Wii Warm Up: Still Fit?

by Alisha Karabinus { Jul 21st 2008 at 8:00AM }

Now that E3 2008 has wrapped, it only seems fitting that we revisit last year's big deal (or one of them): Wii Fit. If you picked it up, are you still using it? It's still a pretty big deal here, particularly because it's so hot outside in the wide open real world. Has Wii Fit given you more or less confidence in things like Wii Music, or do you think they're unrelated? Remember this? If you answered that day's question, we'd love to hear how your response has differed, a year later -- or even if it differs at all.

Tags: e3, wii-fit, wii-music

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Dylan F @ Jul 21st 2008 8:16AM

I bought it, and I havn't even really touched it in about two or three weeks. I was playing it for about two weeks the first day I bought it, then a week or two passed and nothing, one week I played it, three weeks I didn't, and now where at today, and I'm still not really playing it. I think people hyped it too much and expected to be perfect, because it's the first video game where to goal is to exercise, and people should give Nintendo credit for that instead of critizeing them for it not being workout-y enough. But you have to understand that Wii Fit was made just so gamers had somthing to play until somthing diffrent came out. I think people expected too much from Wii Fit. And people don't understand the actual point of the game, it's just somthing to play with until Nintendo comes out with somthing else, like Wii and Wii Sports. It got okay reviews and people liked it, but you can't expect great things from a game that is bundled. Wii Fit was just to get you moving, not help you lose weight. No where on the box, on the case, in the manual, or in the game, does it state that it was designed to help you lose weight, but you just keep you *Fit*, or to prevent weight *gain*. As for Wii Music, I don't think I know enough about it yet as to form my own opinion on the game. So far, it looks like you hit buttons of the WiiMote to make sounds like an insturment. No concept to it. Not even a "game". More like a toy, which isn't the point of a video *game*. I will continue to read up about it, but so far, I am not convinced.

Feba @ Jul 21st 2008 8:43AM

There are so many things wrong with this.

First of all, Wii Fit becomes more fun as you play it. Unlocking new things, getting higher scores, and tracking your progress is the entire thing that makes Wii Fit entertaining at all. It might not be for everyone, but throwing in the towel after a few days is not going to allow you to get into it.

Secondly, Wii Fit is hardly the first game where the goal is to exercise. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exergaming they've been around for at least two decades. There are even games which are more oriented towards exercise than Wii Fit, such as Yourself! Fitness.

Thirdly, Wii Sports was a pack-in with the Wii Console (in NA, at least), and it did a great job of showing off the Wii's controls, while also giving a fun experience. Wii Play came with a controller, and the entire thing trains you in how to use the Wiimote in various ways, while again giving a fun experience, although one that was not nearly as deep as Wii Sports, and which lacked the polish of Wii Sports. Wii Fit suffers from much the same problems as Wii Play does, but on a larger scale, because there's simply more in Wii Fit. Wii Fit does well as a demo of the Balance Board's capabilities, and gets you wanting for full games to take advantage of it; but unless there were great games out there to use the Balance Board (in the same way that Sports and Play had great games out using the Wiimote), that doesn't excuse the lack of polish.

After Wii Sports, people rightly expect much from bundled games. Wii Fit left me, and plenty of others, rightfully wanting (in areas such as presentations and features), and hopefully Nintendo will release downloads for Wii Fit to help ease the pains.

Dylan F @ Jul 21st 2008 12:21PM

Well Wii Fit after about two weeks got a little boring for me, but it was fun while it lasted. I'm not going to take Wii Fit as seriously as you guys. As a matter of fact, for about one week straight, I did every exercise (and yes, I did every one) every day. And okay, maybe I was wrong about it being the first exercising game, but a lot of pressure was put on Nintendo. It definitely is the most popular exercising game. I can't name on other one. The Balance Board is excellent. It is amazing at tracking my shifts in weight. It's very durable and has superb quality, and I am definitely going to buy games using the Wii Balance Board in the future.

I also picked it up the first day it came out, and picked up We Ski as well.

