Hoping to shake up the gaming market yet again, this time with gameplay centring around fitness that sits astride Wii Fit's accompanying Balance Board, Nintendo seem sure that this is the perfect new direction for which gaming to branch off. And they have indeed experienced success in Japan with the title. However Japanese, European and Australian cultural tastes are incredibly different, leaving the question, "will the game succeed in PAL territories"?
Whether or not the game rakes in millions there are many other questions thrown up by its mere existence. Is fitness and videogaming a match made in heaven or hell? And what does this style of gameplay mean for the gaming landscape in general?
We've gathered together some of the the contemporary age's foremost Wii Fit commentators to discuss the topic. PALGN staff, forum members and nongamers, In the absence of a physical meeting room, we collect our thoughts together in one article to discuss some of these issues.
Neil Booth - PALGN Writer
While it's fair to say that the motion sensitive controls of the Wii haven't quite lived up to the pre-launch hype, they've often presented a pretty good approximation of whatever activity is being simulated. Wii Sports Tennis lets us swing the Wiimote in a vaguely tennis-y fashion, and the results are then augmented into something much more exciting than the real-world result of our flailing would have been. And this is a good thing - one of the big attractions of video games is that they make us feel we're better at something than we actually are, be it driving a Formula One car, rescuing princesses or winning the Premier League. Games remove the hard work and pain of physical activity and replace them with - hopefully - fun. It's an unusual experience, then, to have Wii Fit tell you exactly what your limitations are and that you're going to have to put in some genuine physical effort to overcome them. Pardon? Excuse me? Don't you know who I am?
And this is where fitness and video gaming collide. Fitness is all about pushing up against, and ideally past, your own physical limitations. Video gaming is all about sustaining a fantasy in which real world limitations like strength, agility and fear of death don't apply. Sure, you can have physical activity supplemented with progress tracking software and a fancy electronic scale, but this doesn't exactly add up to a game. It's telling that the most game-like parts of Wii Fit, the Balance Games, are also the least likely to make you fit, and the bits which make you fit certainly don't count as video games. There's no doubt that Wii Fit can improve your fitness, or at least make you aware of how unfit you actually are, but it also highlights the divide between genuinely getting fit and playing a really good game.
Not that there's anything wrong with that. If society at large wants to spend its time frowning at the sedentary nature of video gaming, it should also be concerned about anyone who reads Shakespeare, listens to Beethoven or enjoys grainy French cinema of the 1960s. A game of chess isn't significantly improved by incorporating compulsory bouts of arm-wrestling every five minutes. Any attempt to combine the pursuit of genuine physical fitness with various forms of mental exercise is only going to dilute both activities. The result? Mildly unfit, mostly bored and altogether cranky consumers.
The Wii Balance Board - essentially an analogue joystick you stand on - does have tremendous gaming potential, most obviously in simulating activities in which you try not to fall over - snowboarding, for example. It could be a great way to enhance the illusion that anyone can hurtle down a mountainside at break-neck speed, but any game worth its salt will be working frantically behind the scenes to correct the teetering, off-balance input from the average human being. The kind of physical control represented by the balance board, and whatever it ultimately evolves into - a white plastic version of Star Trek's holodeck, without the bad acting and wrinkly foreheads - is always going to need the sharp, pointy edges of reality smoothed out. For which, as a gamer, I will remain eternally grateful.
David Low - PALGN Executive Editor
Wii Fit is an idea that's been a long time coming. From obvious precursors like the power pad on the NES, through to DDR, and recently the people using Wii Sports as part of a weight loss program, it's simply a good idea - the whole idea of exercise programs is to get you active, and combining that with the inter-activity of a gaming device is a complete no-brainer. It's frankly stunning that no-one has managed to get the idea together before. Sure there have been exercise games in the past, but in the end, using a standard controller they amounted to nothing more then an exercise video with a memory card. But Wii Fit finally puts the pieces together with the appropriate first party push, and it looks set to be the phenomenon exer-gaming always promised to be. Add a peripheral that's a genuine extension of what the Wii was already doing, and it's actually a pretty good product too.
