Results tagged “wii”

Students at five city middle schools are serving a guinea pigs for a Nintendo Wii-based fitness program, which may be expanded city-wide if private funding can be found. At one school in The Bronx, 25 children have been testing the program after school for four hours a week, doing yoga and jogging in a room with five big TV screens and Wii consoles, which were donated by Nintendo. The concept really isn't so radical; last year a Manhattan gym started charging $110 for Wii personal training sessions. Lori Rose Benson, head of the Department of Education's Office of Fitness and Health Education, admits she isn't a "huge supporter" of the program, because of the cost and the limited number of children who can participate at one time. But naturally the kids love it; eighth-grader Emmanuel Goua tells the Post, "It's exciting, because you actually lose weight without even knowing it. It's a fun way to exercise." And eighth-grader Thalia Gutierrez explains, "It helps your arms and your biceps and everything. I have muscles. I even got abs, too." Now Nintendo just needs to come up with a Wii grammar game!

A Manhattan gym is now charging $110 for personal training sessions that incorporate video games into the workout. According to the Post, trainers like Dorothy Evans at Gravity Fitness have started using Nintendo Wii Sport games like boxing, tennis, golf and dodge ball. Evans swears it can provide a full body workout: "You'd be surprised. It may have little to do with the real sports, but we get people's heart rates up to 140 to 150 beats per minute – although some of that may just be the excitement of the game."

Long gone are the days of sitting on the floor in front of an Atari developing a hunched back and crippled fingers--right now, Nintendo is promoting the launch of Wii Fit, their exercise-based platform,by getting people moving in Central Park.

Attention competitive eating fans – hey, stop snickering; it’s a legitimate sport regulated by an International Federation! As one fan site says, "For those of you who doubt it's a sport, try making your body consume 20 pounds of food in 10 minutes." Anyway, C.E. fans will definitely want to plan for an extra-long lunch break on Tuesday, May 20th, when two of the world’s biggest "gurgitory gladiators" will lock horns in a Battle Royale for watermelon eating dominance.

     

The world of Nintendo gaming collided with the world of TV heartthrobs. Jason Priestley, best known as Brandon Walsh from Bev-Niner, and Gossip Girl's Chace Crawford met at the Nintendo World store over the weekend. While the event was for Mario Kart Wii, we like to think of it as the passing of the baton--or Wii Wheel--of one beloved teen soap drama lead to another.

Because Mario Kart Wii is launching next week, the folks at Nintendo have decided to treat "unsuspecting NewYorkers" with free cab rides in Midtown at 8 a.m. -10 a.m. and 12 p.m.-2 p.m. A costumed Mario will literally be hailing cabs for commuters at the Midtown Sheraton at 817 7th Avenue between 52nd and 53rd Streets.

The owners of the rooftop Ronald McDonald have stepped forward! We received the following email today from one of them (Ali), telling us:

That's my apartment featured in your Ronald McDonald story; it actually was not stolen; my roommate [Michael] saved it from McDonald's garbage one night and then lugged it up five flights of stairs. He's a hero if you ask me.

This afternoon, not only can you take out a book on perfecting your tennis backhand, you can work on your Wii Tennis backhand at the New York Public Library's Humanities and Social Sciences Library (the big one on Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street in Manhattan).

Today Lego celebrates the big 5-0, even getting some Google-love for hitting the half century mark.

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: shots fired on 166th St. and the Grand Concourse in the Bronx, a pedestrian struck at Berry St. and Division Ave. in Brooklyn, and a found body on Richmond Valley and Arthur Kill on Staten Island.
• Still searching for the Staten Island ninja burglar, police questioned New York Post photographer Ron Romano because of his ninja-like ability to tightrope walk.
• A huge hole in the middle of Brooklyn's Pacific Street provides rude awakenings for drivers who don't see it.
• Mark it. Police Commissioner Ray Kelly says he has no intention of running for Mayor.
• The City of New York was found liable for the 2004 mauling of a toddler in the Bronx, because a police officer gave a pit bull to a mother who had never handled the dog before.
• The loudest neighborhoods in NYC, based on the number of noise complaints. The Bronx is blasting.
• With two weeks to go before Christmas, customers are lining up day and night to get a hand on a Nintendo Wii game system.
• Brooklyn District Attorney Charles J. Hynes describes the sub-premium mortgage meltdown as equivalent to the crack epidemic of the 1980s.
• And w00t is Merriam-Webster's word of the year.

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a water rescue at Atlantic Beach Bridge in Queens, a fall victim onto the train tracks at West 42nd St. and 9th Ave. in Manhattan, and a car in the water on Bay and Edgewater Sts. in Staten Island.
• He didn't have to be shot in the back with a shotgun! Dick Cheney's heart problems continue. Seriously though, best wishes.
• Gov. Elliot Spitzer is going to be sequestered in a Brooklyn Marriott this weekend to hear it from fellow Democratic lawmakers. He'll eventually issue a mea culpa for resembling the party's mascot too closely and the Democrats will try to move on from there.
• "Wii. We need a Wii and world peace, but I'll take a Wii," said Mxxxxxxx Fxxxxx, 43, of Staten Island as she and her two daughters scoured Times Square stores for the red-hot Nintendo video-game console."
• Yep, immigrants are a drag on the economy: "In the suburbs north and east of the city, about 4 of every 10 doctors and more than one-fourth of college professors were foreign-born."
• "SELF" Magazine rated Long Island the second-healthiest region in the country. New York women ranked 8th in the 2nd annual ranking.
• Things to bring to a party: cake, wine, and not a knife to stick in your host's neck. The latter was the choice of one party guest, who surprised her friend with a sharp knife and a quick death.
• Brooke Astor's son Anthony and his attorney have been asked to surrender themselves on criminal charges.

