b r a v e c r e a t u r e s

I joked in the last few days, since the arrival of the Birthday Wii, that I was going to be seen jumping around my living room, semi-naked at 4 in the morning playing games, sweating my arse off. It turned out to be reasonably true, although I did limit it to 10pm.

Maybe 11.

Only once was it midnight.

Anyway, the games do REALLY require you to get up and wave yourself around a bit - and its a combination of the wii-mote and the immersive nature of the game play. And it feels physical, which is fun in and of itself. This from a man who works out 5 days a week is not entirely unexpected but what was unexpected is apparently it CAN have an effect on your weight.

YAY, more calories burnt!! 

I thought this would happen, I just didn't think it would happen so FAST - someone has already done a study on the effect of Wii-gaming on weight and the results are in, limited as the trial set was.

Apparently Mickey DeLorenzo, a 25-year-old living in Philadelphia, began a "Wii Sports Experiment" in early December last year, pledging to spend 30 minutes a day over six weeks playing Wii sports. He also intended to keep his other activities and eating habits constant.

On Monday this week when the six weeks were over DeLorenzo, who while not my type is kind of cute for a gamer, updated his website, wiinintendo.net, with a detailed analysis of his experiment, which was positive and surprising. Apparently he dropped around lbs (4kgs and around 2% of his starting body weight of 82lbs) and went from being in the 'acceptable' category to being in the 'fitness' category".

While only a single sample, I can see (some) Universities tripping over themselves to put together a broader and more controlled trial. And if they are smart, Nintendo will sponsor it.

Maybe at last my some what geeky gamer persona can come out of the shadows and join the sportier side of me. Perhaps now I will not need to hide my over developed thumb muscles or dismiss them as the result of over indulgence in self abuse (I have a tight grip). Perhaps now gamers of all stripes will  stand up and be healthy and strong. Although we may need to get sunray lamps built into flat screens so they can tan at the same time.

Hey - THERES a good idea. 

This Christmas I was given a Wii.  Well actually because there are none to be had for love or money, I was given a gift card FOR a Wii. So ever since Christmas I have been stalking the stores trying to find one. They have been highly Elvis like - constantly rumored to have just left the building. But I keep on hinting them.

Some people are however, apparently MORE determined than I.

Consumerism gone mad(der)? Or maybe radio stations should be banned. At the very least, a top contender for the Darwin Awards this year†.

Apparently a 28-year-old suburban Sacramento woman died of apparent “water intoxication” after participating in a contest — “Hold Your Wee for a Wii” — sponsored by local radio station 107.9 KDND. The rules were simple: Participants simply competed to see how much water they could drink without going to the bathroom. The winner would receive a shiny new Wii video game console, the highly coveted, $250 must-have from Nintendo.

†Actually this is a somewhat unexpected  outcome, and very sad because she left behind a husband and three kids, who presumably she was trying to win the Wii for. You would think the radio station would have checked that there was no likely harmful outcome - but given some of the radio competitions that have been suggested here in Australia - Celebrity Sperm Donor springs to mind - its not all that weird.

Imagine the fall out from that one, the conversations with an 8 year old child explaining that Mommy never met daddy and in fact the genetic material had been won as part of a radio show.

Now there's family values for you.

The question for me though, is who wil the family sue? The radio station, Nintendo or both?