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Wii Entertainment Games

Wii Aches - Couch Potatoes Working it Up 336

Genocaust writes "While the new controller on the Wii is proving to be a success, it's turning out to be more effort than some die-hard couch potatoes bargained for. The Wall Street Journal reports on the newest workout regime for nerds." From the article: "In Rochester, Minn., Jeremy Scherer and his wife spent three hours playing tennis and bowling, two of the games included with the Wii. Mr. Scherer says he managed to improve his scores — at the cost of shoulders and back that were still aching the next day. 'I was using muscles I hadn't used in a while,' says Mr. Scherer, a computer programmer who describes himself as 'not very active.' Mr. Scherer is vowing nightly 'Wii workouts' to get in better shape." "Bunnies Don't Know What To Do With Cows", in Rayman, is another guaranteed way to get your arm aching. Cows are heavy, and it takes a lot of energy to throw them.
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Wii Aches — Couch Potatoes Working It Up

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  • Its a choice (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Shados ( 741919 ) on Saturday November 25, 2006 @01:51PM (#16985420)
    Honestly, with the way the control scheme works, you CAN be a couch patatoe and play the Wii just fine.

    Its just boring :) When you really get into it is when the workout starts, but its also when the fun begins.
    • Hummm... (Score:2, Interesting)

      by TheSHAD0W ( 258774 )
      Maybe it'd be worth coming out with an alternative controller, something you'd need to put your whole body into in order to operate it. Say, put it on a weighted stick about 2 feet long.
      • Re:Hummm... (Score:5, Funny)

        by Umbrae ( 866097 ) on Saturday November 25, 2006 @02:09PM (#16985534)
        And hey, maybe a pad you can put on the ground! I'll make a game called track n field. It'll be great. Or how about a glove you can wear? That'd be neat too.
        • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

          by kisrael ( 134664 )
          Actually, an exercise bike bottom, with a wii-mote top for handlebars, could make a killer version of Prop Cycle and really get geeks sweatin'...
        • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

          by Kyeetza ( 927172 )
          And hey, maybe a pad you can put on the ground! I'll make a game called track n field. It'll be great......
          That reminds me of an old idea I once had. It was a "Jump to Conclusions" mat. You see, it would be this mat that you would put on the floor... and would have different CONCLUSIONS written on it that you could JUMP TO
        • Floor Pad? (Score:3, Funny)

          by mreed911 ( 794582 )
          Can you say "Dance Dance Wiivolution"? I thought you could...
      • Wiimote + Dancemat? (Score:5, Interesting)

        by meringuoid ( 568297 ) on Saturday November 25, 2006 @02:16PM (#16985588)
        Maybe it'd be worth coming out with an alternative controller, something you'd need to put your whole body into in order to operate it.

        You could make a dance game with extra detail, maybe. Two wiimotes, one in each hand, and a dance mat connected as a standard controller.

        Come to think of it, that wouldn't only work for dance games. How about a fighting game? Wii Boxing with fancy footwork...

        • by timeOday ( 582209 ) on Saturday November 25, 2006 @03:10PM (#16985974)
          You do have to wonder, will Nintendo come out with sensors you can wear on (i.e.) your ankles that use the same technology? I was going to buy a Dance Dance Revolution game but never did because there are all kinds of problems with the dance pads (except for the metal ones that cost a couple hundred). Think about it, if you jump on your controller it's bound to wear out. But doing it optically or with gyros or however this thing works should last a lot longer.
        • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

          by xx_toran_xx ( 936474 )
          Three words: mosh mosh revolution
        • by powerlord ( 28156 ) on Saturday November 25, 2006 @05:20PM (#16987086) Journal
          If you've got a DDR dance pad, you can do this already. ... The dance pad basically maps to the 'face' buttons on a PS2's controller.

          One gathering, after a bunch of DDR matches between friends, someone popped in one of the Gundam Fighting games. Imagine 170lb guys dancing on a pad trying to get combos off, as giant robots battle it out on screen.

