Questions Raised About Wii Health Research

There’s more news concerning the story we ran earlier this week on improving your health with the Wii – and it concerns the research itself.

Here is what we were press released with as the core of the findings:



(The emphasis is ours).

The study was based on a total playing time of 45 minutes carried out two weeks ago. These 45 minute research period comprised 15 minutes each of Wii Sports Boxing, Wii Sports Bowling and Wii Sports Tennis. As we pointed out yesterday, the sample was of five boys and seven girls.

SPOnG spoke with Professor Tim Cable of the Liverpool John Moores University, who supervised the study, in order to get some more in-depth information regarding how the research came into being.

“Nintendo commissioned it” was his straightforward response.

We then asked Professor Cable how the comparison with other consoles was carried out; what other consoles – and what games – were used, he told us, “I don’t know what other consoles or games were used as I didn’t carry out the research, I supervised it. I’d have to go and find out.”

Of course we asked for a copy of the research itself, “The full research will be published in a (peer-reviewed) journal and that can take about six months. I do have an executive summary but (Nintendo’s) PR company want to control how that is messaged.”

So, we approached the PR company and requested a copy of the research. So far we’ve received a copy of the press release. Nowhere in that document was it stated that Nintendo had funded the research.

The source of the funding aside – and corporations funding research is a long established tradition - we wondered about exactly what a ‘research’ study into the health of humans should entail. So, we approached a senior member of staff at the University of Leeds to discover what kind of sampling size and over what period he would consider appropriate in order to deserve the title ‘research’. We explained the Nintendo-funded research and were met with the following response, “That sounds very small to me – 45 minutes and 12 people are not statistically relevant.”

So, we asked, what would this be called? A study?

“What you’ve got here is an indication or a feasibility (study), this is to show that a full research trial could work, how it would produce results.” In short, what a researcher would do would be to take this study to the funding body in order to get a further sum of money to carry out the kind of in-depth work that Professor Cable is indicating would go up for peer review.

We asked Professor Cable if, based on the figure of 12.2 hours a week console game play, running around in a field would have the same effect or better than playing Wii Sports. His response was that of an honest, realistic academic.

“Kids don’t actually do that – running around – they spend 12.2 hours a week in front of consoles. Boys are slightly less sedentary than girls. So, the reality is that playing Wii and Wii Sports (in a way that emulates how the real games are played) is better for you (than traditional console play).”

Cable is indeed quoted in the press release as saying, “…it is important to promote as much activity as possible during this time. Active consoles such as the Wii could provide a means of motivating children who are less active. However, parents should encourage other physical activities and outdoor pursuits in order for their children to lead well balanced lives.

“The results (of the study) indicate that the motion sensor technology used with the Wii can accurately simulate the real movements found in sports, such as boxing and tennis, which can consequently provide positive health benefits, providing the activity is carried out over a prolonged period. In addition the children found the activity-promoting console exciting to play and particularly enjoyed the sensation of performing movements that were very similar to those used when playing the real sports.”

This realism, in SPOnG’s mind, is laudable and what you would expect from a respected professional - we look forward to the full research from Professor Cable and his team when it appears, peer-reviewed in six months time.

The fact that nowhere in the press release is it stated that the research is Nintendo-funded, nor that the study is preliminary is cause for concern. That no other Wii games were included, nor any information supplied regarding which other consoles or games were used as comparatives makes the results appear disingenuous.

This is a shame. It’s a shame because the kind of results that a full study could produce regarding ways to improve the health of kids, in tandem with some genuinely innovative games, would not only help the children and encourage industry innovation, it would also provide much-needed ammunition in the ongoing war with anti-games luddites.

As we put this story live, we are still waiting for a copy of the executive study.