Brits: warm up before you play!

It's time for a press release from the department of "Oh - ya' think?"

The Wii is as effective as more traditional videogames for burning calories, but players are running the risk of injury by not warming-up properly, according to British experts.

"Gamers should treat a 'Wii session' like any form of exercise and warm-up adequately beforehand to prevent stiffness and possible injuries," said Tim Hutchful, from the British Chiropractic Association.

"Any unaccustomed exercise or activity lays yourself bare to problems that could occur from prolonged periods of active movements, so treat it like a gym work-out, warming-up and cooling down."

The advice about warming up seems to be a good one, but let's remember that all these reports are based off early Wii gaming, and mostly of the playing of Wii Sports - a very active title where the clue is in the name.

When gamers apply common sense to their Wii gaming, as with anything else it becomes safe. You wouldn't generally leap around in your lounge, ducking and diving for hours without a break - so why would you consider acting that way just because you have a small device strapped to your wrist?

The fact is that the Wii is a revolution in gaming and as with all new things, it's going to take time for players to adjust and learn what their limits are. Just as we know that playing any video game solidly for hours on end is bad for your eyes and general health, so we already know that over doing it on the Wii can be dangerous for you and those around you.

Just play safe as you would with anything else (such as dance mat games - remember the press fiasco when people first started falling off them or the mats twisted up on the floor into tripping hazards?). We think it's mostly fuss about nothing and that it's great to see gamers using the Wii to work up a bit of sweat!