The Nintendo Wii continues to garner coverage, winning the Popular Science “Best of What’s New” top spot for home entertainment. The Wall Street Journal has also chimed in to discuss the aerobic challenges found with the new console.
Among the TV’s, speakers and HD movie players, the only game system you’ll find on the Popular Science “Best of What’s New” list for home entertainment is the Nintendo Wii. Praising the simplicity of the controls, the magazine doesn’t seem to mind that the Wii can’t keep up with the Xbox 360 and PS3’s graphical capabilities.
“The company decided that gamers didn’t need to pay extra for photo-realistic renderings of its iconic talking mushrooms. Instead it reimagined the controller, introducing a three-axis accelerometer that transforms your hand motions into in-game action, so you really play the games.”
The Wall Street Journal has coined the phrase “Wii elbow” to describe what happens after playing Wii Sports for hours at a time. Offering examples, the most interesting may be Ryan Mercer, a customs broker from Indianapolis who lifts weights several times a week. After playing boxing on the Wii for an hour and a half, he claims that he was exhausted. “I was soaking wet with sweat, head to toe — I had to go take a shower,” he said. The next morning, he was feeling it. “I had trouble putting my shirt on.”
Nintendo VP Perrin Kaplan claims Nintendo hasn’t received any complaints about general soreness from gamers. “It was not meant to be a Jenny Craig supplement,” she says. “If people are finding themselves sore, they may need to exercise more.”