Who says the Wii is only for the young - or those dressed as Luigi? The Carter Burden Center for the Aging on the Upper East Side had a Senior Fitness Day this past Friday Friday that gave seniors a chance to play Wii baseball, as well as Brain Age 2 (photograph below), the Nintendo DS game that has various ways to challenge people's memory and keep people sharp.

We're thinking that the newly renovated City Hall bullpen would be a great place for MTV Cribs to visit, even if Bloomberg staffers don't have posters of Scarface or The Godfather in their cubes. Because Panasonic has donated a 103" plasma HDTV to the bullpen!

At a bar filled with arcade games, all of which pre-date the 1990's, hundreds of spectators and competitors gathered yesterday for Wiimbledon. While interest in the first-ever Nintendo Wii tennis tournament was high, only 128 competitors were able to play in the single-elimination tournament at Barcade. Players dressed up as tennis players, Harry Potter, and came in their best bear costumes (the bear was eliminated and dejected). While the competition was intense at times, it was obvious to us that several players were in over their heads.

LB: We were sitting at our local bar (shout out to Rope!) and Steve mentioned in passing he had registered wiimbledon.net. Pretty cheeky, I thought, and asked if he was going to hold it for ransom. After a few beers (shout out to Six Points' Sweet Action!) and a few more beers, Wiimbledon was born.

Add "Do you play video games?" to the list of questions you might want to ask your surgeon.

Let us be the first to wish you a happy President’s Day, assuming your loved ones or roommates haven’t beaten us to it. Just on the heels of Valentine’s Day, this holiday comes as a welcomed treat with no responsibilities of gift buying, cooking or convincing yourself that you’re “just picky”. Not to mention a day off to catch up on important tasks like beating your high score at Wii Bowling (current record: 152) or watching those NetFlix that have been patiently waiting for you, collecting dust on your TV stand. But it’s easy to get caught up in “you” and forget the meaning behind the holiday. President’s Day is an opportunity to recognize some of the great and crappy Presidents that have helped to build our nation. Being leader of the free world is really hard work - requiring frequent vacations and trips to the ranch. Sometimes you need to take a night off from building an empire and have a nice, stiff drink. So that’s how we are going to celebrate today - take it easy, turn off the Treo and drink what the big boys do.

EVENT: Nerd Alert! Come on by for Nerd Night tonight at Orchid Lounge where there are two geeked out presentations awaiting you. Presentation #1: "Genesis Rules! Wait, I Meant To Say Neurogenesis". Something about Adult Neurogenesis and Phil Collins, or something. Presentation #2: "TETROMINOWLEDGE: How Four Blocks, Arranged In Different Patterns, Have Changed the World, Kind Of". This one is mostly about Tetris. So put the Wii down and get out of the house.

The Daily News received renderings of what Coney Island may look like, if developer Thor Equities has its way. Thinkwell Design & Production designed a 6-acre plan for "Coney Island Park." Thinkwell creative director Chris Durmick said, "Whatever you come looking for at Coney Island, it's all going to be there." What happens in Coney Island, stays in Coney Island?

This is traditionally a pretty slow time for music. Everyone is getting their feet back under them from the holidays, there aren't many bands putting out albums, and even less are ready to get back out and start touring. The news cycle in general is still pretty weak, and music has it no different. Nonetheless, we're starting a new feature this week recapping the biggest stories in rock around this town every Friday. So...

It's crazy holiday congestion time when the NYPD starting hauling out mesh netting to control crowds. But, really, when there's a teeming mass of insane people in Midtown who want to see the Rockettes or attempt to buy a Wii or see the Rockefeller Christmas Tree, is mesh enough? We know the police is under scrutiny over brutality, but cattle prods anyone?

Revere Sugar Factory, by lachance on Flickr. Gowanus Lounge is reporting that demolition of the dome began today, but is progressing slower than expected.

Before we begin, we'd like to extend our deepest sympathies to the family of James Kim. We are not, by any means, trying to discount that tragedy by juxtaposing posts about the Kims with more light-hearted posts. It's the nature of doing a compilation such as this one: we're trying to give a full slice of the goings-on in the Ist-a-Verse: the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Dear Gothamist,

Dunh dunh DUNH! It's the most insane shopping day of the year, thanks to most people being off and feeling that the day after Thanksgiving is an acceptable beginning to the Christmas shopping season. However, some stores were actually open yesterday, giving turkey and football some competition. Some stores opened at 5AM today, others at 6AM. In fact, some people have been flying in from overseas, perhaps to take advantage of the exchange rate!

As mentioned earlier, the American Museum of Natural History unveiled its Origami Holiday Tree yesterday. Although the Origami Holiday Tree has been a tradition at the museum for more than thirty years (see last year's article), it's a good year to get into origami. Let's face it, with Polly Pocket recalled and Nintendo Wii sold out virtually everywhere, all kids may have left to play with this holiday season is wrapping paper.

The Nintendo Wii went on sale last night, providing a second, if slightly anti-climactic, game console release of the week. There didn't seem to be any reports of violence around the Wii, perhaps because it is $351 cheaper than the PlayStation 3, but people were still enthusiastic. Gizmodo said about 1,000 people were waiting on line last night, but with reports of 5,000 Wii consoles available, who knows if the wait was worth it?

Angel Parades was the first person to buy the Playstation 3 at the Sony Store in Midtown (apparently Charlie Murphy was on the scene!) while Sergio Rodriguez bought the first one at the Union Square Circuit City. Rodriquez said, "This is the best game ever. It's so worth the wait. Some people may call me crazy, but I really love to play."

If you haven't showered in a few days, there is a good chance that you're probably waiting on a line trying desperately to score one of the new next generation console releases from Sony and Nintendo.