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Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Spending time with Wii?
According to the A.C. Nielsen Co., the average American watches more than 4 hours of TV each day (or 28 hours/week, or 2 months of nonstop TV-watching per year). The average US household had the TV turned on 8 hours and 11 minutes per day. Why is it that spending this time with TV is considered normal, but if you spent the same time playing video games, people start worrying about addiction?
Fact is that leisure time is one of the great achievements of civilization. Modern man spends considerably less time per week for bringing food on the table as the people in previous centuries. But now we need to fill this leisure time with something. TV is still the prime choice, and has been in the last 50 years, but nowadays surfing the internet or playing video games is making inroads. And that isn't a bad thing. Even a video game is a lot more interactive than TV. And surfing the net, in spite of the dangers of finding things they aren't supposed to see, is training kids in skills that are quite relevant for their future careers.
So we are looking for something that can fill a 4-hour-per-day hole in our lives, to replace TV. And a MMORPG like World of Warcraft is certainly able to fill a hole of that size. And most video game consoles, with a bunch of games, are also able to fill that hole. But curiously the latest development in video game consoles won't be able to do that. You simply can't play on the Wii for 4 hours a day, it causes too much pain. Swinging the Wii controller like a virtual sword or tennis racket sounds like a fun idea, but after an hour or so your arm, shoulder, or neck is starting to hurt. Hey, I saw that one coming, which is why I never planned to buy a Wii.
Now a Wii is considerably cheaper than a XBox 360 or PS3. And if you have the money, you might still want to buy a Wii for the occasional half-hour of exercise in front of your TV. It sure looks like more fun than a Jane Fonda aerobics video. But if you only want to buy *one* of the "next generation" consoles, keep in mind that you're unlikely to use the Wii for 4 hours a day. Unless of course you want to buy a Wii for your children, to tire them out. ;)
- posted by Tobold @ 8:08 AM Permanent Link
Comments:
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How dissapointing that you've homed in on one of the few negative reactions to backup one of your arguments. With the wiimote you can use as much or as little movement as you want, in fact a lot of people playing the new Zelda are saying that its more comfortable playing with the new control method with hands rested on their legs and just using small movements. Also those that complained will be the same people that would be aching after an hours worth of real tennis, give them a week to get themselves used to it and they'll be fine :P
# posted by 
: 5/12/06 09:49
: 5/12/06 09:49
I argee with what Carter said. I've played Zelda for couple hours in a road. The movement required to play Zelda is minimum. In fact, Nintendo made the game such that even pointing using the Wii remote is optional. There is also a classic controller available. Most of the "traditional" games will be classic controller compatible. Actually if you have read enough Nintendo's news, you'd know that Nintendo has your concern covered already.
Though I have to agree that I can't play Wii sport for 4 hour straight. Not for physical reasons but it just gets boring after 4 hours (unless I am playing with friends). Lots of Wii games are designed to be quick and short for non-hardcore gamers that don't want to spend such a long time on playing games. I think this idea is nice and it does work. When I feel like committing 4+ hours on games, I'd launch my WoW and join some raid instead. :)
Though I have to agree that I can't play Wii sport for 4 hour straight. Not for physical reasons but it just gets boring after 4 hours (unless I am playing with friends). Lots of Wii games are designed to be quick and short for non-hardcore gamers that don't want to spend such a long time on playing games. I think this idea is nice and it does work. When I feel like committing 4+ hours on games, I'd launch my WoW and join some raid instead. :)
# posted by : 5/12/06 11:32
: 5/12/06 11:32
I am too old to go jumping about while playing games so I won't be getting a Wii myself but I like the fact that Nintendo are trying to break the mould. If you look at the success of games like Eyetoy, Dancemats, Guitar Hero, Monkey Konga and such there are an awful lot of energetic people out there who are prepared to tire themselves out in order to have fun with a video game.
# posted by : 5/12/06 12:47
: 5/12/06 12:47
Nintendo claims that any damage caused is the users fault.
Well, some people apparently broke their TV because they played the bowling game of Wii sports, let go of the controller at the end of their swing, and did that with so much energy that the wrist band snapped, sending the controller crashing through the TV screen. Obviously not a good idea.
On the other hand, if I played Wii bowling and just used tiny motions, it would resemble much less to a real bowling.
Well, some people apparently broke their TV because they played the bowling game of Wii sports, let go of the controller at the end of their swing, and did that with so much energy that the wrist band snapped, sending the controller crashing through the TV screen. Obviously not a good idea.
On the other hand, if I played Wii bowling and just used tiny motions, it would resemble much less to a real bowling.
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