WSJ: First cases of "Wii Elbow" reported

Aerobic activity with motion-sensing controller causing aches, pains; Nintendo urges exercise to counteract.

Nintendo is seeking to lead the charge against the notion that all gamers are unfit couch potatoes. Nationwide sellouts of the Wii indicate that gamers are supporting that notion, and many have been very vocal about the system's motion-sensitive controller as being a revolution in gaming. The problem is that it appears that after the first week of the console's release, many of those gamers are running out of breath.

The Wall Street Journal says that "Wii elbow" and other Wii-related physical issues may be the first widespread gaming-related injuries since "Nintendo thumb," the condition that ran rampant following the introduction of the NES in the '80s and the SNES in the '90s.

The newspaper spoke with several new Wii owners who were experiencing aches and pains from repeated use of the console. A 12-year-old from Kentucky reported numbness in her right arm after mimicking the motions of bowling and boxing in Wii Sports; a computer programmer in Minnesota, who admits to being "not very active," complained of sore shoulders; and a man in Indiana says he was "soaking wet with sweat, head to toe" after Wii Boxing.

Nintendo vice president of marketing Perrin Kaplan put it plainly. "[The Wii] was not meant to be a Jenny Craig supplement," she told the WSJ. "If people are finding themselves sore, they may need to exercise more."

1513 Comments

  • Pumpkin-Head

    Posted Nov 27, 2006 12:39 pm PT

    Hahahahahaha, This is the Funniest thing i've heard in a very long while ^_^

    Cheers,
    Pumpkin Head

  • cluelesspunk

    Posted Nov 27, 2006 12:39 pm PT

    Hahaha that's great. I fully support Nintendo's war on fat people.

  • dragonbattousai

    Posted Nov 27, 2006 12:39 pm PT

    I was sweating after Wii Boxing and I am completely happy about it. I can finally get some exercise that doesn't deal with dancing on a square pad.

  • kyosukeugc

    Posted Nov 27, 2006 12:38 pm PT

    oh gg. Like we didn't see this coming though. Cmon the Wii is not a good idea for Americans, we're too lazy lol.

  • diablobasher

    Posted Nov 27, 2006 12:38 pm PT

    Hahaha, nice.... "OH noes! What is this ODD substance coming out of my armpits! I'll call it 'Nintendo Armpit'!, it could be deadly! I have to find a cure!"

  • Brother_Beetz

    Posted Nov 27, 2006 12:37 pm PT

    A friend of mine got the Wii and was playing something, I wasn't there so I'm not sure what, but he was playing and moved the Wiimote without looking and broke his hand on his coffee table Now he's complaining he bought it and has to sit there and watch everyone else play with his Wii

  • nappan

    Posted Nov 27, 2006 12:37 pm PT

    it's called RSI... Repetitive Stress Injury, and you can be as fit as anyone and suffer from it especially at an age when development is ongoing. Numbness and the like are not "get off your a**" issues... Who cares if a guy gets sweaty, but you would care if your kid gets tendonitis because their doing some odd motion only used in a game over and over and therefore stressing ligaments and tendons not used to the strain. Think about it, a soccor player might be in GREAT shape and hurt their hand fencing from the strain of balencing the epee in the hand.

  • Tom

    Posted Nov 27, 2006 12:37 pm PT

    Hopefully the Wii will continue to encourage physical exercise, because as much as I enjoy playing videogames, I know how that it's always beneficial to stay active and exercise regularly. Or at least that's what my med school professors tell me.

  • AceBilly

    Posted Nov 27, 2006 12:35 pm PT

    they got to start to working out
    rather than sitting all day do ing nothing.

  • mumotuma_man

    Posted Nov 27, 2006 12:35 pm PT

    lol hahaha thats really funny

  • Warlypwnage

    Posted Nov 27, 2006 12:34 pm PT

    LOL people sure could use the exercise but i dont think that wii is a good replacement for going outside and playing a sport in the fresh air

  • slickvic1990

    Posted Nov 27, 2006 12:34 pm PT

    WORD!!!

  • TWOC2689

    Posted Nov 27, 2006 12:31 pm PT

    It's called "Getting up off your FAT A***"!

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