Michael Torchia wants Nintendo to yank Wii games from store shelves until the company makes “important changes” to its products, according to News Blaze. Torchia claims the games, which occasionally require wide-ranging physical motion, are “potentially dangerous.”
Err…Michael who-huh?
You know. Michael “that radio talk show guy” Torchia. Operation Fitness? Motivational speaker? Children’s Fitness Academy? Clientele like Matt Damon, Al Pacino, and Kevin Spacey?
Not ringing any bells?
I’d never heard of him either, but apparently he’s taken it upon himself to warn us of the Wii’s flaws and foibles. Nintendo can only remedy this, says Torchia, by slapping warning stickers on products, adding that “through slick advertising campaigns and product placements on popular television shows, children and adults are being brainwashed that Wii games are safe and effective ways to become physically fit.”
“On the contrary, Nintendo is contributing to the epidemic of obesity. Young and old are putting away their gym clothes and shying away from going outdoors to play sports, because the addictive appeal to the Wii game products. Just as the tobacco companies created such a false image of their products and hid the potential dangers, so is Nintendo,” says Torchia.
Let’s see…so following Torchia’s metaphor, Nintendo is like the tobacco companies, and the Wii is like cigarettes. Mm-hmm.
Torchia claims that “up to ten people a week are being hospitalized with injuries caused by playing Nintendo Wii games.” I’m not sure where that’s been scientifically documented, but the news appears to have sprung from Rupert Murdoch’s The Sun, a tabloid daily published in the UK and Ireland known for its splashy, controversial headlines.
So…improper form while exercising can lead to injury. Who knew?
Just yesterday, I went running along a footpath covered in ice from all the recent snow here, which threw off my strides, in turn causing pain in my knees.
Whose fault’s that? New Balance’s? Because I was wearing their running shoes? Shoes without a catch-all “you might injure yourself if you run like a dope” safety warning?
Should Nintendo really pull its Wii games off shelves because players aren’t adhering to the safety guidelines Nintendo already publishes?
And do we really need another class action lawsuit, like the one Torchia’s reportedly preparing?
Matt Peckham exercises outdoors routinely and still breaks a sweat playing Dancing With the Stars. He’s foxtrotting with two left feet at twitter.com/game_on.