          Scarily enough, one of the group started getting good at it :)
      • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

        by Gilmoure ( 18428 )
        I suppose you could have a Bat'leth game [krakowstudios.com], with the controller attached to an actual bat'leth. That would give a good work out. Maybe an American Gladiator pugil stick game as well?
        • Re:Hummm... (Score:4, Funny)

          by TheSHAD0W ( 258774 ) on Saturday November 25, 2006 @03:42PM (#16986256) Homepage
          The idea is to have something that'd give you a good workout without being long enough to destroy your TV, or furniture, or little brother. :-P
          • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

            by iamhassi ( 659463 )
            I think a small 1 or 2 lbs hand weight would be a fine workout for most people. Might not seem like much but you try swinging 2 lbs around for 2 hours and see if your arm's don't feel a little sore the next day.

            then have larger sizes up to 5 lbs or so. Wow, can you imagine if the Wii actually made people stronger? You'd see some muscular guy and think "What a geek! Must spend 10 hours a day playing with his Wii!"
    • Re:Its a choice (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Aladrin ( 926209 ) on Saturday November 25, 2006 @02:06PM (#16985516)
      And Congrats to Nintendo for making that the way it is. Maybe it's just a side-effect and not intended, but making it more fun to be active is a great thing for everyone, young and old.

      I just wish I could get my hands on one. I'm not willing to stand in long lines or camp out my local eb this week, hoping to get a chance at one... I'm hoping they'll be fairly easy to get within the next few weeks. I'm not holding my breath, though.
      • Re: (Score:2, Offtopic)

        by doormat ( 63648 )
        The launch was 450,000 units. NoA says they're going to be shipping 250,000 units per week after until the end of the year. So we might see units on the shelf the week before Christmas (before all the procrastinators get in gear).

        And even when you get the Wii, the accessories are in short supply - I've been looking all week and nothing. No nunchucks, no classic controllers, no component cables, nothing. I did manage to get a second Wiimote, but nothing else.
        • I've seen plenty of accessories at places like walmart and target. However, the component cables are only available online through nintendo. Wii Component Cables [nintendo.com] and it looks like they're back in stock.
          • Re:Its a choice (Score:4, Informative)

            by hords ( 619030 ) on Saturday November 25, 2006 @04:42PM (#16986768)
            and it looks like they're back in stock.

            You must have missed this on the page you linked to: Orders entered prior to Wednesday, November 22, 2006 will be shipped on or after November 28. Orders entered on or after Wednesday November 22, 2006 will ship when our new quantities arrive (week of December 18, 2006).
      • by Shados ( 741919 ) on Saturday November 25, 2006 @02:16PM (#16985596)
        You have no idea. I tried to avoid launch, because I thought it was stupid to camp for a console. Ironicaly, camping for it probably would have been the easiest way to get one. Now retail stores have no clue when they get them, so you have to head to the stores (if you call, its too late by the time you get there) and just randomly ask face to face every so often. I live near a bunch of stores (like 10-15 minutes on foot), and don't have a car (personal choice, since i'm a programmer and always in front of my computer, its the only way I'll ever get off my ass, so I decided not to get a car for the time being). I've never been walking this much in my entire life.

        The Wii literally made me lose 5-10 pounds in a week, and I didn't even BUY one yet.
        • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

          by revery ( 456516 )
          If you have a Costco membership (or know someone who does), they tend to know ahead of time (at least a day in advance) when they are getting a shipment. This is how I got mine. This past Wednesday at 9:40AM, I got in line with about 50 other people (half of them were just there to shop - what is that about?!?) for a 10:00AM opening. The got about 20-30 units and they came bundled with Zelda and Excitetruck for $340.00.

          Anyway, your mileage may vary. Good luck.
    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by Jeff DeMaagd ( 2015 )
      Honestly, with the way the control scheme works, you CAN be a couch patatoe and play the Wii just fine.

      Its just boring :)


      It's been the subject of at least one comic:

      http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2006/11/13 [penny-arcade.com]
  • A solution (Score:5, Funny)

    by causality ( 777677 ) on Saturday November 25, 2006 @01:51PM (#16985422)
    Maybe this could be a solution for Bovine America. If only they could come up with a video game controller that removed excess complacency and enabled one to recognize propaganda, then we might even go back to having a free country again!
    • Re:A solution (Score:5, Insightful)

