Wii therapy makes PS3 and Xbox 360 look old
By Matt Jansen
The Wii’s latest nickname, earned for entertaining therapy is “Wiihabilitation” and it points toward a core difference between the Wii and competing PS3 and Xbox 360, which focus more on hardcore adult gamers.
Medics are using the Wii to encourage body movements “similar to traditional therapy but [that provide] so much distraction patients do not notice the discomfort,” according to Telegraph.
James Osborn who oversees rehabilitation services at Herrin Hospital in southern Illinois says “even though you may be boxing or playing tennis against some figure on the screen, it’s amazing how many of our patients want to beat their opponent.”
Though players battling in Halo for Xbox 360 are sure to feel the bloodlust for victory too, most of that rage will have to be channeled through a few fingers and thumbs moving back and forth. Welcome back to the era of Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, and Playstation. But of course the graphics and sound are far superior now and bonuses like a DVD or Blu-ray player are thrown into the mix. Xbox 360 and PS3 are focused on convergence while Wii is continuing to find new ways to game.
To be fair, the benefits of Wiihabilitation haven’t been well quantified yet, “researchers at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis are working with the University of Minnesota to design a study to measure how patients’ function are affected by Wii therapy.”
Nintendo also doesn’t market the Wii as a device to enhance physical therapy, though that’s not stopping it from developing Wii Fit which claims to provide “an extensive array of fun and dynamic activities, including aerobics, yoga, muscle stretches and games.”
Related:
Entry was posted
on Monday, February 11th, 2008 at 11:15 pm
under
Read more entries by Matt Jansen.
Stumble It!
Tips N4G
February 12th, 2008
The Darwin is coming.
February 12th, 2008
Blu-ray…yawn
February 12th, 2008
Yeah sorry, I find the PSEye to be much more innovative, no need for a remote when the cam can detect your movement. More than likely it’s that the Wii is cheaper, so this reviewer can’t afford a 360 or PS3.
February 12th, 2008
These systems were made as gaming systems and cater to the gaming market. The systems were not manufactured with the idea to help society by creating gaming systems to help in physical therapy. Also there is no mention of Folding@Home which is a working product within the PS3 gaming console that is helping to harness the power of massive amounts of PS3’s to work towards simulating protein folding which ultimately is meant to lead to the curing of disease.
February 12th, 2008
This is a joke!! Isn’t it? because i can’t stop laughing….
February 21st, 2008
I think it’s great that hospitals are discovering a productive use of the Nintendo Wii. Maybe this will excuse our gaming addictions?
I’m sure Nintendo is psyched about the craze. What about the prior news regarding injuries being blamed on the Wii, though?
March 31st, 2008
je veux jouer au poker [url=http://www.moloughney.com/wp-content/1/je-veux-jouer-au-poker.html]je veux jouer au poker[/url] http://www.moloughney.com/wp-content/1/je-veux-jouer-au-poker.html http://www.metrowifi.com/wp-content/1/hand-held-video-poker.html [url=http://www.metrowifi.com/wp-content/1/hand-held-video-poker.html]hand held video poker[/url] hand held video poker http://www.moloughney.com/wp-content/1/le-poker-apprendre-à-jouer.html le poker apprendre à jouer [url=http://www.moloughney.com/wp-content/1/le-poker-apprendre-à-jouer.html]le poker apprendre à jouer[/url] http://www.moloughney.com/wp-content/1/poker-tour-com.html poker tour com [url=http://www.moloughney.com/wp-content/1/poker-tour-com.html]poker tour com[/url] http://ninjaflavor.com/wp-content/1/quick-cash-advance.html quick cash advance [url=http://ninjaflavor.com/wp-content/1/quick-cash-advance.html]quick cash advance[/url]