Fitness Expert To File Lawsuit Against Nintendo
A self-proclaimed fitness expert is preparing to file a class action lawsuit against Nintendo, claiming the popular gaming console’s Wii and Wii Fit are causing serious physical injuries due to a lack of proper warnings on their products.
Michael Torchia, the host of the radio talk show “Shape Up America,” says he wants Nintendo to pull their Wii games off the shelves until they make important changes to their products.
The Wii is Nintendo”˜s fifth home gaming console. Its distinguishing feature is its wireless controller, the Wii Remote, which can be used as a handheld pointing device that detects movement in three dimensions.
Wii Fit is an exercise game consisting of roughly 40 activities utilizing the Wii Balance Board peripheral, where users can engage in various activities including yoga poses, push ups, strength, balance and aerobic exercises.
Torchia claims that widespread usage of the Wii Fit and Wii Balance Board is creating a “new phenomenon” of injuries to the knees, back and wrists of game players as a result of overuse and improper warm up.
He said up to ten people a week are being hospitalized with injuries caused by Wii gaming.
In fact, doctors in Britain have even issued warnings over the dangers associated with the Wii video game system.
Dr. Dev Mukerjee of Broomfield Hospital, Essex, said most patients are admitted after playing tennis or running games that involve sudden movements, resulting in tendon stretching or tearing.
Torchia claims he is simply “taking a stance to ensure that people are aware of the potential dangers.”
He feels Nintendo is misrepresenting their Wii games as a replacement for sensible exercise and sports activities and suggests the company needs to issue a warning that such games are intended for entertainment and not to replace actual physical activity.
Nintendo promotes its Wii games as safe and effective ways to become physically fit, but Torchia couldn’t disagree more.
"On the contrary, Nintendo is contributing to the epidemic of obesity. Young and old are putting away their gym clothes and shying away from going outdoors to play sports, because of the addictive appeal to the Wii game products,” he said.
He even likened the way Nintendo has created a false image of its products to how the tobacco industry once hid the potential dangers of smoking.
Torchia said his extensive knowledge as a health and fitness expert has made him able to gage why so many people are sustaining injuries using these products incorrectly.
"Not only are people getting injured due to a lack of instruction, they are also developing improper stroke patterns from long term use of the sports games which can potentially effect their ability to excel in those specific activities later in life," he said.
Torchia has started the website OperationFitness.com for people to report any injuries that have been incurred while using the Wii games.
As of December 2008, Wii Fit is the Wii’s third best-selling game, with 14 million copies sold and has generated over $1.26 billion in revenue for Nintendo.
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