Yesterday at work, we had enjoyed an Easter potluck, and the along with our gastronmic delights, we made some time for physical activity too. No walking for us: we had an Wii competition.

For the uninitiated: the Wii is Nintendo’s latest game console, and boasts wireless controllers, which gives the user a wider range of motion than was prevously possible with its wired controllers. The game console comes with a sports pack of games, which includes bowling, boxing, golf, baseball and tennis, and it is this latter game that my colleagues and I enjoyed.

For someone like me, who would much rather surf the web than engage in anything that smacks of gaming, I was genuinely surprised at how much fun I had using this system. While previous sports games require the user to fumble through pressing series of buttons in order to swing a tennis racket, for example, all you have to do to do is swing your Wii (once you have strapped on your wrist strap, that is) and if you time it right your “racket” connects with the ball and over it goes to your opponent’s side of the court.

After a glorious defeat of my colleague, I was suprised to find that my cheeks were warm and I could feel the efforts of my exertion. It’s no surprise: this article (based on a BBC News report) claims that the use of consoles such as Wii is related to weight loss! In fact, very regular use (12.2 hours a week, the typical gamer’s average) could lead to a loss of approximately 1800 calories a week! I can see parents choosing this game console over others, much in the way they sneak vegetables into their child’s favourite dishes. And best of all, I can see parents and children alike clamouring to use the console!

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