Wii Fit just didn't appeal to me like it did to you. But I did play it for hours. But it just isn't very addicting to me like other Nintendo games. Maybe it's because I'm 13 and I'm not really concerned about weight loss or exercising. But the Wii Balance Board opens up a ton of opportunities for new games that can utilize your body in so many diffrent ways, that's the main reason I picked up Wii Fit. Not for the game, but for the grade A peripheral.Wii Fit just didn't appeal to me like it did to you. But I did play it for hours. But it just isn't very addicing to me like other Nintendo games. Mabey it's because I'm 13 and I'm not really concerned about weight loss or exercising. But the Wii Balance Board opens up a ton of oppurtuinies for new games that can utilize your body in so many diffrent ways, that's the main reason I picked up Wii Fit. Not for the game, but for the grade A perehpial.

Feba @ Jul 21st 2008 8:32AM

To the first question, yes, I still play Wii Fit on a daily basis. With a few exceptions (mostly being out late and being sick), I have done at least the body test every day, and am trying to also get in 30 minutes of Fit Credits a day as well. A few days ago, I decided to pick up DDR:Hottest Party, so my focus will likely shift from the more entertaining Aerobics and Balance Games to Strength and Yoga. There is something very addictive about seeing your weight calculated, graphed, and tracked, without the hassle of using something like excel; as well as a very strong motivation factor from competing for a high score.

I look at Wii Fit and Wii Music as being completely unrelated. I was looking forward to Wii Music, though, up until E3. After seeing it in action... well, if I wanted that experience, I'd just take a group of eight year olds into a music shop and let them go nuts. It would be much cheaper. Honestly, if someone gave me Wii Music as a gift, I might even feel insulted.

Wii Fit has somewhat hurt my faith in Wii Sports Resort, though. Mainly because it just has a lot of presentation problems, and there are some things that seem downright wasted. For example, the Rhythm Boxing and Step courses, which could easily have alternate songs; I'm not expecting DDR, but something different would be appreciated when I'm spending 13 minutes punching things. It has got me very excited for future Balance Board titles, as long as they are done well, and not just for the "Hey, we support the Balance Board!" factor.

Lianne @ Jul 21st 2008 2:38PM

DDR:Hottest Party is a pretty decent workout too. I picked it up a few months before Wii Fit was released, because I didn't like going to the gym at my apartment complex...too many scary old guys. o.0

Waffala @ Jul 21st 2008 8:48AM

I was fairly apathetic towards WiiFit up until the day before it's release, thinking I could hold out until good balance board compatible titles were announced, but then the hype train hit me full force and I picked it up on release day at midnight.
For the first week I was very adamant about getting an hour of fit credits every day, but after that the thing has been collecting dust except when someone asks what it's like. When I show it to a friend they always get a kick out of it and say they want to buy one. For me though, I just always feel too busy to bother with a non-exercise-game; I'd rather just do a real work out which takes less time because I'm not navigating menus and picking up and setting down a controller every minute. Although, I think the Yoga was doing wonders for my bad posture.

CPFace @ Jul 21st 2008 8:50AM

I pre-ordered Wii Fit through Amazon, so I got it a couple days after launch. So far I've only missed one day.

I put together a workout routine where I alternate days between Strength and Aerobics, half an hour a day, with one day a week to rest, and I put myself on a diet of small but substantial meals with few sweets and no soda. When I started, I set a goal to lose 20 pounds in three months. As of this morning, I'm 4.0 pounds away from my goal. Boo ya!

I really enjoy the product. I feel like I've gotten my worth out of it, and that I'll continue to do so.

Hughesmar @ Jul 21st 2008 8:50AM

I was going to play it yesterday with my son, but they make it such a pain to play with more than one person. So we opted for Super Monkey Ball 2 instead. Otherwise, it's been about three weeks since I've used it.

converge666 @ Jul 21st 2008 8:53AM

I've lost 8 pounds already, I use it 6 out of 7 days a week. I only do the work out in this order: Advanced Step, 3 Min Ultra Hula Hoop, Advanced Rhythm Boxing, and then I run on the treadmill for 10 minutes using the "free run" mode.

My wife on the other hand jogs for 30 minutes under "free run" one day then the next mixes it up with other aerobic activities to equal 30 minutes.

She does some of the yoga but we barely touch the strength training and balance games.

