"Catch" for the Wii, an indictment of Japanese childhood

paul · **Joined:** Sun Oct 05, 2008 4:43 pm **Posts:** 547

Sonic creator Yuji Naka left SEGA two years ago to pursue his own projects, and now they are about to arrive as WiiWare. In the process he has indirectly slammed the state of childhood in Japan (and I suspect many other countries).

One of the games is a "catch" simulator. Yup, you read that right. A catch simulator. You throw and catch a virtual ball with a virtual partner.

To quote Naka:

Quote:

"Back when we were kids, we used to play catch with our fathers, but it's different for kids nowadays, because playgrounds and such places doesn't allow ball throwing any more. Playing catch was more than just about fun. It was also a form of communication. And you'd chat about things you normally wouldn't while you're playing, like 'How's stuff going?' and 'How was your test?' Nowadays, you don't have that kind of opportunity. So with this game, I hope to bring that back."

I find this utterly depressing. We now have to simulate the most basic of childhood activities because we live in such a killjoy world. No wonder kids are growing up obese.

I'm aware of the irony of criticising such an idea on a Wii Fit site, but I think the principals are different. Wii Fit is really designed for adults to let them slip in a little exercise into their daily lives, not as a replacement for kids playing outdoors, or going to the park. The Wii itself is the lesser of evils when it comes to games consoles to kids; at least they are going to be encouraged to move around a bit more than they would twiddling their thumbs on a PS3. Replacing a game of "catch" with a simulation is just sad.

I think I'm turning into a grumpy old man, and I'm not yet 30.

Full details at Gamespot UK