E3 2007: Wii Fit revealed

Wii News | Miyamoto's next game to burn calories on Wii Balance Board. [UPDATED]

The now traditional appearance by Shigeru Miyamoto aside, the exclamation point of Nintendo's E3 press conference this year was the introduction of the long-murmured existence of Wii Fit for Nintendo Wii.

A game that began life as one of the first game ideas during the development process of the Wii, and one Miyamoto himself admitted as having wanted to introduce ever since the Wii was released, Wii Fit aims to bring the Wii Sports health conscience formula to further mass market fruition.

However, the most curious part of Wii Fit's revealing was the way players will interface with it through the new 'Wii Balance Board' that will be bundled with the game. Fundamentally a wireless mat players can either stand on, or rest their hands on while doings push ups, the Wii Balance Board is able to measure weight and where a player's balance is.

Through simple Brain Training-styled dialogues, involving choices such as the weight of clothes a player is wearing, players can perform "body checks". Similar to Wii Sports' own single-player fitness scores, Wii Fit records these body checks over time, providing graphs that players can track with the Miis of family and friends in the game. While Wii Fit does not povide players with their weight, but rather, their body mass index, it nevertheless shows potential for providing a 'fun' motivation for players looking to keep/get slim.

Along with the line graphs and numbers, a small number of examples of the types of exercise players will be able to take part in through Wii Fit and the Wii Balance Board included push ups, step aerobics, hoola hooping, soccer ball headers, and DDR styled dance sessions.

Of course, as with everything E3, expect more information, including a hopeful release date and price point, soon.

Update: Chris Kohler caught up with Reggie after the press conference. Bad news - no Wii Fit this year for the US (or, most likely, Australia or Europe). Japan, on the other hand, is laughing - they'll be getting it before year's end. Pricing has not been set, but expect it to cost more than your typical Wii game.

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20 Comments

donovan515

5 years ago

Kinda like Eye-Toy Kinetic, LoL start seeing the Wii at schools.

Gtpod

5 years ago

Booooooooriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing.

Honestly, if it wasn't for a room of developers, publishers, journalists and fans laughing at Reggie for being 'overweight', I'd have fallen asleep watching that part of the conference.

Evan

5 years ago

GTPod wrote

Booooooooriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing.

Personally, I can't undestate how huge this is going to be.

Assuming it's out by Christmas, they'll have:

* kids using the exercise angle to convince their parents to buy them a console
* parents deliberately buying the Wii for their kids because they think they'll get fit doing something they enjoy
* adults who don't normally play consoles buying it because it looks like a fun way to get fit

I don't know how old you are, but you might be too young to remember the Jane Fonda exercise craze. Those tapes made millions. This has the potential to take them to a whole new level - within two years, expect to see Milates, Woga, and a full line of third-party exercise programs.

Hell, I'd buy it for exercise even if I didn't like playing games. If they get this out before Christmas, between this and Wii Sports, their sales will go through the roof.

Edit: Updated article - looks like it'll be early next year for the US and AUS/EUR. Japan's apparently getting it this year though.

Qbert

5 years ago

Although there's no way in hell I'd want the game, I'm with Evan in thinking that it has a huge load of potential. We all knew there'd be something like WiiFit, but I didn't know they'd take it to the level of adding a whole new peripheral. Very cool and I'd love to test it out, but buy it, no.

ugh the boot

5 years ago

Yay another frickin' add on!

Seriously I might sell my Wii after Mario Galaxy, I HATE peripherals with a passion and almost every unique game on the Wii requires some fandangled new device!

I do agree it's really broadening the market and people can get fit while they play games but that's like saying World of Warcraft brings people together and makes them more socially interactive....where quite honestly the opposite might actually be true. I don't know a single health freak that would substitute good old exercise and sports for a video game....on the other hand I can imagine every hardcore gamer substituting their exercise/fitness with this crap.

LeonJ

5 years ago

Seriously, this could be the thrump card for Nintendo to win the next-gen war. Games like this move units.

