The folks at Nintendo have released a videogame for the Revolution (now known ad the Wii) which lets you practice sports and physical activities while playing.

Wii fit

This brings up inevitably discussions about the role of videogames in our society and the everyday like, as well as parodies and criticisms. Here's one parody of the spot:

Wii fit spot parody

The video has a point: why should you pretend to play soccer in front of a TV when you can just get out and play in RL? People have always been fascinated by videogames and have always looked for them. The numbers are very clear, the consoles are outselling many other commodities and are exceeding expectations, it's just something we have to recognise and accept, the fact that people are going to play anyway, no matter what. Does that mean that they will alienate from the outside world and live an alternate reality in front of the screen? That only happens in very sporadic cases, which do not make the majority at all, so to take them as the center of our considerations would be a wrong assumption.

If you make a very good soccer videogame are you going to make them video dependent and take them out of the grass field? Truth tells me it's not really the case, I've seen it. Most of the people play in RL, as well as in videogames. So, is it a good thing if you make the cyber experience challenging also at a physical level? Yes. You are saving the people who are more likely to stay at home without moving an inch their body, and you won't loose those who enjoy real physical excercise. We've already seen that happen, Dance Dance Revolution is going to be used in schools, West Virginia officials are hoping a revolution can head off an epidemic of childhood obesity.

The Nintendo Revolution will save the planet from the plague of overweight. Maybe. It will help for sure ^_^.