Can Wii Fit compete with Richard Simmons in the 'exercise is fun' stakes?
Daniel Golding - PALGN Writer
There's been a lot of debate over whether you can call Wii Fit a game or not. It's a really interesting debate, and one that's vital for gamers to have at this point, but it's almost besides the point. Wii Fit represents a major advance in gaming. Like the Wii itself, it's the Trojan Horse that sneaks inside non-gamers houses, only to rip open its innards to reveal videogaming. The amount of non-gaming parents, siblings and partners that will get sucked in by Wii Fit's promise surely bodes well for gamers.
Yet, there seems to be a backlash against games like Wii Fit amongst gaming circles. Many gamers want mainstream acceptance of their pastime, yet become upset when gaming changes to accommodate the mainstream. Not everyone wants chainsaw bloodletting to enter their living rooms. Wii Fit is proof that gaming cannot become mainstream as it currently is. If the mountain will not come to Muhammad, Muhammad will come to the mountain.
Evan Stubbs - PALGN Writer
It's pretty simple - Wii Fit is going to take the Western world by storm. With roughly a third of all Japanese Wii owners having already purchased it, this is going to be the first piece of hardware released by a manufacturer after launch that actually gets large-scale third-party game support. The eggheads (myself included) are going to have a field day about whether or not Wii Fit can be classified as a game, but in reality, it's irrelevant - the public's already decided, and the decision is that game or not, it's here to stay.
And, to be blunt, that's a good thing. The industry, despite what many developers seem desperate to believe, is crying for a shakeup. There's always a role and a place for games steeped in narrative, depth, and complexity, but just like everything else, variety is the spice of life. Gaming at its best has always been about creating new experiences, and while some may criticise the technical might of the Wii and Wii Fit, it can't be debated that it's now opened up a workable new avenue for interactivity. And, more importantly, it's done it in such a way to convince non-gamers that it's worthwhile, a necessary step in building a large enough audience to attract the risk averse.
This is the start of the revolution. Gaming as we know it is going to change from this day on, not because we're going to see the end of what we enjoy, but because our definition of 'gaming' is going to become a minority-held view. If you thought consoles were already appliances, start preparing yourself to be shocked because the industry's going to look totally different within a decade.
Luke Mitchell - PALGN Writer
Wii Fit is great in theory: get in shape while playing video games! Whodathunkit! The concept isn't entirely original though; we've seen it before with EyeToy games designed to keep you healthy and active as well as insane fat-burning games like Dance Dance Revolution designed to make you sweat several hundred pounds after one insane Japanese electronica remix.
That being said, we've never seen it with a balance board before, so bravo Nintendo for adding a new accessory to the ever-growing list of steering wheels, dance-mats, cameras, microphones, guitars, drum kits and trance vibrators. The important thing to note about Wii Fit is you get what you put into it; I personally have a terrible habit of jumping on the 'new peripheral' bandwagon and purchasing blindly before actually considering how much use I'm going to get out of the game in the long-term.
The point here is that if you're going to get Wii Fit, you have to commit to it, because if it's just going to be something that you're really keen on for a week or two before storing it under the couch until 1080 Snowboarding Wii is announced then it's probably not worth the $149.95 investment. Those who have a longer attention span than me and actually feel like they will use their shiny new white board on a regular basis may have just cause in purchasing the game, but to properly take advantage of it you'll have to adopt a regular exercise routine and will need to stop chowing down on chocolate, Coca-Cola and Nandos, and most gamers (myself included) may find that quite difficult.
Wii Fit is not just a game: it's a life adjustment. It's up to you whether you can truly be bothered changing your daily life so that you'll actually benefit from doing yoga poses in front of your TV.
The Wii Balance Board- gaming gimmick or pure genius?
LeonJ - Forum Member/Gamer
Wii Fit will sell by the truckloads around the globe but depending on the country for different reasons. Western society of course will appeal to the ever increasing overweight community. People are always looking for a quick and easy cash in for weight loss and a videogame touting that very fact will be an instant seller. It would be an interesting statistic to see how many people have unused gym memberships and own Wii Fit. But in Japan it's attraction lies in allowing people to work out easily at home, since Japan is so crowded and busy.