The Original Kizzle @ Jul 21st 2008 9:03AM

Used it for a few weeks, then the girlfriend and I got REALLY bored with it and sold it on eBay. I love the factual way in which Feba states that "Wii Fit becomes more fun as you play it" when we found the exact opposite to be the case. The novelty wore off mad quick, and (like someone said above) there really isn't too much "game" to Wii Fit, so that novelty is really all there was to it for us.

Allan @ Jul 21st 2008 9:19AM

Bought it day after Oz launch and still doing my 30 minutes a day. I've lost about 3 kilos so far and still dropping.

Mostly doing free step with hand weights.

SegaPleaseMakePanzerDragoonWii! @ Jul 21st 2008 10:02AM

All this time after it released, I'm still waiting for it to get in stock on Walmart.com. I know I could probably get it elsewhere (ebay?), but I wanted to use that damn $10 giftcard I got from the SSBB fiasco. Christ I hate Walmart.

mrtee073 @ Jul 21st 2008 10:19AM

I picked up Wii Fit on the day it was released, after having it on reserve at Gamestop since March. I use Wii Fit quite regularly. It is still an enjoyable experience even after all this time.

In my opinion it's not really a weight loss tool. I'm using it to maintain my current state of fitness and I find that it does achieve that quite well. Toning and general good fitness are great benefits of Wii Fit.

If you aren't looking for a lot of flashy features and enjoy a video game that gets you up off the couch and interacting with it, this is a game for you. It's not deep in content but does have a lot of everyday features that feel comfortable and user friendly.

I'm not really sure what to think of Wii Music at this point... I'll have to wait and see.

On another note... Does anyone else find a discrepancy between the Wii Fit scale and their regular bathroom scale.
The Wii Fit scale consistently reads about ten pounds lighter than the digital scale, I have used for the last year. It's kinda odd!

Sham The Sam @ Jul 21st 2008 2:21PM

Have you put on the four extender pad thingies? My room has thick carpet, and before putting them on the Fit rang me up about 10 pounds short as well.

Dave @ Jul 21st 2008 10:53AM

Last night was the first time in a long time that I didn't use Wii Fit, but all in all I'd say it has helped me lose part of my 80+ lbs. since its purchase about a month ago (maybe +/- 20 lbs.). Note, however, that it's only one tool of many: proper diet and walking 2 miles a day are also part of my plan. I also lost the first 60 lbs. without it.

mrtee073: Yes, I've found a difference of at least a few pounds between Wii Fit and my bathroom scale, which I put more of my faith in.

SegaPleaseMakePanzerDragoonWii!: Check Target ads in the Sunday early editions of your paper. If they have them advertised, get there when they open. That's how I got mine :)

SegaPleaseMakePanzerDragoonWii! @ Jul 21st 2008 11:20AM

Thanks for the tip. I'll keep an eye out for Target ads.

Jared @ Jul 21st 2008 11:27AM

I use it almost every day, and I try to get in 30 minutes of wii fit credits. Typically I do just the strength training and yoga; the former for pushups/situps and such and the latter for stretching. It's a great way to track my progress and as a supplement to running which I do every day. It can be quite challenging (try the 60 second plank after a set of 20 push-ups with side plank and you'll see what I mean) and for me it makes exercise fun and engaging- but it's still exercise, so you need to be self-motivated to use it, just like any other form.

stinkbug @ Jul 21st 2008 11:27AM

I haven't missed a daily body test in the past 60 days.

I don't "play" the training activities as much nowadays, but that's partially because it's been super nice weather out. One night I did the 10 minute wii fit jog (love jumping off the cliffs) and then was motivated to open my door and run 2 miles in the outdoors. And I days when I walk 10+ miles I don't really do any wii fit activities.

The graphs/tracking is what I like, perhaps obsessively so. Have lost about 10 pounds since the first day.

I wish there was more variety in the body test tests. A few I do super well in, a few okay in, and I tend to suck on the walking one. As a result, my wii fit age is usually all over the map, so that statistic is meaningless to me.

