How does the Wii help the military? Doesn’t it lack the processing muscle of either the PS3 or Xbox 360 that recreates realistic war zones for soldiers to practice on? Fret not – ultra realistic graphics is one of the last things our men (and women) of honor need in the battlefield, as they prefer something that provides a mental chill pill. In this case, what better console to deliver a sense of relaxation than the hard-to-find Nintendo Wii? After all, word has it that the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany has been using the Wii as an “experimental physical therapy device at the hospital” (excerpt taken from Stars and Stripes, a First Amendment military paper).

A story in that military focused on Army Spc. Shawn Roberts who was assigned to the Wii in order for him to recover from injuries which required him to have screws implanted within the wrist, and what better way to get that limb moving again by using the “waggle gimmick” that Wii detractors are so fond of? According to Roberts, “I wasn’t expecting much out of it … But you don’t notice it while you’re doing it because your mind’s on the game. But then when you’re done? I was sore.” Therapists have found that the Wii benefits a wide variety of patients, and this has led the department to analyze the results further in order to justify the purchase of additional Wiis.

Should the result for the above-mentioned analysis point toward more Wiis, that’s bad news for us gamers. As it is, the Nintendo Wii is harder to find in stores than an Eskimo lounging around on a tropical island. I guess sacrificing some gaming goodness to help our men and women in uniform recover faster is by far the more noble thing to do.

Source: Joystiq

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