      by antifoidulus ( 807088 ) on Saturday November 25, 2006 @01:57PM (#16985472) Homepage Journal
      Well, for Americans who do go outside there is only 1 video game: Frogger. Very, very few cities are designed with pedestrians being something other than poor and/or drunk people, so those of us that do walk/ride bikes everywhere constantly have to basically try to play a giant game of frogger every time we go out. And trust me, the SUV driving redneck isn't much smarter behind the wheel than any of those cars in Frogger, and even less considerate.
      • Re:A solution (Score:5, Insightful)

        by TheRaven64 ( 641858 ) on Saturday November 25, 2006 @02:24PM (#16985636) Journal
        It depends on where you are in the USA. I've just got back from spending a couple of months over there. In Salt Lake City, everything is far apart so you really need a car, but if you are walking (I was staying half an hour's walk from where I was working, so it wasn't too far) then it's quite possible. Intersections that are traffic light controlled are easy to cross, and ones that aren't seem to give right of way to pedestrians; if it looks like a pedestrian is about to cross, then all the cars will stop. On the whole, drivers seemed very polite towards those without cars.

        In New York City, the situation was somewhat different. There are traffic lights, but I'm not convinced anyone actually observed them. The strategy for crossing a road in NYC seems to be for all of the pedestrians to huddle on the curb. Gradually, the ones at the back push the ones at the front out into the middle of the road. When there are too many people in the road for the average car to drive over, it becomes the pedestrians turn to use the road, until their density thins enough to allow cars across again.

        • I've lived in NYC for years and never experienced anything like that. :-)
        • Re:A solution (Score:4, Informative)

          by powerlord ( 28156 ) on Saturday November 25, 2006 @05:34PM (#16987172) Journal
          I've lived in NYC for a long time and have never noticed that.

          What I HAVE seen, is that pedestrians often do stupid things (like not waiting for the light, or crossing without even looking up when going across a one lane side street).

          The biggest contributor to this careless action is probably because NYC is a pedestrian city, and the majority of the people in it do not own a car, or drive regularly (if at all). This makes them less likely to understand why they shouldn't jump in front of a car (a car can't jump to the side like a person can). The good side of this though, is that I think obesity was lower in NYC than the national average. I assume most everyone walking helped with that :) (as opposed to New Jersey for instance, where I've seen people drive the car to the corner for the paper in the morning)
        • by AmazingRuss ( 555076 ) on Saturday November 25, 2006 @05:34PM (#16987176)
          I grew up in Wyoming, where I never saw a crosswalk, and to cross when cars were coming meant death. We Wyomingites often go to Salt Lake for rock shows and whatnot. It took me several trips down there to understand that you had to stop for the people in the stripey line zone. Stoplights I understood...but these fools were just out in the middle of the road! I must have chased hundreds back onto the sidewalk before I finally got it...couldn't figure out what the hell was WRONG with those people.

          So if you're walking in Salt Lake, keep a wary eye out for those Wyoming license plates. They have the little cowboy on them.
  • How long (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Hennell ( 1005107 ) on Saturday November 25, 2006 @01:52PM (#16985432) Homepage
    before they make a actual exercise themed game?
    • I suspect the next mario party type game will do this. Stuff like "do 10 jumping jacks" would be easy.
    • Re:How long (Score:5, Interesting)

      by MuNansen ( 833037 ) on Saturday November 25, 2006 @01:56PM (#16985462)
      Wii Sports has a Fitness function, sort of like Brain Age, that's meant to help you stay consistent, but it's not very in-depth. A more in-depth version could do a lot. And the parent is right that the cow throwing game in Rayman gives you a MAJOR workout.
    • Re:How long (Score:5, Interesting)

      by sporkme ( 983186 ) * on Saturday November 25, 2006 @02:14PM (#16985580) Homepage
      Remember the original Nintendo's game mat, the PowerPad [videogamecentral.com]? You could use it with an Olimpics themed game and compete in track and field events. I recall kneeling on the floor and smacking the pressure spots with my hands to achieve unrealistic scores.

      I think maybe something like this may make a venture into the trendy excercise market. If they can sell a big ball for a hundred bucks, they can sell a Wii controller too.

