“Oh man what happened to your face?” Answer: “Wii.”

Nintendo Wii came out last year in November and couldn’t be doing better. I’ve only played it once and I’ve come to realize the fabric loops placed on the controllers are definitely necessary as to not let the simulated bat or bowling ball fly out of control and shatter on the ground.

The one time I did play Wii, the group I was playing with was playing solid sports games, bowling and baseball in particular. A friend of mine was ready to roll his bowling ball fast and straight down the lane. It didn’t work out, because it went fast and straight into his eye. Quickly seeing how this could easily be done, especially among the drunk students that play this game, I looked some articles up on the subject.

According to engadget.com, a website devoted to video game injuries, there have been quite a few painful ones. A woman apparently wearing high heels while participating in the tennis game dislocated her knee. Another incident was when a man swung pretty wild and smashed the glass fixture above his head, cause some pretty painful rain. Lots of black eyes and quite a few sore elbows and arms have been caused by this amazing system. Now, exactly how is this related to sports you might ask?

Besides the fact that they are playing interactive games simulating a sports environment, when someone is able to say in one word how they got their injury with out further explanation it sounds like a sport. For example… “What happened to your arm?” answer, “football.” “Oh man what happened to your face?” answer, “Wii”.

Preventing the injuries on this might be a bit easier then it is in social sports. Padding shouldn’t be required but if you have a tendency to go overboard with your bowling or batting, maybe wear a sweet helmet that you can find at any bike store (Bikesmith on Locust has them; located two to three blocks away from campus.)

Seriously start wearing the wrist huggers, they can prevent a lot of damage if not to you then to your controller. Please don’t stand under anything that can shatter and most likely be painful for you and expensive to replace. It’s just as simple as being aware of your surroundings. Hope you play it safe.

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