Upcoming - Wii Fit
OK, you’ve all heard of it. Wii Fit, the Wii fitness game is coming out way. For me, an avid video gamer, seeing games like Wii Fit produce a mixture of feelings. On one hand, it is good to see the Wii and the gaming industry get attention. On the other hand, it isn’t a bloody game, it is an exercise machine. But putting all my split feeling behind me, lets take a look at Wii Fit and the new Wii Balancing Board and see what the fuss is about.
Wii Fit is the continuation of the Wii series of games. Wii Sports, Wii Play… not Wii Fit. The game comes with a Balancing Board that is basically to scales side by side. By using the weight data on each scale, in conjunction with how much you weigh, the Balancing Board can actually tell a lot about what you are doing. Much like the games Wii Sports and Wii Play, Wii Fit is a series of many minigames. Also, Wii Fit will keep track of your overall health and weight gains and losses. The goal of Wii Fit is to turn fitness into a game.
So far the response has been overwhelmingly strong. The game has been released in Japan and is consistently selling in the top charts. The minigames range from obvious work out routines like push ups and jogging, to more interesting ones like yoga and hula-hooping, to more game like exercises like snowboarding and ski jumping. The Balance Board can tell a variety of things for these games including which way you’re leaning, how fast you spring up from a crouch and how balanced you are.
Normally I would be cynical about anyone trying to incorporate fitness and games. It sound to me like a lame idea that couldn’t be fun. But the sales show that somehow, in Japan at least, the idea seems like a good one. Personally, I’m still using Dance Dance Revolution on the Wii to keep me fit.
How will sales in the US compare to sales in Japan? Well, firstly, I think that people over here are a little more cynical, just like me. For the most part I think people will completely write it off. The one thing Wii Fit has going for it is that it has had such good success in Japan that a lot of attention has been given to it. This attention might be enough to overcome peoples cynical attitudes. Another thing Wii Fit has going is the Balance Board. It is a pretty nifty device, and used in conjunction with the Wiimote and Nunchuk it could probably do some pretty cool stuff for other games. I haven’t heard any news about other games planning to use it, but they are probably waiting for the US sales numbers to come in.
All in all, I think Wii Fit is an innovative concept. I don’t know whether it’ll flop or fly in the US, but well find out on May 19th.
