Do you remember a time when festive entertainment simply meant watching TV or playing a board game? Now, Christmas Day is more likely to involve jumping around the living room and dodging the lamp shade while engaged in a boxing match with the relatives – using the Nintendo Wii, of course. But how safe are Nintendo gaming systems for festive fun? A new study published in the Christmas edition of The BMJ investigates.
Nintendo has grown to become one of the biggest names in the gaming industry. Many readers may remember playing Super Mario on the Game Boy console in the 80s or 90s, or even the coin-operated game Donkey Kong back in the 70s.
And in 2006 came a revolution in gaming technology – the Nintendo Wii. This is a games console that can detect players’ movement throughout game play via motion-sensitive controllers.
To date, more than 100 million Wii consoles have been sold worldwide. Thanks to its interactive games such as Wii Sports – in which users can compete against each other in various sports including tennis, boxing and bowling – the console is not only popular with children, but it has also become a family favorite.
However, the research team – including Dr. Maarten B. Jalink of the University of Groningen Medical Centre in the Netherlands – notes that “there have been reports of Nintendo-related injuries and other problems, which range from mild to life-threatening.”
With this in mind, the researchers decided to assess whether Nintendo consoles are safe to give as a Christmas gift by searching for reports of injuries caused by using the systems.
Dr. Jalink and colleagues identified 38 reports of Nintendo-related injuries and divided them into two groups: injuries that took place prior to the launch of the Wii and those that occurred after.
Among injuries that took place before the launch of the Wii were cases of “nintendinitis” or “nintendonitis” – a form of tendinitis in the hand, thumb or wrist that occurs as a result of strenuous gameplay with a traditional controller or joystick.
The team identified one such case in a 35-year-old woman in 1990 who – after 5 hours of continuous Nintendo gameplay – suffered severe pain in her right thumb.
The researchers also point to other hand injuries incurred by users of the Nintendo 64 console, which was launched in 1997.
Certain games launched alongside the console – such as Mario Kart – required players to use a thumb to rapidly rotate the joystick. But the team notes many players used their palms, and the fast movement led to ulcerations. “After receiving more than 90 complaints, Nintendo handed out protective gloves to all owners of the game,” the researchers add.
On analyzing Nintendo-related injuries following the launch of the Wii, Dr. Jalink and colleagues identified the first case of “wiiitis” in a 29-year-old man. After playing Wii Sports for many hours uninterrupted, he experienced acute tendinitis of the right shoulder.
The researchers also identified two cases of wiiitis in the wrist, as well as one case of a woman who developed carpal tunnel syndrome – a feeling of tingling, numbness or pain in the hand – after playing a bowling game on the Nintendo Wii for 6-8 hours a day for 10 days.
Although the majority of injuries incurred through Wii gameplay could be effectively treated with rest or anti-inflammatory medication, the researchers also identified some life-threatening injuries.
One case involved a 55-year-old woman who fell onto her sofa while playing tennis using her Wii. As a result, she experienced a large chest bleed (hemothorax).
The team also identified two cases in which patients were admitted to the hospital for ischemic stroke after incurring an internal carotid dissection from playing the Wii.
The team says their findings show that the type of injury obtained through use of a Nintendo console is dependent on the type of console used.
“Excessive game play with traditional controllers is associated with tendinitis of the thumb; the Nintendo 64 joystick can lead to palmar ulceration; and the motion-sensitive Wii remote can cause musculoskeletal problems and various traumas,” they add.
But despite identifying a number of Nintendo-related injuries, the team says the majority of the injuries are mild and the prevalence of injuries is low relative to the number of Nintendo consoles sold.
They note, however, that users should be cautious when playing:
“Overall, a Nintendo is a relatively safe Christmas present. However, those who receive such a gift should not swing the controller too hard, they should be careful about where they play, and they should take frequent breaks.”
Last year, Medical News Today reported on a study by researchers from Germany, which suggested that the Wii Fit Plus exercise game could improve control of glucose levels among type 2 diabetics.