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Wii Fit

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Wii Fit
Wii Fit European boxart
Developer(s)Nintendo EAD
Publisher(s)Nintendo
Designer(s)Hiroshi Matsunaga
SeriesWii Series
EngineWii Sports (modified)
Platform(s)Wii
Genre(s)Fitness game

Wii Fit is a video game developed by Nintendo for the Wii console.[4] It is an exercise game consisting of activities utilizing the Wii Balance Board peripheral.

The balance board measures a user's weight and center of gravity. The software can then calculate the user's body mass index when told of his or her height. The game has roughly 40 different activities,[5] including yoga poses, push ups, and other exercises. Furthermore, Wii Fit allows its players to compare their fitness by using Wii Fit's own channel on the Wii Menu.[6] The game tracks a user's "Wii Fitness Age" through a body test basing the result on the user's current age, weight, and balance. Like the rest of the Wii Series, Wii Fit integrates Miis into its presentation and gameplay.

Wii Fit was released in Japan on December 1, 2007, and in other regions in April and May 2008.[2][3][7]

History

A Wii Fit demonstration booth at the Leipzig Games Convention in August 2007.

Previously revealed under the name Wii Health Pack,[8] it was announced under its current title at Nintendo's E3 press conference on July 11 2007 by famed video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto.[9]

At Nintendo's media briefing, it was demonstrated by Miyamoto, Reggie Fils-Aime and other participants.

Wii Fit was first revealed as Wii Health Pack, by Shigeru Miyamoto, during a conference in mid-September 2006.[10] Then described as a "way to help get families exercising together",[10] the game idea had first been included in Miyamoto's original design document for the whole Wii Series, the entirety of which was scribbled onto a sheet of paper.[10]

As with other games designed by Miyamoto such as Nintendogs, the design of Wii Fit was influenced by activities in Miyamoto's daily life.[11] Miyamoto states that he and his family had become more health-conscious, going to the gym and tracking their weight.[11] He found that it had become "fun over time to talk about these things",[11] and as weighing yourself "didn't make much of a game",[11] they decided to build games around the idea to mesh with the concept.[11]

In an interview with Game Informer at E3 2007 Miyamoto revealed that Wii Fit had been developed with a "full-scale" team for a year at the time.[12] The Wii Balance Board had been worked on for "almost two years", and was inspired by sumo wrestlers' need to weigh themselves with two scales.[12]

Gameplay

The beta Body Mass Index graph.

Wii Fit uses a unique platform peripheral called Wii Balance Board and center of balance. The software can then calculate their body mass index when told the user's height. The game has about 40 different activities,[5] including yoga poses, push ups, and other exercises. Furthermore, Wii Fit allows its players to compare their fitness by using Wii Fit's own channel on the Wii Menu.[6]

Wii Fit tracks a user's "Wii Fitness Age" through a body test basing the result on the user's current age, weight, and athletic ability.

According to Shigeru Miyamoto when speaking to IGN during an interview at E3 2007, there were no plans to integrate WiiConnect24 functionality into Wii Fit.[13] He did note, however, that there could be possibilities to take advantage of the WiiConnect24 in the future, such as using the service to keep in contact with a doctor to help with rehabilitation, or with a fitness specialist to help with training exercises.[13]

Activities

Training on Wii Fit is divided into four categories: yoga, strength training, aerobics, and balance games. The activities provide a core workout, emphasizing controlled movements rather than overexertion. Activities include:

  • Balance games
    • Ski jumping
    • Ski and snowboard slaloms.
    • Heading footballs/soccer balls
    • Table Tilt - Where the player shifts their balance to get balls into holes.
    • Tightrope Tension - The player must cross a tightrope avoiding the snapjaws.
    • Balance Bubble - The player attempts to navigate down a river in a bubble without bursting it on the sides.
    • Penguin Slide - The player has to catch fish while balanced on a piece of ice.
    • Lotus Focus - The player must remain motionless while looking at a flame.

New activities can be unlocked by gaining 'Fit Credits', which are accumulated in the 'FitBank', a small piggy bank dedicated to keep track of time spent in Wii Fit. Minutes of Fit Credits are equal to the number of minutes doing an activity rather than the number of minutes of overall game play. At certain stages, new yoga poses or muscle workouts are unlocked based on the total time spent working out. Being the best at an activity with a 100% score, or playing an activity a certain number of times unlocks more rigorous versions of that activity.

Activity log

Wii Fit also allows a player to keep track of activities outside of the game, which are then added on to the player's activity log, but not included in the daily exercise time. These are divided into three categories:

  • Light - guitar, piano, stretching.
  • Medium - cleaning, gardening, walking. painting
  • Heavy - sports such as football, tennis, swimming, cycling.

The time allotted to these are given a multiplier to show how they should affect the player. Light activities are multiplied by 0.5, medium activities by 1, and heavy activities by 2.