      This begs the now cliche question: Why not just go outside and play the actual sport? Alas, there is not a chance in hell.
      • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

        by Anonymous Coward
        Duh, we're wimpy geeks. Going outside to play the actual sport will make us a laughing stock. I'd much rather look like a fool in the privacy of my living room.
      • Because sports are outside and not in air-conditioned comfort, and require specialized equipment and other people to play with, I suppose.
      • Re:How long (Score:5, Informative)

        by MobileTatsu-NJG ( 946591 ) on Saturday November 25, 2006 @03:29PM (#16986134)
        "This begs the now cliche question: Why not just go outside and play the actual sport?"

        Mainly because it's not the most convenient thing in the world to arrange a sport. More than one person is needed to play. Where I work, for example, half my coworkers have a minimum of an hour long drive home AND they have family to go home to. It's not easy to arrange an hour or two to go somewhere and play a sport. On top of this, this time of year, the only way they could do this when there's daylight is to arrange it on the weekend. For our type of work, weekends often mean catching up on chores.

        Thanks to the Wii everybody can just go home and play. Two of my coworkers have arranged to play via the net (which, btw, I didn't know was possible...) *and* they've gotten their wives involved. Where I work, the Wii has proven to be both a workout advice and a social event. I don't know if that'll last, but man, it's sure looking encouraging so far.

      • Re:How long (Score:5, Funny)

        by Senjutsu ( 614542 ) on Saturday November 25, 2006 @07:12PM (#16987868)
        Why not just go outside and play the actual sport?

        It's minus 22 out right now. The only sport playable in this weather is "Run between buildings while trying not to freeze to death".
      • This begs the now cliche question: Why not just go outside and play the actual sport? Alas, there is not a chance in hell.

        There are lots of reasons.:

        1. My console is in my living room. No half-hour train ride to the sports areas. I'm simply more likely to turn on my console every day than to go and play the actual game every day.
        2. You don't need to find 7 other people to play against. You can play on your own or with only a few people.
        3. Less chance of injury. You don't really get tackled while playing Madde
      • This begs the now cliche question: Why not just go outside and play the actual sport?

        Honest anwser, because you may not be physically able to. My mother loves Tennis, but now has bad knees and can't play anymore. She really got into WiiSports Tennis, and My dad liked the golf game. My parents (who are retired and don't play video games) now want a Wii.

    • It's called YourSelf Fitness, and it isn't so much a game as a virtual trainer, I guess... It's strange.
    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      Dance Dance Revolution not good enough for you? The last thing we need is a Jane Fonda exercise video game.
      • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

        by Dunbal ( 464142 )
        The last thing we need is a Jane Fonda exercise video game.

              Yeah, my grand-dad might be interested in that. How about someone younger...?
    • I've long hoped that they would make some realistic dancing game in which you strap a Wiimote to each limb and it infers the absolute location of each Wiimote from the sensor bar and the accelerometer time histories. Then it would give you dance instructions somehow (either with a "dancer" you have to model, or, similar to the Eyetoy's Kinetic, symbols appear that dictate what you have to do) that you have to follow with your arms and legs.

      Unfortunately, I haven't seen any game yet use this kind of "dead r
  • by retrosteve ( 77918 ) on Saturday November 25, 2006 @01:55PM (#16985452) Homepage Journal
    Imagine this as the start of a trend -- play video games and still get in shape.
    • by neoform ( 551705 ) <djneoform@gmail.com> on Saturday November 25, 2006 @02:07PM (#16985518) Homepage
      I'm going to have to disagree with this article..

      This article assumes that nerds are somehow NOT used to making quick/small jerking motions with their wrists.. I mean.. common.
    • "Imagine this as the start of a trend -- play video games and still get in shape."

      It is amazing how quickly you can get out of shape in a few years, and not even notice it!!

      It really hit me hard a couple-three years back....a girlfriend of mine was in town, and we were at a bar that we discovered had a real, old-fashioned air hockey table in the back...the full sized monster. I'd not see one of these since I was a kid.

      Well, we played a few games...and about the end of the 2nd one...we were both getting

      • by laurens ( 151193 )
        We need to do something....paranoid parents today won't let them out to play and get exercise like we did....
        Please tell me you're joking. Seriously.
        • by cayenne8 ( 626475 ) on Saturday November 25, 2006 @04:16PM (#16986576) Homepage Journal
          "Please tell me you're joking. Seriously."

          Nope...dead serious.