Personally I work out 6 times a week (gym and sport) and didn't buy Wii Fit as a weight loss tool or to get fit. Its use for me is as a supplement to my exercising. Yoga and muscle stretching was a big attractive option for me as this is exactly the kind of thing I'm missing from my workouts. I also wanted the stats tracking to see how my BMI varies over the months. The board and exercises are fantastic and it didn't disappoint me at all. I've used it every second day for around 30 minutes and it's certainly making me uses muscles I don't normally use. Being a fit person I actually don't get much value in the real 'fitness' side of things. But I would encourage anybody overweight to buy it and it certainly is a great place to being training if you are starting fresh.
Like all of Nintendo's touch and feel generation ideas it has a place especially among non-gamers. You could label it a game depending how you used it. It tailors to both crowds with the exercises and a mini-game set. Which is a smart move by Nintendo as either a gamer or serious minded weight-losee buying the title will not be disappointed. But that very ideal has been the cornerstone in Nintendo's recent success with balancing non-gamers with gamers.
At the end of the day it's great interactive match for gaming and fitness and it does make working out fun. Like Guitar Hero inspiring people to learn the guitar, Wii Fit could be a real positive in changing a lot of people's life. Without the board it would not have level of interactivity needed to get people into a game like this. And I for one am looking forward to seeing Nintendo's next application with the Wii Board.
Lord Haart - Forum Member/Gamer
It is readily apparent that the Wii Fit is a physiological manifestation of the growing trend of “Edutainment” – the idea that education and entertainment can be delivered in a single product. Judging by the success of the Brain-Training series (the mental counterpart to Wii Fit), it’s sure to be a success – both a great seller, and tons of fun.
But the success of Wii Fit affects far more than just Nintendo fans.
Since its birth, gaming and gamers have been plagued by stereotypes. Whether it’s the basement-dwelling WoW guilders, the rage-filled FPS gunner, the swearing, misogynist GTA4 player, or the old Pong nut who likes to code in Fortran, the fact is that gamers are generally considered to fill a hardcore niche. Casual games like the Sims are not even considered "games" by those who play them (indeed, my sister plays Sims 2 like it’s her religion, but doesn’t consider herself a “gamer”).
Only a few companies have managed to breach the divide between hardcore and casual gaming. Wii Fit represents a new focus on bridging this divide, and is sure to appeal to consumers on both sides of the equation; hardcore gamers will see a way to game while staying fit, while non-gamers will see it as a fun way of doing exercise. As more and more people have begun playing games in recent years, the stereotypes which used to afflict hardcore gamers have started to fade away – and given the huge demographic which is sure to spend time with the Wii Fit, it’s clear Nintendo is a big factor behind this shift in perception. Not only do they reduce gaming stereotypes by bringing more people into the fold, they also present, in a way that parents and families can relate to, how social gaming can be.
For this reason, even though I don’t have a Wii, Wii Fit is getting a big thumbs-up from me.
You'll have to use more than Wii Balance Board to get totally buff.
Natasha Story - Non-Gamer
I'm not really interested in games, or gaming at all. I used to play a few educational games on my computer when I was younger, and I'm quite a dab hand at a round of Mario Kart 64, but I've never really been interested in games since being a teenager. Wii Fit, on the other hand, has me interested whether you can call it a game or not. I've been looking for a way to do some Yoga for a while now, but as I live a busy lifestyle I don't have many chances to make time to go out to a Yoga class or a gym. The advantage of Wii Fit here is that it enables you to do your exercise when you want and how you want, yet still remains an interesting an exiting way of doing it. Cost is another advantage - while I can picked up Wii Fit for a little bit over $100, a series of Yoga classes would reach that price within a few weeks. I guess it remains to be seen how often I continue to use Wii Fit, but at the moment it has become a part of my daily routine.
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Exercise your fingers and let us know what you think of Wii Fit and self improvement games on the forums.
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