The Nintendo Wii may just be the best thing to happen to non-gamers since the invention of the... I don't know, let's say the polio vaccine. It not only gives retirement home detainees a replacement activity for staring longingly out the window, it gets them occasionally moving. It has given us the Alpha Mum, the laughing Wii Baby, and Wario Wario Smooth Moves. Now, it has transformed one hardline anti-gaming mum into a Wii devotee. In a new column, New York Times health reporter Tara Parker-Pope focuses on the cardiovascular silver lining of games like Wii Sports and the EyeToy series as the reason she's reversed her "no video games" policy at home.

Oh sure, she points to games that require physical interaction, say Dance Dance Revolution and Nicktoons Movin' Jellyfish Jam, as being heavy calorie burners, but I suspect ulterior motives. My guess is that she spent two hours in line to play Manhunt 2 as it was intended.

Moving Beyond Joysticks, and Off the Couch [New York Times]