Wii FIT

The Wii has not been able to stay on shelves since it has been released over a year and a half ago. So it’s no surprise that Nintendo is spending many hours in marketing it and finding ways to improve it. Its latest venture? The Wii Fit.

The whole idea around this new concept is to turn gaming and exercising into friends. Games have long been maligned for their violence and most recently health issues. The Wii FIT hopes to change the latter.

First of all I should say (and Nintendo also reiterates this point), the Wii FIT is not to replace your doctor or physical instructor’s program. Instead it’s designed to compliment it or be an alternative to just sitting down and playing without any physical workout. While it does not have a straight forward exercise plans (and customization is not allowed) it does provide a fun way to interact with games instead of just sitting in the couch and pressing buttons on a controller.

The basis of the Wii FIT system is a balance board that has seven internal scales that are used for the functions of the system. The board communicates wirelessly with the Wii system and requires 4 AA batteries to operate. Unfortunately the maximum supported weight is only 330lbs so that means those on the chunky side had better use other means to lose those excess pounds before auditioning for a Wii FIT.

The Wii FIT is ideal for those who want a fun easy way to burn a few extra pounds. Or who want a guiltless game play. As I said before it does not really do a good job of providing good exercise techniques and even the BMI fitness level included in the software is a little off because it fails to take into consideration such things as age and muscle mass.

CONS:

The major drawback to the Wii FIT would have to be its lack of multiplayer features. It can become pretty boring playing fitness games by yourself and unless you have a partner to compete with you will be more than tempted to go back to sitting in the couch and playing your games the traditional way.

The other big drawback is its lack of health and fitness tips. I’m sure it’s not going to cost Nintendo an arm and a leg to bring in a team of doctors who could have been used to provide helpful tips to players. With this info gone a lot of the would be benefits are just fun and games.

Summary

To sum it up the Wii FIT is a very good addition to your Wii lifestyle. While not exactly the fitness revolution Nintendo is making it out to be it still beats hours in front of the TV screen with no exercise but that of your fingers. Hopefully these issues will be addressed in later updates and when the system is available to developers we will begin to see more practical uses for it.

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