25th May this year according to product information on Amazon.co.uk
January 30th, 2008
“It’s pandering to the views of the physically idle”
What a load of horse shit.
The views? Of the physically idle? Jeeeeesus!
I bet this Nick Seaton, the so-called chairman of the “Campaign for Real Education”, likes a real man to ride him and not use a plastic dildo.
I mean, he’s all for “realness”…