Having actual experience in a sport is an advantage because Wii success does require some technique — a turn of the wrist for backspin in Wii tennis or a fluid follow-through for a straight shot in Wii golf.
Solari, 29, also plays the Wii boxing game. "Having a little bit of boxing training helps," said Solari, 29, who learned the fundamentals from his father. "The game is set up so that jabbing and then swinging with your right is more beneficial than just swinging with your right, which is fairly accurate with regard to real boxing."
When first told that people were using Wii boxing to train for the ring, Joe Brender, a coach at Inwood Boxing Academy in Manhattan, guffawed. But after a little more discussion about the Wii game, Brender was less dismissive. "Two jabs and a right, that's basic 101 boxing," he said, adding that he supports any game that gets novices interested in the sport.
But the Wii wasn't designed for jocks or even would-be jocks. It was made for nongamers with no interest in mastering the intricacies of traditional thumb jockeying, and for die-hard Nintendo fans awed by the new technology.
For sports gamers with something to prove, doing the bare minimum isn't an option. Luis Blanco, a designer in Manhattan, said that engaging himself physically in the game is more enjoyable: "I like it because there's more drama, you're jumping around, it's more fun, and it just makes it feel more authentic."
DeLorenzo even issues an ultimatum: "Whenever I play with anyone, we set ground rules like 'you have to use full range of motion.'" Otherwise, he said, it's a bore.
He has another reason to keep the level of play high. The world is watching. His fan site, wiinintendo.net, where he documented six weeks of play and the loss of 4kg, helped him win a book deal, to write The Wii Workout. Some users think of him as their own "Jared from Subway," though DeLorenzo has no official relationship with Nintendo.
Losing oneself in the game can have unintended consequences. Reports of flying controllers and unfortunate accidents abound on Web sites like wiihaveaproblem.com. Devon Clark, an animator in Manhattan, said he accidentally punched his wife while playing Wii boxing.
"She was in the way," said Clark, who admittedly has a tiny living room.
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