Oi! Pipe down at the back there! And the middle! And, well, the front…okay, the whole friggin’ readership shut up for a minute. It turns out that, if approached properly, with a sensible frame of mind, Wii Fit can invigorate your body a little more than you might think. Seriously, I know, because I volunteered to be in a sensibly-minded study at my university earlier this week.
As would be appropriate in a university study, I went away having learned something. Find out what I learned about Wii Fit – and why misinformed cynicism can sometimes be a little inappropriate, but only a little – after the jump.
I know what you’re probably thinking; as a resident Sarcastic Gamer writer since June last year, I should really be of the opinion that Wii Fit is only for those who think they’re getting real exercise, and that the device doesn’t do a thing to keep you in shape. Adamantly, I was of this opinion until Tuesday of this week, when a round-robin email from my university dropped into my inbox, politely inquiring that, if one was available, they could lend a hand with a Wii Fit study.
Off I went into university, where I was promptly made to sign a number of waivers (Health and Safety is a bitch) and was asked to describe how I felt at the time (scared, anxious, happy, etc). Then, with a heart monitor under my shirt and a corresponding heart-rate watch – to calculate some kind of average I presume – I was away onto the Balance Board itself and promptly told that I was horribly overweight but that my center of gravity was fantastic. Compromises, eh?
The study itself comprised 4 step aerobics sessions, 5 minutes at a time, in varying circumstances. I was made to step to the game’s own metronome, then with no sound at all, then to Eye of the Tiger – which I found a little more amusing than I should have – and finally to my own chosen song, Get It Together by The Go! Team, otherwise known as “that song from LittleBigPlanet with the panpipes”. Each was video-recorded – ouch, my dignity – and my heart rate, emotions and fatigue were measured in between each session.
Then I was told to go home, which I promptly did, albeit without remembering to put my own watch back on after handing back the heart-rate monitors. So far, so uninteresting, right? The thing is, in the hour or so it took to complete the entire session, I started to see exactly what Nintendo may have been trying to do with Wii Fit all along.
Please don’t hate me. I’ll explain over the page.
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I agree with everything you say, however the same thing could also be said in defense of Wii Music. As more of a toy to peak interest, Wii Fit and Wii Music do their respective jobs fine. However, the role they are fulfilling is still one of a toy or educational device, and not one of a game. The Wii Fit balance board has potential for gaming such as in Shaun White Snowboarding, but Wii Fit itself is still a bit of a disappointment.
People who purchase it are buying with the intention, no ever how marginal that intention may be, that it is a wellness product, and simply telling someone that they are fat doesn’t qualify the Wii Fit as a wellness product. Awareness would be if Wii Fit gave consumers actually useful help, like telling them to bike to work, and stop eating fast food. Stepping up and down on a white block and then making their Wii get fat and following it up a graph was a bad idea when Wii Fit launched, and no amount of rationalization is going to change that.
Still gonna use it for our Wii Fit Challenge. Don’t tell me my muscles ain’t hurtin!
Personally, I think it’s the Japanese’s way of making fun of us fat Americans. What better way then to stick it to us then sell us a video game that we think will help us work off our fat asses!
I am body aware. I see it everyday in the mirror and when I look down. I am especially body aware when I put on just washed/dried jeans that are particularly tighter now then they used to be.
I am also aware that I:
a) second Jax’s emotion
b) now have a balance board I can play Raving Rabbids 2 with
Some good points, but….. you tell us there’s a video of you doing this, and then don’t post it!?
I don’t have the video, and even if I did I’d be sensible enough not to post it
(I don’t even want to see it myself!)
I owned once since release, and for a month used it 3x a week. I can tell you that every time I got a good sweat on and on specific exercises I felt challenged.
If you just walk on and try it for the first exercises that are available to you (which are the easiest) then its easy to see how you can dismiss its workout effects. But after a week or two you will earn enough credits to open the much harder challenges.
Me, my wife and daughter all use it and have gotten to the point where its no longer easy… and just like every other piece of fitness gear I have purchased its no longer getting used. But to say its a gimmick, and does not do a real workout is not correct imo
i read it. i’ll explain this it’s not a game i don’t give a rat’s hat if it helps you get into shape or help you understand your body. it might be a good game but that’s like saying brain academy is a good game. interesting but it’s a waste of money.
oh and ddr is fun not wii fit