Final Glimpse: First Impressions of Nintendo’s Fitness Promoting Wii Title.
Are you a pasty anti-social person sitting in the dark furiously smashing buttons? Are your thumbs the only part of you that gets any exercise at all? Have you always wanted to go to the gym but just couldn’t afford to the membership fee because you had to save your pennies for the upcoming Mario sports game? Then Nintendo has just the game for you – Wii Fit. This game isn’t going to make you lean, mean, or even a fighting machine, no, this game is going to measure body mass, tell you your weight, and help you get over that sub-conscious feeling with a plastic balance board.
Of course my sarcasm is merely me kidding with you readers, Wii Fit is actually going to become a useful tool in this hyper-speed lifestyle that many of us have become accustomed to. Utilizing different exercises that include yoga, aerobic, and balancing along with a mixture of 40 quirky Wii-style mini-games, Wii Fit will help you come up with a daily routine of workouts that will ultimately lead you to your goal of a healthier lifestyle. Like Brain Age, there will be a certain number of basic exercises for people to start with and then over time more exercises and difficulties will become available until you have reached the equivalent of the $80 versions of those workout tapes you sometimes see late at night, though ironically, some of the exercises in Wii Fit mimic those found in said tapes. Luckily for you though, Wii Fit will cost you a one time fee of $89.99 and you can use it how you please.
The underlying question in everyone’s mind is can a video game actually be used as a real tool of fitness? The answer to that can be found by asking any pediatrician who has had parents bring in their kids complaining of aching arms... in the short term, yes. The Wii system was built around the idea of having players physically participate in a video game and Wii Fit is merely taking that deign idea to the next level. Instead of using the Wii Remote to swing a sword or tennis racket, participants of Wii Fit will be using the Wii Balance Board to ski, jog, and hula-hoop. Yes, Wii Fit requires a sense of balance but rest assured people with bad coordination, you will be getting something extra from the game by adapting a better coordination with practice. There are several different ways to tailor your personal workout which is what is going to make Wii Fit so accessible.
No matter how you approach fitness, nothing is going to work in a day or even a couple of weeks, it takes months to see the big results and Wii Fit is no exception. Again, similar to Brain Age, Wii Fit is meant to give you a short burst of exercise and then you go on with your day.
Feeling a little lonely working out alone? Invite some friends or family to join in with you because many of those mini-games can be played as a competition. Trick the kids into trying to best you in hula-hooping all the while secretly getting in some exercise and quality time together. Wii Fit is definitely going to be a parent’s dream tool.
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