          I've written about this before on here....one of the BIG reasons I see today, is that kids just aren't outside playing like we used to when was a young kid. Most everyday after school, we and the neighborhood kids I was friends with (we actually got out and met our neighbors) were always out doing something...football in the street...kill the man with the ball in someone's yard..skateboarding on our homemade ramp (semi-half pipe)....riding bicycles.

          Nowdays...it seems that schools are giving too much homework to kids (even 1st and 2nd graders) that take all evening to do...combine this with parents that just don't seem to let their kids out...hell, my folks would pretty much 'toss' my ass outside to go play. The kids today are couch potatoes...playing video games or something stationary.

          Yes, I believe parents are overly paranoid and this is a large contributing problem to childhood obesity...along with families not cooking home made meals that are healthy...and eat junk food or the like.

          I'm quite sure that there were pedophiles and other bad people out when I was a kid. I was taught to be smart enough to not get in a car with one...etc. I think rather than being a greater danger out there....that there is just more hype and broadcasting of a problem that is nothing new. We didn't have 24/7 news channels back then competing for each other...todays 'news' more often is for ratings rather than dispersal of real news. Parents have all bought into this paranoia....many others just don't take the time to care about their kids.

          So, yes...I do see paranoid parents, and ones that are pretty much negligent in overseeing the proper diet of kids as being largely the problem with the overabundance of fat kids out there.

    • How about playing video games and going to the gym?
    • The reverse has already been done. "Video games" built into exercise equipment. Many treadmills have a simulated terrain that you run on. The terrain is shown on a really cheesy GDU composed of a grid of LEDs. Other machines, like rowing machines sometimes have an electronic competitor that you race against.
      • Well, it has, but it hasn't. If Wii really can give you a workout while providing an engaging video gamer experience, it has the advantages of:

        * Working at home on your couch, not at the gym
        * Requiring no big dust-gathering investment
        * Actually being in millions of homes

        This leads me to think it could be both new and different.
  • by loconet ( 415875 ) on Saturday November 25, 2006 @02:02PM (#16985490) Homepage
    It has been discussed to death that the wiimote could be the answer for so many overweight gamers (which is a great thing) but how easy is it to damage something (ie: back, arms, neck, tendons, etc) due to prolonged usage of this device? I don't own a wii but how accurate to "real" sports movements is it? Do players have to do unnatural movements at times in order to get things "working"?
    • by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 25, 2006 @02:16PM (#16985586)
      I've used the Wii. I am also a tennis player and was delighted to see that the real world tennis motions match up with the game as expected. As far as injury goes, I think you are just looking at repetative type injuries that can't be avoided. Since there is no actual contact with anything and therefore no resistance I find it hard to believe that anyone could get injured simply from waving the remote around in a natural manner.
  • by Flamefly ( 816285 ) on Saturday November 25, 2006 @02:02PM (#16985494)
    I think http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2006/11/13 [penny-arcade.com] eloquently puts the point across.
  • by goddidit ( 988396 ) on Saturday November 25, 2006 @02:03PM (#16985496)
    Since the wii has wifi, Sebastion isn't allowed to play with it.
  • Wii are out of shape (Score:5, Interesting)

    by destine ( 109885 ) on Saturday November 25, 2006 @02:09PM (#16985530)
    I mean really really out of shape. I've known this for awhile, but it's nice that I have something I can do that I enjoy that actually gives me a bit of a workout. My SO and I are playing a lot of Tennis together. It's less of a learning curve and more practical to play a few best of 3 games of tennis every night than to go out and do it in cold wet seattle. And surprisingly, we can work up a sweat after a half hour to an hour of tennis.

    The bowling is really easy on the arms. Baseball can be hard on the pitching arm. Boxing is a real work out. And golf is kind of relaxing and is more of a precision game. Several of the Raving Rabbids games have tested our metal. I seem to be really good at the running and rhythm games, and my SO is great at the shooting and fine manipulation games.

