Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Wii Fun and Fitness

I have made a discovery that is both obvious and underreported: Boxing is great exercise when no one is hitting you back.

I've been boxing with the Wii fairly often since we bought it a few weeks back and as a consequence am routinely reaching the point of sweating where I used to just loaf on the couch and watch movies, or play old-style video games.

By old-style, what I mean is a video game that only accepts input from ones fingers.
The Wii has ushered in a new era in video gaming that brings us closer to the Star Trek Holodeck, in which the user is immersed in a virtual world and can act out parts that could only be fantasy in his real life.

A great XBox game, such as any of the Halo series, is very convincing and engaging. However, the ability to have your body's movements contribute to your success or failure in the game environment raises the bar considerably.

I look forward to the next generation of gaming consoles, when Microsoft and Sony will undoubtedly follow Nintendo's lead and make controllers and devices that read and respond to the gamers body to make the games of the future the most immersive yet.

2 comments :

Great Grumpy Z. said...

As long as you box with no one hitting you back, Grumpy approves; otherwise I believe it should be a prohibited "sport" for all minors, with or without their parents' and/or guardians' consents. And I question the intelligence of anyone who willfully engages in it.

Sincerely!!

Amboy Observer said...

Yes, the beauty of the Wii is that you actually box, including the bobbing and weaving, but if you bob and weave poorly, the only one to get hit is your Mii, or the animated character representing you on the screen. Quite a nice arrangement.