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More…Nintendo's $90 Wii Fit--a home workout program disguised as a video game--hit retailers across the country two days after its May 19 soft launch at the New York City Nintendo World Store, where a limited supply reportedly sold out in just a few hours. After (literally) bending to the will of my new virtual trainer overlords, I can understand why Wii Fit is already a hit in Japan, Europe, and Australia.
Nintendo Nintendo Wii Fit
PCWorld Rating, May 1, 2008
6 User Reviews Add your own »
$69.99 - $167.97
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Pros
Other games support Wii Balance Board
Intuitive, fun to use
Cons
Lacks custom activity-list creation
Lacks two-player vs. mode
Bottom Line
Intuitive and downright cute in its presentation, the Wii Fit makes working out in front of your TV a genuinely interactive and fun experience.
Review: Nintendo Wii Fit
Nintendo Wii Fit Review, by Danny Allen May 21, 2008
Wii Fit lets users choose from 48 activities spread across four main categories: yoga poses, strength training, aerobic exercise, and balance games. To perform such calisthenics, you stand--or in some cases lie--on the special wireless Wii Balance Board peripheral that comes with the game. The sturdy Balance Board, which resembles a double-width bathroom scale, supports weights of up to 330 pounds or so. Powered by four AA batteries, it's rated for around 60 hours of use. Four pressure sensors inside the board determine where your feet are, monitor your center of gravity, and check your weight. It will also function as an optional controller for upcoming Wii games such as Skate It (from Electronic Arts/Black Box) and All-Star Cheer Squad (from THQ).
Warming Up
Sweatbands snapped tight and short shorts riding high, I found that I had to do a few data crunches first, building my Wii Fit profile by entering my height, weight, gender, and birthday. A basic body test then measured my balance before the software presented me with a pretty accurate Body Mass Index (BMI) score, my weight in pounds, my "Wii Fit Age" (more a measurement of my game skills than of my actual fitness level), and the option to password-protect my profile (self-conscious teenagers take note).
You can weigh in again anytime you want, set goals to lower or increase your BMI, and arrange for the game's calendar to chart your progress toward fitness. Note that BMI is not a measure of body fat and that BMI measurements for children often are inaccurate. The official word from Nintendo: "Wii Fit is still capable of measuring the BMI for people aged between 2 and 20, but the resulting figures may not be entirely accurate for younger age groups due to varying levels of development." Essentially, you should use a good measure of common sense in interpreting Wii Fit's statistics, and you should not treat the device's conclusions as a substitute for the advice of health care professionals.
Young and old alike may find themselves mimicking the adorable Wii Fit helium voice-over, at least until the novelty wears off… "Measuring!" Too cute! But it's a pity that you can't pump yourself up by playing a favorite MP3 file in the Wii's SD Card slot, as the game's music soon gets a little elevatory. Visually, the game looks just like Nintendo's cartoonish Wii Fit and Wii Play titles, complete with in-game use of Mii characters (avatars you create in your own image).
Roughly 10 minutes after stepping onto the Wii Balance Board, I had completed a profile, received motivational advice on posture and daily exercise, and was ready to tackle my first Wii Push Up or Downward-Facing Dog yoga pose.
The Good and the Bad
Wii Fit includes 15 activities each for yoga and strength training--from a single-leg extension to a parallel stretch. The aerobics and balance drills are much more fun, however, and there are 9 activities of each of those two types to choose from. Among my favorites were quickly shifting balance for Soccer Heading, Ski Slalom, and Table Tilt; and working on my cardio with aerobic challenges like virtual Hula Hooping (you'll be gyrating like Elvis in no time), Rhythm Boxing, and Jogging (the latter two use the Wii remote to sense movement). Many activities include on-screen feedback regarding how shaky you are or where your center of gravity should be. Virtual trainers (whom you can stand behind or in front of, as you prefer) talk you through the movements and explain how you can improve your performance.
As you spend time exercising, you earn Fit Credits that unlock the game's activities one by one. Each workout takes roughly 1 to 5 minutes and you tend to unlock tougher drills or higher repetition counts every 5 to 10 minutes. Unfortunately, each Wii Fit player must unlock each workout solo. I was surprised and frustrated at the lack of a two-player vs. mode (two-player jogging aside) and at not being able to create a custom workout (which means that there's no avoiding menu hopping and completing activities back-to-back).
Clearly Wii Fit isn't perfect as either a game or as a replacement for a gym membership. But if you're looking to ease back into exercise, seeking ways to break up your current routine--or want a fun, family-friendly option for days when it's too hot or cold outside--Wii Fit is definitely worth your while. Just remember to give yourself lots of leg room and to have realistic expectations.
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User Reviews
Average User Reviews for Nintendo Nintendo Wii Fit
1 Review Add your own »
- Latest User Reviews 1 review
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Reviewed by: sazzle101
Duration of ownership: 4 Months
Strengths: actually works, fun, interactive
Weaknesses: bit pricey, but you can get one for FREE
Overall: visit www.go4it.freebiejeebies.co.uk (copy and paste) and sign up and complete ONE offer to qualify
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User Reviews From Around the Web
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Reviewed by: norbyf
Strengths: Easy to use. Games for a whole range of tastes.
Weaknesses: Cannot save downloaded games to SD card. Limited to Wii built-in memory.