    All in all, it was fun to notice that little bit of pain in the back of the shoulder that lets you know you got some exercise. Something I rarely feel I can do much of anymore, which is really just a mental block and lazyness on my part. Still, if they could figure out some way to get your legs to workout in this games, it would be something better for youth to do besides the regular sit and stare video games that I grew up with.
  • Excellent! (Score:3, Interesting)

    by jmagar.com ( 67146 ) on Saturday November 25, 2006 @02:09PM (#16985538) Homepage
    This may help the obesity rate among kids. It has been climbing at an alarming pace, and now that we have a workout program disguised as a video game... Things are bound to get better.
    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by brkello ( 642429 )
      You have to be kidding. Using a wiimote will not get you in to shape. If you want kids to get in shape, tell them to go outside or put them in sports.
      • Re:Excellent! (Score:4, Informative)

        by Overly Critical Guy ( 663429 ) on Saturday November 25, 2006 @06:07PM (#16987410)
        It takes approximately 30 minutes of exercise a day to maintain a healthy fitness, and if you're working up a sweat hitting virtual tennis balls, you will be burning calories. It's like doing jumping jacks.
  • by RyanFenton ( 230700 ) on Saturday November 25, 2006 @02:10PM (#16985546)
    I've been playing quite a bit exploring the landscape of the latest Zelda game. As long as I hold my wrists strait while playing, I've found it a much lighter stress than using a mouse. The closest thing to an ache I've gotten was while playing a precision flying minigame for more than a half-hour - having to hold the pointer perfectly still to pop these stationary balloons as the camera pans around your character's flying figure is akin to trying to hold your hand out in front of your body for a similar time... extremely easy at first, but your muscles do tense from the focus on a position. Sitting cross-legged on a chair, and occasionally resting my elbow on my leg pretty much fixes that issue with me though. Swinging both controllers, almost an endless number of ways and times though, hasn't itself been much of a stress at all, even now at the end of the game, and after going through a 50-floor optional battle-fest.

    Nintendo has done a very good job so far making a comfortable and light controller. Players concerned about wrist or arm stress should compare against mouse usage, and be willing to take breaks if they have to do the same when using a mouse. Don't be afraid to rest your arm on something while playing, or to be creative with 'lazy' ways of performing the same action if it must be repeated. And, if it's really an issue, consider getting some cheap light weights (1-5lbs) and do some light exercise while watching TV at night or something - this works for even the oldest or the youngest people out there, from my experience.

    Ryan Fenton
  • by Paralizer ( 792155 ) on Saturday November 25, 2006 @02:12PM (#16985566) Homepage
    She says that while it might be more fun to play the games more aerobically, it's possible to play without leaving the couch.
    http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2006/11/13 [penny-arcade.com]

    Also,
    "It's harder than playing basketball," says Kaitlin Franke, a 12-year-old from Louisville, Ky.
    I find this absolutely ridiculous. This article is horribly worded and this quote seems completely out of context. What is harder than playing basketball? The writer seems to make it sound like the kid is talking about actually moving the wiimote around, but I suspect he is actually referring to some specific game being exceedingly difficult to complete. Maybe it gives you a little exercise, but as the spokeswoman from Nintendo says,

    "It was not meant to be a Jenny Craig supplement," she says. "If people are finding themselves sore, they may need to exercise more."

    I should also point out I do not yet been able to get a Wii.
    • by DrXym ( 126579 )
      "It was not meant to be a Jenny Craig supplement," she says. "If people are finding themselves sore, they may need to exercise more."

      Or perhaps Jenny Craig of Nintendo is trying to pass the buck. If some games are requiring players to make unnatural, rapid, or exaggerated movements then perhaps it isn't the user's fault at all when they end up hurting themselves.

      • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

        by nhaines ( 622289 )

        Or, perhaps it's that when you are presented with a scenario to smash a tennis ball back down a court or roll a bowling ball down a lane, the motions are so intuitive and natural that a player's first instinct is to really swing the remote hard, or to tense up the muscles as though he were really holding a 16-pound bowling ball.

        I found it took a day or two to really get used to making realistic but relaxed gestures in Wii Sports (I still have to try to remember it). I actually take two steps forward whil