Units

The Australian, European and North American Wii Fit releases contain support for both imperial and metric units. In the Australian and European editions if the user location is set to the United Kingdom then imperial units are used, with weight shown in the traditional British style of stones and pounds, otherwise metric are used. In the version for the Americas, US customary units are used if the language is set to English. If it is set to Spanish or French, then the Metric System is used. There is no way to change the unit set of the game without changing these Wii localisation settings.

Reception

Wii Fit holds an 80% score on Game Rankings, aggregated from the scores of 52 media outlets,[22] and got an average score of 81 on MobyGames.[23]

While the playful balance and aerobics minigames have generally been praised as simple fun,[14] criticism for the game is aimed at its limitations in offering a serious workout regimen.[19] In 1UP.com's review, one such limitation was attributed to the lack of structure the game imposes on the player, stating that while having "complete freedom to choose what you want to do, you might find yourself cheating, despite your best intentions."[14] X-Play also noted that the brief activities are separated by menus, making it difficult for one to keep up a constant heart rate.[19] Some have also pointed out a lack of Nintendo's usual charm in game design,[15] specifically in the yoga and strength training exercises which take place in a muted setting that one critic referred to as "the world's most lifeless, depressing gym."[14]

Despite these limitations, the game's friendly front-end and amount of activities are cited as appealing features to those who are perhaps seeking an introduction to daily exercise.[14] In a review on IGN, Wii Fit was said to create "an environment in which working out is less daunting and as a result enjoyable -- fun, even."[18]

There was minor controversy regarding Wii Fit in the UK, where two parents complained after the known limitations of BMI led to their healthy daughter being labeled as overweight.[24] Nintendo apologized over any offense caused by the terminology used in-game.

Sales

Wii Fit sold over a quarter of a million copies in its first week,[25] and despite not being released outside Japan, Wii Fit reached the one million unit sales milestone by January 62008, after being released on December 1 2007.[26][27] As of July 13, 2008, the game has sold 2,353,000 copies in Japan.[28]

Prior to release, consumer reaction was also positive in the United Kingdom, with some retailers having to stop taking pre-orders due to its increasing popularity.[29] Reports in the United Kingdom state that the Wii Fit launch had seen lines form nationwide.[30] Woolworths claimed that the game was also selling at a rate of 90 copies per minute.[31] Nintendo UK have stated they are working hard to ensure that enough stock is available.[32] In its first week of release, Wii Fit was the best-selling video game in the week, topping the all-format chart. Despite the game being sold at a higher price than average (£70, compared to an average of £35-40) it became the UK's sixth fastest selling console title according to Chart-Track/ELSPA and garnered over £16 million in sales.[33] During the week beginning the 19 May 2008, Wii Fit's sales in the UK fell from second in the all-formats chart to dropping out of the top 40 altogether, believed to be caused by Wii Fit being completely sold out.[34] Subsequently, Nintendo UK promised to rectify the stock problems plaguing Wii Fit and vowed "We will end Wii Fit stock shortage".[35][36]

In the United States, pre-launch sales of Wii Fit have been reported to have sold out at retailers Amazon.com, GameStop and Wal-Mart.[37] After the initial release, reports showed stores selling out of Wii Fit nationwide.[38] Michael Pachter, an analyst with Wedbush Morgan Securities, estimated that Nintendo shipped only 500,000 copies of the game in North America as opposed to as many as 2 million units to Europe. According to Pachter, the Wii Fit units were allocated by Nintendo to maximize profit, by prioritizing Europe over North America, taking advantage of the strong value of the euro compared to the U.S. dollar.[39] According to the NPD Group, Wii Fit sold 690,000 units in the US in May 2008, making it the country's third highest selling title for the month.[40] The Wii Fit debuted in the United States at a suggested retail price of $89.99 for the base system unbundled with other accessories. As with the Wii Game Console itself, the demand for the Wii Fit has far outstripped the supply. The perceived shortage has created a secondary market for private sellers to purchase the Wii Fit at retail outlets are sell the product for inflated prices. In June 2008, the Wii Fit was reported to be selling at an average of $175 per unit on Amazon.com and EBay.[41]

According to the NPD Group, GfK Chart-Track, and Enterbrain, the game has sold 1.433 million units in the United States, 624,000 in the United Kingdom, and 1.547 million in Japan, respectively, for a total of 3.604 million units as of August 1, 2008.[42] As of September 30, 2008, Nintendo has sold 8.76 million copies of Wii Fit worldwide.[43]

Notes

^ a: In North America, Wii Fit was launched on May 19, 2008, with an exclusive release at the Nintendo World Store in New York City, two days before the general release.[7]

^ b: New Zealand's release was delayed until May 29, 2008, although EB Games there sold the game from the original release date of May 8, 2008, having bypassed the local distributor.[citation needed]

