Nintendo is trying to position the Wii as an "exergame," alongside the more frenetic Dance Dance Revolution, and virtual reality golf games, which you can also find at the Newton Y.
With almost one in five kids ages 6 to 11 overweight in 2004, according to the US Centers for Disease Control, many athletic directors and pediatricians are looking for anything, even a video game, to get kids to move something other than their thumbs.
There has been no independent research to back up the company's claims, but Nintendo is circulating stories about Wii gamers shedding pounds by playing just 30 minutes per day. One story features a claim by the Philadelphia marketing firm Hall Media Productions that one of its employees lost 9 pounds playing Wii games for a few weeks. Nintendo has also cited a few limited studies that suggest certain video games burn calories faster than others.