  • DDR? (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Midnight Thunder ( 17205 ) on Saturday November 25, 2006 @02:14PM (#16985578) Homepage Journal
    I just want to know how long before we get some good DDR games, with a supporte mat, for the Wii.
    • DDR + wii remote at the same time would be quite cool and a full body workout, although I betcha anything they'd put Y-M-C-A among the songs you have to do that way :)
  • Both arms? (Score:5, Funny)

    by Tx ( 96709 ) on Saturday November 25, 2006 @02:14PM (#16985584) Journal
    I get plenty of right-arm exercise in front of my PC, but I could do with something that works on my left arm, and preferably doesn't make you go blind ;)
  • This is great (Score:4, Insightful)

    by c41rn ( 880778 ) on Saturday November 25, 2006 @02:20PM (#16985610)
    When I was a kid, the only way we could convince our parents to buy us an NES was to convince them that the Power Pad (I think that's what it was called) would encourage us to be more active. I don't know if they really believed us, but that christmas, there was a brand new NES under the tree with the Power Pad. We actually used it for a little while too, though the only game we had for it was some kind of olympic sports game. It soon gathered lots of dust though after we discovered much more fun games. Here's to the new generation of kids who get to convince their parents to get them a Wii "because it will keep them active". And here's hoping that these newer games might be fun enough to keep he kids interested and active.
  • And the system is amazing.

    I decided to see how many calories I actually burned, so I attached a small fitness monitor to myself and played away.

    After about 20 minutes of play, I was up to 97 calories. That isn't have bad, a very light work out.
  • by Mongoose ( 8480 ) on Saturday November 25, 2006 @02:34PM (#16985694) Homepage
    It has real work out programs designed by nike motion works: cardio, tai chi, yoga, firming exercises, etc.

    It's a program that also scales with use. The eyetoy is a better controller than the Wii to me as well, since you can use your whole body. Like the Wii controller you might have to adjust your lighting for perfect useage and keep an area clear for movement. I also suggest getting a mat as well. I was a judoka for a long time, and I still get a good workout from this system.
  • I seem to recall having spent upwards of 8 hours on two consecutive days playing Wii games, and only a couple tired me out at all.

    It actually hurts less than a traditional controller, because I can keep my hands comfortably separated.
  • slightly OT (Score:3, Interesting)

    by joe 155 ( 937621 ) on Saturday November 25, 2006 @02:47PM (#16985818) Journal
    but does anyone have any games the recomend for the Wii, I'm pre-ordered zelda today but was also interested in that red steel game... what's good?

    (In case your wondering I live in the UK and we get it on the 8th of December)
    • I've dropped Red Steel from my list to buy on release day. Apparently it's pretty bad. Buggy, and poorly implemented. Good ideas badly carried out.

      I'll be getting Zelda for sure, and maybe Wii Play and Excitetruck. Really, though, it's quite unlikely I'll be buying many games for a while. From what I hear, Twilight Princess is absolutely colossal, so I'm expecting to finish playing that some time around March. Which is when Phantom Hourglass comes out on the DS :-)

    • Re:slightly OT (Score:4, Interesting)

      by ReverendHoss ( 677044 ) on Sunday November 26, 2006 @05:05PM (#16995238)
      When I got my Wii I had pre-ordered Zelda, and Marvel: UA. On impulse at the store, I picked up Rayman Ravening Rabbids and Rampage: Total Destruction.

      Zelda is a solid buy. I have some problems with it, but nothing earth shattering.

      Rampage: TD was worth the money, but just barely. Comes with the original Rampage, and (I believe) the SNES version. The new version is enjoyable as multiplayer, though I was shocked to find out it maxed out at 2 players. The Wii controls are tacked on, and I'm sure the game would be just as enjoyable on another system.

      Marvel: UA was a waste of money. Popped it in for 30 minutes, and my girlfriend and I (both comic book fans) decided we'd rather go back to Wii Sports.

      Rayman Ravening Rabbids was a game I actually rank above Zelda in value. Solo, it is mildly amusing, but it's a fun party game. The controls are simple to master, but the minigames are difficult enough to have high replay value. Try out "Bunnies Love Hip Hop Part 2" for an example of this. The fact that the turn-based multiplayer version of the plunger FPSes require you to pass the controller around rather than everyone using the controller they've been using for EVERY OTHER DAMN GAME is an annoying UI problem, but not a game-breaking one.

      The biggest shock was how much my in-Laws loved playing over Thanksgiving. The two non-gaming ~60 y.o.'s picked up every minigame they were exposed to immediately. In fact, my mother-in-law's bowling tips added 60 points to my game. My father-in-law loved the crunching noises people made as Lizzie ate a group of tourists... (hrm, okay, that was mildly disturbing). They went from considering video games things kids do to asking to play the instant they finished their pumpkin pie. The biggest sign that Nintendo had succeeded in doing what it was supposed to was when "Okay, we'll try it for a while" turned into "well, if you don't mind, could we".