Eyce

5 years ago

I'm seriously picking this up.

DancesInUnderwear

5 years ago

Not this year? What the hell?

I don't know about this thing, mabe I'll pick it up but I'm not really sure.

Nexus

5 years ago

I'm not sold of this idea. I can understand how this appeals to casual gamers but it does nothing for me. Sales wise it will probably be a hit especially over in Japan. This game may suffer from the problem that Wii Sport had being that it may be hard to play in small rooms or confined spaces.

Tom101007

5 years ago

im thinking if they use the board as well as the remote in other games cause it can measure wich way your leaning meaning in a FPS for example you could duck and it would measure your change in center of gravity and duck in the game or lean over and so on, i think the board has so many other possibilities beyond fittness but i do wonder if they will be used

Cerebral

5 years ago

I couldn't really care less for a fitness program in my Wii. If I wanna get exercise, I'll take the dogs for a walk, get some fresh air while I'm at it.

I'm not sold, but if it turns out the general public goes nuts for this, well good on Nintendo.

Crestfallen

5 years ago

ugh the boot wrote

I do agree it's really broadening the market and people can get fit while they play games but that's like saying World of Warcraft brings people together and makes them more socially interactive....where quite honestly the opposite might actually be true. I don't know a single health freak that would substitute good old exercise and sports for a video game....on the other hand I can imagine every hardcore gamer substituting their exercise/fitness with this crap.

True. Some unfit gamers will probably think they're on the right track by doing some hopscotch and stretches; it gives them false reassurance. This doesn't exactly substitute 300lb deadlifts or elevated cardio.

This is news is huge in the sense that it will move units. Its also huge news that Miyamoto wasted so much fucking time on something that can't even be called a game.

Itachi

5 years ago

I am so going to pick this item up seriously it looks amazing.

and i could loose some extra pounds while playing games ohh yeah FTW

jedi022

5 years ago

Although I freaked when I first saw this it is quite the brilliant idea from nintendo. They have always been known to re-invent the gaming industry, if it takes off then i'm afraid the Wii coverage will be on a scale bordering on lunacy. They said the board can be used for other games, Wii Music perhaps?

Gtpod

5 years ago

Evan wrote

Personally, I can't undestate how huge this is going to be.

That was just my OTT way of expressing just how much I don't want this game.

Like Cer said, if I want exercise I'll go ride a bike or something, since as far as I know fresh air is a vital part of exercise.

DancesInUnderwear

5 years ago

To be fair though, I spent ages before the Wii's release saying that there was no point playing Wii Sports when you could go and play actual tennis or golf or whatever.... and then it really wasn't the case. Wii Fit could be the same.

Crestfallen

5 years ago

^ But that's all in game; this is real life with assistance by the Wii. If you get what I mean...

Wii Fit is a good idea for a product, but I don't see how it can be classified as a 'game'. Its definitely odd, try telling some one 3 years ago that Nintendo would move into the aerobics/home exercise market.

DancesInUnderwear

5 years ago

Its a 'game' in the fact that its played on a video game console, thats all there really is to it. And it looks like there are a couple of 'games' (using the term loosely) on it.

Qbert

5 years ago

That soccer one looked like a game. And there's definitely a competitive edge to the 'game' with the comparing of graphs with family members etc. I think sooner or later we're going to be debating what a 'game' is, just like what is a FPS and what's a gimmick ect. Oh please no!

Kaboth

5 years ago

Expect to see Wiifit bundled with the Wii pretty much as soon as its released to make buying for the casuals easier.

I think Nintendo have well and truly broken down the definition of what a game is or can be. I have no idea anymore.

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Wii Fit

Pre-order or buy:
PALGN recommends: www.Play-Asia.com

Australian Release Date:
  8/05/2008 (Confirmed)
Standard Retail Price:
  $149.95 AU
Publisher:
  Nintendo
Genre:
  Sports
Year Made:
  2007

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