Major League Eating
- April 16, 2008 14:19 PM PST
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We throw on our bibs as we get a taste of this mouthful for the Wii, complete with hot dogs and burritos galore.
Hands-on:
You want to know what the coolest thing I saw at the Nintendo Media Summit was? It wasn't Mario Kart Wii nor was it Wii Fit. Heck, it wasn't even an actual video game. No, the coolest thing I saw was an eating exhibition starring Tim Janus, aka Eater X, who was on hand to help promote the new Major League Eating game for the Nintendo Wii's WiiWare service.
A new world record: Eater X is featured in the new Wii Ware title where keeping it down is not as easy as he makes it seem....
Armed with a gut of steel and large cups full of lemonade, Eater X proceeded to demolish 141 pieces of sushi. No, that is not a typo, and he set an International Federation of Competitive Eating record in the process. It was a gross, yet awesome display of gluttony. The associated video game is a lot more sanitary and it doesn't require you to actually consume your body weight in pizza or hot dogs, which is a good thing all around.
I have the admit that a competitive eating game sounded so ridiculous that I initially dismissed it as just another lame attempt to cash in on a pop-culture phenomenon. But after playing it, I have to admit that I found myself pleasantly surprised. Is Major League Eating going to blow your mind? Heck no. But will it entertain you and your friends and offer up a few laughs? Heck yes.
Let's get down to specifics: you start off by picking an established competitive eater- familiar names like Crazy Legs Conti, Sonya Thomas and Joey Chestnut are present, though Takeru Kobayshi wasn't- and choosing which food you want to eat. I saw items like pizza, hot dogs, jalape?os and chicken wings on the menu. Consuming each food type requires unique motions.
On-screen cues show how full your eater is getting... keeping food down takes a balance of speed and observation.
I competed against fellow editor Dave Rudden in a hot dog battle and we were required to flick the Wii Remote towards our mouths in order to get the virtual food stuffed into our virtual cheeks; a biting meter traveled back and forth across the food, requiring us to press the B button twice in order to chomp it down. Pressing the B button when your mouth is empty results in you biting your tongue, which renders you unable to eat for a few seconds.
You also had to keep an eye on your stomach acid level; with each bite, it rises and if you let it get to far, you'll hurl chunks all over the place, resulting in a penalty to your total score. Holding the A button and shaking the Wii Remote results in the jiggle that professional eaters use to settle their stomachs. You can also reduce stomach acid using the antacid power-up, which was just one of the powers you can gain during battle the other power-ups allow you to do things like burp fire and noxious gas in your opponent's face, stunning them for a few seconds.
The only way to keep your eater's stomach in check is by shaking the Wii remote to jiggle their belly.
I had a lot of fun standing there with a crowd at my back, virtually demolishing a plate of hot dogs. Much like real competitive eating, Major League Eating for WiiWare is a hilariously gross and exhilarating experience. It won't go down in the history books as one of the best games ever, but as a pick-up-and-play title that only cost a few bucks, it's probably worth considering, especially if you have buddies over often.
