10 Video Games That Caused Physical Injuries

Like virtual reality, motion controls were almost certainly going to lead to injury.

It really goes to show the unifying power of the Nintendo Wii, which was famous for getting every generation of a family involved together, that it was a success in spite of the cautionary tales that came with it. Whilst you can attribute this to any game that centered around the system's motion controls, the pack-in Wii Sports was responsible for the first wave.

Immediately after launch there were news stories showing the numerous Wii-mote incidents, all usually paired with a hilarious image. Controllers stuck in walls and sent flying through televisions... probably not funny for the owners certainly but hard to look away from.

Of course, Wii games all had several warning screens about adequate space and proper wrist-strap usage (the first run of which were absolutely useless).

But more than accidentally hitting your nan whilst going for that power-drive in Wii Golf; like how the plastic guitar emulated the problems of playing real guitar too much, there were also accounts of keen Wii players suffering tennis elbow by overextending themselves.

In reality, the Wii was largely trading the physical issues of sitting still and pressing buttons for hours for more active injuries that are always possible through strenuous activity. Except the broken televisions, that was quite unique.