MILWAUKEE, WI - After a Monday purchase of the popular console gaming system, this local resident has developed noticeable pain and diminished mobility in right arm.  “I started out bowling and really got into it.  Next thing I knew, I had finished six games and my wrist was hurting”.  This particular resident had learned the hard way that Nintendo has discovered a more serious gaming injury than “Nintendo Thumb”.

“I used to get Nintendo Thumb all the time as a kid.  I’d play Super Mario Bros until my thumb felt like it was gonna fall off.”  He then added “This makes Nintendo Thumb look like a mosquito bite”. 

The Wii gaming system has received a lot of attention, not only due to its new style of interacting with games but due to property damage and injuries.  Many of the protective wrist straps in early versions would break, causing the “Wiimotes” to fly at top speed through the living rooms of America.

“Yah, when the Wii first came out there was so much stuff on YouTube and Engadget about how some moron threw a Wiimote into a $5,000 plasma TV or how some kid took one right in the face and lost a row of teeth.”  When questioned about what he thought after purchasing a Wii himself and experiencing the system first hand the local resident responded “Well, I thought it was hilarious when people were showing how they busted their faces or TVs up on the internet, but after my Wii injury, it is serious business.  I’m not laughing now.”

Many casual and hardcore gamers alike are experiencing a new sensation while using the Wii gaming system.  Most are used to sitting immobile on the couch for hours while staring dully at the television set.  Several of the games in Wii Sports (the game that comes with the system) require users to actually stand up.  If that was not enough some require actual timing and body coordination to play effectively.   According to this resident the realization came quickly “I realized right away I was going to bowl like a chump if I didn’t get off the couch.  The angle was all wrong”.

When questioned about the other games he responded “Well after my wrist started to hurt from bowling, I switched to baseball and for the first time ever, I started sweating from playing a video game.  I’m no tub of lard, you see, I just really was trying to knock that [expletive deleted] out of the park!”

Most injuries are not severe and the general soreness goes away after a brief hiatus with the game.  The impact of “Wii arm” and the various other ailments that come from strains while playing can reach to even the most basic parts of life.  “I realized I had overdone it when I woke up the next day and I had to go lefty in order to wipe my rear end” area man recalls.  “The pain in my right shoulder was just too intense and I could barely reach back past my side.”

The game console itself cautions users periodically that they might be playing too much.  During loading screens sometimes a user will see the Wiimote sitting on a table with an open window blowing a breeze into the room.  A subtle hint that they can actually leave the house and play baseball or tennis without the assistance of a $250 gaming machine and $1,000 television set.  This local resident claims “The bowling alley is too far away and how the heck am I supposed to gather up enough friends to play baseball?  They’re all inside playing their consoles online!”