Overall: We originally bought this to take advantage of the Wii Fit (which we use 30-45 minutes/day each), but the games that came along with the bundle were so much fun that our use has expanded to an extra 30-60 minutes a day - more if the grandchildren come over.
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Reviewed by: DenisePanos
Strengths: Great Exercise for older generation
Weaknesses: May be a challenge setting up for those who don't use technology much
Overall: The Wii Fit is a great product for the whole family especially for those concerned about not getting enough or any exercise. It makes exercise fun and gives you the incentive to continue to get more fit. It is great for parents who are concerned about their children playing video games and not getting the exercise they need.
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Reviewed by: suziebee20
Strengths: The different work outs are fun and get you moving.
Weaknesses: After a while, you may get sick of the games. Scale sometimes seems a little wonky. May offend some.
Overall: Wii Fit hints at being able to lose weight while playing it but never actually comes out and makes that claim. It definetly gets people moving and for the people who live pretty sedentary lifestyles, half an hour a day may very well help them lose weight. If you're a gym every day fitness buff, this game probably won't help you much but it's still a lot of fun.-The Wii Fit balance board comes with feet to use if you play the game on carpet. We almost threw those away with the box because we pulled the board and game out and didn't realize there was more in there. You have to sync the board to your system like you would do with the Wii Remotes. When you start the game up, you create a profile and it checks your weight and center of balance. Then it does the math between your weight and height and gives you your BMI. This is where some people may be offended because it might call you "obese." It doesn't rub it into your face or yell, "OUCH" or anything, but people with sensitive feelings may want to be aware of this, especially if playing with a group of friends.-The game allows you to do the weigh in every day and will track and chart your weight gain and loss as well as your center of balance. Your goal is to keep your balance in the center of the board and not too far to the left or the right. After the weight check, you do two balance games that result in finding your Wii Fit age. The balance games are fun but there's only 5 or 6 of them so after a few weeks they seem repetative and not as enjoyable. One of them involves shifting your weight and holding it between certain markers, and another has you stand on one foot in the middle and trying not to shift side to side. -The balance board is a lot more sensitive than I thought it would be, which makes the different games more challenging, and more frustrating. While holding still may sound pretty easy when you think about it, making it happen while on the balance board is not so much. Especially during some of the yoga poses where it wants you to stand on one foot. After you get used to the sensitivity, it gets a little easier, but even after having the game for 2 months, I still over estimate how far I need to move or shift my weight. -My only complaint about the game is that you have to log in and out of your Mii profile before playing the games. The Wii Fit board has to calibrate to your weight and needs to know which Mii to add to the high score list. It's just a bit of a pain if me and my fiance are both playing and we want to challenge each others scores. If he beats mine and I want to try to beat his, I have to log him out, log myself in, step on the board so it can adjust, and then play the game. A small pain although I understand why it's necessary. -One other issue is that a few times our scale was quite a bit off. It told my fiance he had gained 18 pounds in 1 day! He tried the bathroom scale and the reading was what it should be. Retesting yielded the same results. When we turned the game off and restarted it, it fixed itself and the reading was what it should have been. The same thing happened to me. I did my weigh in to earn the daily stamp on my calendar, then I played for about an hour. After that I did the weigh in again and it said I lost 7 pounds!! Checking the bathroom scale yielded my previous weight. My guess is maybe playing on the board for a long time does something to make the scale act off.-5 Stars for Wii Fit because it's a lot of fun and gets the whole family moving. Even my 2 year old likes to stand on it and move around!
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Reviewed by: bunty7
Strengths: A step in right direction
Weaknesses: The interface could have been much better
Overall: There was a lot of hype for Wii fit & it did live up to it for most part. I was not expecting much out of it but was pleasantly surprised at how much fun it can be. Let me list a few points which clearly stands out 1) The board is well designed & is very responsive to your movements 2) The games & exercises are well categorized & you unlock more stuff as you continue planning. 3) You can set a target for your weight change & it keeps track of your progress 4) Some of the games are so fun that you really forget that it involves any kind of exercise Now to talk about some negatives 1) Each time you switch it on, you need to go through quite a few screens. There shall be a quick play option which can be customized 2) Not many games announced that will take advantage of the board Overall I would recommend this to anyone who owns a Wii. You are missing out on something if you never experienced this
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Reviewed by: jdunbar54
Strengths: everything
Weaknesses: Using BMI
Overall: I am a Physical Therapist in a skilled nursing facility. We decided to get the Wii for working with patient's on balance, hand-eye coordination, strength training, etc. When the Wii fit came out we immediately bought it. The Wii fit has helped many of our patients improve much faster than standard exercise routines. What people don't understand is that before the Wii fit came out, the only option for a therapist wanting to measure and improve a patient's balance was a machine that retails for anywhere from $12,000 - 20,000 and all it does is show a dot on a target, no fun. This is an amazing breakthrough, and even though it may not be extremely precise, it is accurate enough and the price difference makes it worth it. The only draw back is that it calculates BMI which doesn't take into account that muscle weighs more than fat, so if you're a very muscular person it will still tell you that you're obese, but as long as you realize that, it really doesn't matter. Let's face it, you know whether you're fat or fit, you really don't need the board to tell you that, just hop on and have fun.
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