      Final warnings: if you are purchasing the system for the Wii Store or Internet features, wait. The functionality is slow, unreliable, and as I found out on Friday, can end up temporarily bricking* your Wii. I'm sure they'll get things fixed eventually, but as someone hoping for a quick, painless online experience, it's been quite disappointing.

      [*] After attempting to access the store, all Wiimotes refused to acknowledge they were synced. Wii refused to resync them because it was convinced it had four synced Wiimotes already registered. No input to the Wii was possible. 10 minute phone call to Nintendo acknowledged it was a known issue, and they were able to give me a fix that got me up and running again. Still, I have yet to have a good experience with the Wii online.
  • by writermike ( 57327 ) on Saturday November 25, 2006 @02:50PM (#16985846)
    Just so you know, this is the new Wiimote, coming next year.

    Wiimote 2.0 [barbell.us]
  • by Knuckles ( 8964 ) <<knuckles> <at> <dantian.org>> on Saturday November 25, 2006 @03:19PM (#16986054)
    In Rochester, Minn., Jeremy Scherer and his wife spent three hours playing tennis and bowling, two of the games included with the Wii. Mr. Scherer says he managed to improve his scores -- at the cost of shoulders and back that were still aching the next day.
    How stupid can you be? Of course after playing tennis and bowling (mimicking the real movements) for three hours will give you hurting body parts. It's the same (worse actually) if you actually go to the tennis court and play for three hours, and nobody complains about that. Some people need to get a bit of common sense.
  • by dangitman ( 862676 ) on Saturday November 25, 2006 @03:32PM (#16986158)
    I think we can now officially declare humanity to be doomed when exercise means playing a video game. Could the last human please turn out the light when they leave? Oh, and remember to turn off the console and plasma TV too.
  • by Asmor ( 775910 ) on Saturday November 25, 2006 @04:58PM (#16986914) Homepage
    I don't have my Wii yet, but I actually bought Rayman in anticipation and played it on a friend's console.

    Anyways, there's this one game where you're looking at a beach, and rabbits in scuba gear are coming towards you from underwater. You've got to shoot them with carrot juice. You use the wiimote to aim the hose, and you rapidly move the nunchuk up and down to pump carrot juice...

    You know, I would have thought that I'd have more staying power in that game, but holy hell was I wrong. Maybe I was pumping too hard, but my arm was fricking tired at the end of the, I think, 50 seconds you needed to last to beat it.
  • by brxndxn ( 461473 ) on Saturday November 25, 2006 @06:13PM (#16987456)
    My girlfriend and I started playing Wii together (she pretty much hates all video games and I'm a gamer dork) and we have pretty much decided that Wii Sports Boxing is an awesome workout..

    A few 3-round fights and both of us are catching our breaths.. (We're not in bad shape either.. she's 21 and I'm 24). The one thing the Wii does is get my ass off the couch. Even when I'm playing games like Zelda or Red Steel, I find myself standing up intently and precisely swinging the Wiimote around.

    Boxing, though, is a whole different kind of workout.. I've done real boxing - and there's nothing like it. But, with Wii boxing, you can actually beat up your girlfriend and feel good about it. I love how intuitive it is.. She hasn't played any video games except for Grand Theft Auto (and that she did rarely) and she beats me about as often as I beat her.

    I will admit, the graphics for the Wii are HIGHLY dissappointing. They are seriously bad. I would've thought Nintendo would at LEAST improve them somewhat to look halfway-decent on a 720p HDTV. Oh well.. Maybe in the next round of console wars we'll get a Nintendo system that's a ton of fun to play AND has good graphics. I agree with Nintendo, though.. gameplay is definitely key. There's a reason I have a Gamecube and a Wii.. and no Xbox or PS2 (or the newer ones.)
    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by Scorchmon ( 305172 )
      "I will admit, the graphics for the Wii are HIGHLY dissappointing. They are seriously bad. I would've thought Nintendo would at LEAST improve them somewhat to look halfway-decent on a 720p HDTV."

      Have you picked up the component cables? It's the only way you can get 480p output. Otherwise, it's not going to look anywhere near as good as it's capable of displaying.

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