The Disabled and the Wii: An Open Letter to Nintendo

November 23rd, 2006, 05:12 Posted By: gunntims0103

news via kotaku

Kotaku reader and avid gamer Samuel Kahn contacted me last week to find out who he should contact at Nintendo about a problem he was having with the Wii.

The problem is he has Muscular Dystrophy and because of it has a limited range of motion. Unfortunately, this means he's been having some major problems with some Wii games.

He still loves the system, but he wants to make sure developers and Nintendo keep in mind not everyone can swing their arms around like a spider monkey on meth when they game and to perhaps include some sensitivity options in game settings.

Hit the jump for his full, open letter to Nintendo.

Open letter to Nintendo:

To whom it may concern,

The first thing I should mention is that I'm an avid gamer and a huge Nintendo fan. I've owned nearly every Nintendo console, so as you could probably imagine, I eagerly anticipated the release of the Wii, both as the next Nintendo console and for what it signifies in terms of a revolution in the way we play and perceive games.

As the console neared its release, I began having certain fears about it.
I'm disabled; I have Muscular Dystrophy, a genetic neuromuscular disease that makes me weak and limits the range of motion of my joints, which becomes increasingly limited slowly over time. I began fearing that the Wiimote was something I may not be able to use effectively due to my limited range of motion. I hadn't seen anything published regarding the adjustment of control sensitivity for the Wii and its games.

After buying a Wii on launch day, I discovered my fears were partially justified. I can't really play some of the games in Wii Sports, because of the broad physical movement required. Bowling is the most glaring example of this. I can however play games with more subtle movement controls such as Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. This leads me to believe that more options related to the adjustment of movement control sensitivity could have been included in games like Wii Sports, as would fit the precision that the Wiimote seems capable of providing.

Games are something I'm very passionate about; they are an arena in which I can compete on even ground with others despite my disability. It's very frustrating to have home video games, which have always been open and very liberating for me, become limiting. So, my goal in writing this letter is to voice my concerns to Nintendo and other developers, so they could address my concerns and perhaps take them into consideration when developing games for the Wii. I'm certain that I'm not the only disabled gamer with these issues.

Sincerely,
Samuel Kahn

you have to feel for the guy

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