The dark side of the Fit
International Front is a huge proponent of the revolutionary gameplay and unique user-interaction design opportunities created of the Wii Fit, but we’d be remiss if we didn’t also bring to light the dark side of this dangerous new device. If for only the children, we present the following public service information.
Wii Fit: Your Living Room Decor is NOT SAFE
As reported in the in the British newspaper The Telegraph, the Wii Fit has unleashed a reign of destruction in the U.K., not seen since perhaps the introduction of the Razor scooter on September 4, 1996. From Newcastle to Brighton, British living rooms are being destroyed by the trashing about of errant limbs and hips, to the tune of 20 million pounds. While no loss of life is directly reported in the article, one can assume that injuries have be amassed by that amount of carnage are not insignificant (and related injuries from spilled tea, broken monocles, and dented top hats), and surely some of those injuries were fatal.
How will Nintendo weather this media storm?
This is the second safety debacle since the introduction of the Wii, the first being the December 15, 2006 recall of wrist straps that would break under heavy use (a problem exasperated by the introduction of WarioWare: Smooth Moves, which prompts players to deliberately drop the controller). Nintendo ultimately replaced over 2 million straps under a recall administered by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. However, as this problem has nothing to do with hardware failure and is really a ‘user error’ issue, we suspect Nintendo’s response will be “Let’s all just simmer down now.”
Fortunately, the wave of destruction doesn’t appear to extend beyond the coasts of England. It has been difficult to attribute this specifically to small U.K. living rooms (reported in the article to be on average just 21 sq. ft.) or a general lack of dexterity demonstrated by British casual gamers.
You’ve been warned. Stay alert. And watch out for the coffee table - those corners are sharp.