The fact that brain exercise mania has spread to other gaming platforms should be an indication yes, brain fitness games may be developing an industry on its own. But it's not limited to the games industry - even bonafide health companies are jumping into the seemingly lucrative market. More information in the full article.

More and more hospitals are using the Wii console for the rehabilitation of their patients. The Mercy Fairfield Hospital is now using the gaming system to help patients who are recovering from stroke or who had joint replacements.

Details on how the console is helping patients after the jump.

Contrary to previous accounts, a scientific study conducted in England says that playing Nintendo Wii games alone cannot serve as a substitute for real life exercise.

As you might have expected, the researchers behind the study have the empirical data to back it up, too. Find out the details of their research after the jump.

It appears Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo have a new field to do battle in, and it isn't a joint brawl game. Greenpeace is out to monitor the gaming giants' e-trash and get the big three to pitch in for Mother Earth's sake. A tale of early leads, three console tortoises in a hare's race, and Mario, Kratos, and Master Chief cinematic ensembles coming at you at the full story.

One of the more unconventional uses for the Wii that made it so popular is physical rehabilitation in hospitals. Now it might be gaining popularity in something even more remote for consoles: the classroom. In the Cumberland Elementary School in Indiana, three Wii consoles are the new tools for education.

By incorporating the technology of video games (not to mention the fun factor) the school hopes to engage the students on a more powerful level than traditional methods. The consoles are currently being used to teach Geography, Math and English and the students are getting really into it.

The teachers in the school believe that the potentials for such interaction are unlimited. They even express that the biggest challenge is finding time to incorporate it into already packed lessons. Wii therapy has already spread in hospitals across the U.S. Perhaps the classrooms will follow suit?

Even though video games have always gotten a bad rap for turning kids into couch potatoes, a group of physical therapists are using a video game console to help people get back on their feet.

According to Minnesota's WCCO-TV, physical therapists at the the Sister Kenny Rehabilitation Institute at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis are using Nintendo's Wii home video game console in an experiment aimed at helping stroke victims recover.

"It is not designed to be used in therapy per se, but some of the games are very useful to activate the patient, then it is a matter of, from a research point of view, to try to develop these concepts to something that is dedicated, specialized for research... for rehab," said Sister Kenny Research Center director Lars Oddsson.

There are only a few hospitals around the U.S. trying this kind of therapy, but Oddsson says that the experiment's promising results could lead to a clinical study of the Wii's helpfulness as a physical therapy tool. WCCO-TV also noted that the Army has also started using the Wii for physical therapy.

Looks like the Wii fever is catching on: the console is being used as a physical therapy agent at WakeMed, in North Carolina.

The idea is believed to have been first used in Glenrose Hospital in Canada, who saw Albert Liaw, who suffered brain injuries, gain back his locomotor functions by playing boxing in Wii Sports. This time around, Stephanie Mzcynski, who could barely move a month ago, and Alshaye Jones, who suffered a spinal injury, are both well on their way to being rehabilitated.

Although Wii therapy was first used in Canada, the idea was suggested by someone delivering wheelchairs (and owned a console himself) to the doctors down at WakeMed.

Dana Ryan, director of therapy, says that patients find playing the Wii fun so they don't really see the activity as therapy, which helps motivate them. Another advantage to the Wii therapy is that it can be done at home, so patients who are found strong enough to be discharged from the hospital can continue their own personal therapies at home with family and friends.