Playing Wii Games to Playing Real Games - Essay Example

?Playing Wii™ games to playing Real games “Sport is a preserver of health”. Hippocrates “Life, like all other games, becomes fun when one realizes that it’s just a game”. Nerijus Stasiulis These quotes reflect the importance of sports and games in our lives but these quotes never mentioned the nature of the games and sports they talk about. Moreover, did Nerijus and Hippocrates ever think that technology would revolutionize the mode of sports and games they were talking about? Maybe there was no need to describe the nature of sports and games in these quotes. The first quote defines games as a mechanism of having fun in life. However, Hippocrates talks about sports as a preserver of health which is to some extent a serious issue. These days the games and sports we see on television are all about winning or losing. So what position do sports and games hold in our daily lives? The answer to this question varies from person to person. Most of the time we see professional athletes on television and they concentrate on winning as it is their job. On the contrary most people play games and sports for fun or to be physically fit but ultimately sports and games necessarily entail fun and fitness regardless of the nature of these games and sports. So it is only realistic to presume that all sports and games play a vital role in our lives. Now the question remains does the mode of playing such sports matter? This question leads us to the virtual world of seventh generation gaming technology which has revolutionized the real world. Now, we have access to two different modes of sports and gaming experience. First one is the archaic real world sporting experience and the second one is the highly interactive virtual world gaming experience. Nintendo’s Wii is the console that offers us such and experience in real time. There is unimaginable similarities between the two different modes but no matter how closely playing Wii games resembles playing real sports, they are not the same thing as sweating is in no way a measure of similarity between playing Wii games and playing real games. Further in the paper we shall compare and contrast these two modes in depth. Sports like hockey, soccer, rugby and boxing require a lot of physical stress and stamina. These sports are considered healthy as well as tough. They help humans in maintaining a healthy body. The efforts required for these activities fulfill the criteria of exercise needed to keep a healthy body. These exercises increase one’s heart rate, glucose breakdown, and stamina. The movements, power and strategy involved in these activities put one’s mind and muscles to work which in turn shapes the body in to an ideal body. Wii gaming system was released in 2006 by Nintendo. “Wii is actually an exergame. That is, it’s a video game that requires players to use actual physical movements to manipulate the action. Employing a wireless handheld controller (about the size of a TV remote, ironically) with acceleration sensors and an infrared camera built into the console, the Wii senses players’ Motions and translates them into on-screen movement. For instance, in Wii Tennis you swing the controller like a racket; for Wii Golf, the controller is your club” (Anders). Wii has released almost all the popular real world sports games such as boxing, tennis, golf and baseball so its range of games encompass many of the real sports. As mentioned earlier in order to play these games, one needs to mimic the exact movements in front of the screen as used in playing real sports. The player’s actions in real time resemble very closely to actions performed in playing real sports. Playing Wii games helps burn calories just like in playing real sports. Moreover, players even perspire while playing Wii games. “In fact, in addition to burning the most calories, boxing was the only Wii game tested that would be considered intense enough to maintain or improve cardiorespiratory endurance as defined by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM)” (Anders). The experience closely resembles to that of real boxing. “The latest and most fitness-oriented addition to the Wii world is Wii Fit, a game that comes with a wired balance board and leads users through 40 different exercises, including everything from aerobic workouts to strength and balance training to yoga. The balance board acts as a game controller and body-weight scale, while also measuring balance and tracking users’ fitness results” (Anders). This game is so much similar to our normal workout that it can practically replace our fitness instructors. In a study, the researchers found out the physiological responses of our bodies while playing Wii games. The researchers compared these results with the physiological responses of our bodies while playing the same actual sports. The comparative results show differences that enlighten us on the contrast in the apparent similarities. Participating in the actual sports considers factors such as the movement of one’s whole body and handling the weight of sport kits such as baseball bat, racquets and golf clubs etc. Moreover, Wii gaming experience is much more interactive than playing real sports. Its arenas, crowd and environment is virtual which means it can be custom designed. Furthermore, the rates at which calories burn during a particular game significantly differ. Following are the statistical results found in the research. “Tennis: The real sport: 8.1 calories per minute Wii Sports: 5.3 calories per minute Boxing: The real sport: 10.2 calories per minute Wii Sports: 7.2 calories per minute Golf: The real sport: 3.9 calories per minute Wii Sports: 3.1 calories per minute Bowling: The real sport: 7.2 calories per minute Wii Sports: 3.5 calories per minute Baseball: The real sport: 7.3 calories per minute Wii Sports: 4.5 calories per minute” (Wii Sports vs. Real Sports: Burned Calories Calculated) After describing the similarities and differences between the two modes of physical exercise it is safe to establish that playing Wii games is actually a close alternative of playing real sports. Apparently there is much similarity between these two means but one can clearly identify the differences upon closely observing. All the apparent effects of playing Wii point to the similarities to playing real sports. However, the differences are still there. Works Cited Anders, Mark. "As Good as the Real Thing?" Acefitness.org. July-Aug. 2008. Web. 25 Sept. 2011. . "Inspirational Sport Quotes." Favorite Famous Quotes. Web. 26 Sept. 2011. . "Nerijus Stasiulis Quotes." Find the Famous Quotes You Need, ThinkExist.com Quotations. Web. 26 Sept. 2011. . "Wii Sports vs. Real Sports: Burned Calories Calculated." WiiHealthy - Wii Fit, Wii Sports, Nintendo Sportsgames, Wii Fitness, Wii Balance Board, Yoga, Mii, Exergaming. 4 Aug. 2008. Web. 25 Sept. 2011. . Read More