Wii FPS games cause motion sickness?

4:47 PM on 12.22.2006   |   Niero

25 comments

It's ok. Don't feel like a big gamer wuss. There are others like you. Nobody's talking about it. It has to be said. Wii have a new problem, but it doesn't have a catchy name -- it's Wii First Person Shooter Motion Sickness. (WIIFPSMS O RLY?)

Apparently a few of us have been experiencing motion sickness when playing Wii first person shooter games but have been reluctant to talk about it. Personally speaking, I can't read a book while in a car without getting dizzy but can ride stuff at the fair for 24 hours straight and can play any number of FPS games on WASD until my tube and jar on the floor is full. I thought it was just me. WRONG!

After a Podtoid episode Robert mentioned in passing that it was happening to him: "It's weird, because it only happens in CoD 3 and Red Steel on the Wii. I've never had this issue with any other game on any other system ever." Same here. Suspicious that it wasn't isolated, I've talked to about 3 other people who have said the same thing about the same two games -- it sometimes makes them dizzy. None of us are smokers or pregnant women either. Yet.

It obviously has something to do with the camera panning when you gesture the Wiimote -- perhaps the predictive movement of trying to guess where you want to look or the slight delay in the camera panning. Obviously, how sensitive you are to MS must play a huge role in it. Nintendo was not available for comment at time of publication, but we're curious if they've received any other complaints.