References

  1. ^ "Wii Get Fit in December".
  2. ^ a b Phil Elliott (2008-02-20). "Wii Fit set for April release in Europe". GamesIndustry.biz. Eurogamer. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
  3. ^ a b "Wii Fit". Nintendo. 2008-03-17. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
  4. ^ "Wii Fit: Exergaming the World," GamePro 235 (April 2008): 19.
  5. ^ a b "E3 2007: Nintendo E3 Media Briefing Live Blog". IGN. 2007-07-11. Retrieved 2007-07-11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ a b "Upcoming Wii game release dates". GoNintendo. 2007-07-11. Retrieved 2007-07-11.
  7. ^ a b "Nintendo's New Wii Fit Makes Fitness Fun". Business Wire. Golin Harris. Retrieved 2008-05-19.
  8. ^ "E3 2007: Feet-on Wii Fit". IGN. 2007-07-12. Retrieved 2007-07-13.
  9. ^ Stay Fit with Wii Fit "Console Watcher"
  10. ^ a b c Satoru Iwata. "Part 1 - A Truly Ground-breaking Collection of Games". Nintendo. Retrieved 2007-02-21.
  11. ^ a b c d e Parish, Jeremy (2007-07-13). "Miyamoto Roundtable full transcription". Retrieved 2007-07-14.
  12. ^ a b Berghammer, Billy (2007-07-18). "Nintendo's Busiest Man: The Shigeru Miyamoto Interview". Game Informer. Retrieved 2007-07-19.
  13. ^ a b Shigeru Miyamoto (Interviewed) (2007-07-12). E3 2007: Shigeru Miyamoto Video Interview. IGN. Retrieved 2007-07-13.
  14. ^ a b c d e "Wii Fit Review". 1UP.com. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
  15. ^ a b "Nintendo Review: Wii Fit". Computer and Video Games. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
  16. ^ "Wii Fit Review". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
  17. ^ "Wii Fit for Wii Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
  18. ^ a b "IGN:Wii Fit Review". IGN. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
  19. ^ a b c "Review: Wii Fit". G4. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
  20. ^ "Wii Fit review for the WII". Game Revolution. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
  21. ^ "Wii Review: Wii Fit - Official Nintendo Magazine". Official Nintendo Magazine. Retrieved 2008-10-30.
  22. ^ a b "Wii Fit Reviews". Game Rankings. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
  23. ^ a b "Wii Fit". MobyGames. Retrieved 2008-10-05.
  24. ^ "Parents' anger at keep fit game". BBC. 2008-05-20. Retrieved 2008-05-21.
  25. ^ "Wii Fit misses out on Japan number 1". GamesIndustry.biz. 2007-12-06. Retrieved 2007-12-06.
  26. ^ Matt Martin (2008-01-09). "Wii Fit sells 1m in Japan". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 2008-05-29.
  27. ^ Ben Parfitt (2008-01-09). "JAPAN: Wii Fit sells one million". Market for Home Computing and Video Games. Retrieved 2008-05-29.
  28. ^ http://www.gpara.com/ranking/mediacreatebn/ranking_20080717.php
  29. ^ Wii-fit: Stock shortage looms for new Nintendo game from The Daily Telegraph
  30. ^ Queues form nationwide for Wii Fit from VideoGamer.com
  31. ^ Wii Fit selling 90 per minute from WebUser
  32. ^ Wii Fit Sells Out in UK from Wired
  33. ^ UK CHARTS: Wii Fit takes £16m as it hits No.1 from MCV
  34. ^ Wii Fit drops out of UK Top 40 from MCV
  35. ^ Gaming - News - Nintendo: 'We will end Wii Fit stock shortage' - Digital Spy
  36. ^ Where on earth is the Wii Fit stock? - Den of Geek
  37. ^ Nintendo's latest game wants you off the couch from Associated Press
  38. ^ Schiesel, Seth (2008-05-25). "Resistance Is Futile". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-05-29. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  39. ^ Pham, Alex (2008-05-31), "Breaking a sweat just to find Wii Fit; Nintendo's careful approach makes the fitness video game tough to track down", The Los Angeles Times, pp. C.1 {{citation}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  40. ^ Kohler, Chris (2008-06-12). "May NPD: GTA IV, Wii Top Charts Again". Game|Life. Wired. Retrieved 2008-07-31.
  41. ^ [ http://www.thestandard.com/news/2008/06/16/shortage-ebay-vendors-drive-price-wii-fit Wii Fit selling for more than doube MSRP] from The Industry Standard
  42. ^ "Leading Market Research Firms Join Forces to Provide First Multi-Continent View Of Video Game Software Sales" (Press release). NPD Group, GfK Chart-Track, Enterbrain. 2008-08-21. Retrieved 2008-08-23.
  43. ^ "Financial Results Briefing for the Six-Month Period Ended September 2008" (PDF). Nintendo. 2008-10-31. p. 6. Retrieved 2008-10-31.
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