Xbox 360’s Jacked; Wii May Get You Jacked
November 27, 2006
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It seems that the interactive, get-your-ass-up-off-that-couch magic of the new Nintendo Wii console is wearing some gamers down, leading to soreness and muscle fatigue. No, I’m not joking. “If people are finding themselves sore, they may need to exercise more,” says Nintendo.
After three hours playing Wii Sports (pictured) with his wife, Jeremy Scherer commented, “I was using muscles I hadn’t used in a while.” Scherer describes himself as “not very active” - no real surprise there - and is now committing to nightly “Wii workouts” to get in better shape. In a separate instance, a 12-year-old American girl told the Wall Street Journal, “It’s harder than playing basketball.” Customs broker Ryan Mercer, who does work out with weights, is also finding it heavy going, “I was soaking wet with sweat, head to toe — I had to go take a shower.” The next morning he had trouble putting his shirt on, he said.
Nintendo’s Perrin Kaplan, in response, shows no real sympathy for gamers’ new-found fatigue, saying, “It was not meant to be a Jenny Craig supplement. If people are finding themselves sore, they may need to exercise more.” Ya think?
Across the pond, two separate incidents in the UK have seen over £1 million ($1.93m) worth of Xbox 360 consoles stolen in what appears to be specific targeting of the console by thieves. The first incident occurred last Monday when a truck was stopped on the A38 in Staffordshire, in the English West Midlands; the driver was threatened and dragged from his cab. The truck was found empty on the same road with the loss of around £750,000 ($1.45m) worth of consoles.
The second incident occurred at a Staffordshire depot three days later when a £40,000 ($77,000) trailer was stolen containing £260,000 ($500,000) worth of consoles. Although it is unclear how many of the consoles were Core or Premium bundles, the value of the consoles suggests around 3,500 units in total were stolen during the two hijackings. Staffordshire Police spokesman Peter Stevens commented, “We are appealing for information from anyone offered them in suspicious circumstances, such as in a pub, at a car boot sale or off the back of a lorry, to help us track down those responsible.”
