Wii Fit: Another View

 

The Nintendo video game people have jumped into the fitness market. First things first: if you do not already own a Wii gaming console, you will need one, and they are sold separately from Wii Fit.

That having been said: Wii Fit is a game with four main categories of exercises to choose from: Strength Training, Aerobics, Yoga and Balance Games. The game comes equipped with the Wii Balance Board, a pressure sensitive unit you stand on, which can hold up to 300 lbs. The game first walks you through the creation of a personal profile, wherein you enter height information, and the Wii Balance Board will calculate your weight, your Body Mass Index (BMI) and what they call the "Wii Fit Age", which is supposed be a guide to how well you control your balance and what your limits are.

So once you get into it there is a virtual personal trainer to guide you through strength training (leg lifts, push ups, squats, etc.) yoga and aerobic exercises like boxing, hula hooping and running. The balance games include soccer, skiing, snowboarding and tightrope walking. Wii Fit tracks your activities and progress with graphs and charts, and doles out what they call "Fit Credits" (points that earn you access to more games and activities within the system) based on your progress. Wii Fit is a really clever way for Nintendo to get its piece of the multi-billion dollar fitness market, while also a healthy, positive contribution to the video game market. I mean, if your kids are going to be indoors playing video games, better this than Grand Theft Auto, no? Exercise is the best thing a body can do for itself on any given day, in any form. More importantly, the Wii Fit is not just for kids, so alls the better when this several hundred dollar investment gets the adults moving too.

Which brings me to my other point....since Wii Fit debuted (as a smashing success) many more games have hit the market, including snowboarding with medal winner/sensation Shaun White, personal training workouts with celeb fitness trainer Jillian Michaels, a skateboarding game, a skiing game, an outdoor adventure game (river rafting, log jumping, etc.) and so on. Additionally, a great many Wii games require other items - controllers, mats, wheels, etc. to play - which are, of course, sold separately. So this can get pretty pricey, pretty fast. Our advice is to keep that in mind when also considering how long it typically takes to lose interest in a video game...

Wii Fit: Another View