WiiBBG @ Jul 21st 2008 11:33AM

After reading about IT Media's poll (the one which showed that 64% of the Japanese Wii Fit users they polled had stopped using it altogether) we decided to start our own survey (www.questionpro.com/akira/TakeSurvey?id=1001041). We've had a few hundred responses so far and some great feedback (both positive and negative) on Wii Fit and the balance board in general, a lot of which is mirrored in the comments here. Once we have enough responses for some meaningful statistics, we'll publish the results on WiiBBG if any of you are interested.

KeegdnaB @ Jul 21st 2008 11:53AM

It came out the day after I came home from school. Due to the mess (and my lack of money) I decided to pass on getting it on day 1

I STILL CAN'T FIND IT

Sora57 @ Jul 21st 2008 12:13PM

Still using it, about every other day. Like any kind of exercise routine, you have to be dedicated and committed if it's going to benefit you. This at least makes it more fun.

Alaska Nebraska @ Jul 21st 2008 1:19PM

I think Wii Fit is a wonderful, motivating gauge. I like keeping track of my weight. It DEFINITELY made me more aware of my center of balance, let me tell you. Now that I stand "properly," I don't come up with nearly as much pain in my feet. Hopefully, it'll break my stiff as crap body into yoga before I actually take yoga classes in the fall. It's been 2 months and my body's adjusted slowly, but surely.

There are a bunch of things that could've been improved with the game (like being able to change your damn deadline), but otherwise...I think it's great. The tips are great (if not repetitive), and it's motivating. And I have lost 6 lbs. since then, so... =)

Shaq-Fu @ Jul 21st 2008 1:45PM

I've been off and on for the past month. Now I'm back on the horse and plan to stay that way, even if its only the body test

Marcelo @ Jul 21st 2008 1:48PM

My first weigh-in on Wii Fit was 222.3 pounds. That was launch day or the day after launch.

Yesterday I weighed in at 205.8. 2 more pounds and I'll leave "Obese" behind and go to "Overweight," which is fine by me. Wii Fit hasn't been the primary cause of my loss (I attribute that mostly to a change in my diet and increased walking around town), but Wii Fit has definitely helped me keep track of my progress. And when I don't get in enough walking time during the day the workouts are a sufficient alternative. Normally I stick to the aerobic exercise - warm up with Advanced Step or an Island Lap, then go do Rhythm Boxing for a while, then finish with a Free Run. I ought to throw in the Hula Hoop. I don't really touch the balance games, and while I like the Yoga a lot, I don't feel the burn the way others do. The strength training is awesome, but I'm focusing more on aerobic workout at the moment.

Wii Fit is only as useful as you make it to be. As a toy it gets old quickly, but for those who are really committed to a lifestyle change and want to lose a significant amount of weight (My goal is to be under 200), it's invaluable. The graph feature is the best. When I weigh in and it registers a gain, I feel better looking at the overall trend lines, seeing that I'm within the margins and I'm still within the overall downward trend. That's really nice. Without that graph feature to give me hard data that puts my weight in perspective, I would get demoralized really quickly.

I agree that some of the exercises could be better executed and there could be more variety. But for me the benefits of Wii Fit as a weight loss assistance tool far outweigh the diminishing fun factor.

The one thing I wish they had was a way to preplan your workout in advance, so you don't have to select quit/retry after every little exercise. In the yoga and strength training sections it's really annoying. I wish you could make a playlist of your routine and it would just zip from one exercise to the next and count up your fit credits at the end.

Lianne @ Jul 21st 2008 2:36PM

I do the body test almost every day (or at least I try to) and I log extra exercise I do (walks, swimming, etc), but I've been slacking on the workouts. I was doing well for a while, but then it got hot out and I got lazy. :(

I better pick up the pace before my night classes start back up...then I REALLY won't have time.

Edward J Grug III @ Jul 21st 2008 9:05PM

We have only had it for 3 or 4 weeks now, but I am still going strong on it before work. I admit that I don't usually use it on the weekend though.

Plus it is working, both my girlfriend and I are losing weight.

Hamster @ Jul 21st 2008 9:46PM

I got Wii Fit and lost 70 pounds. Unfortunately it was £70 of my own money....

Zing!!!!!!!!!

Seriously, I haven't bought Wii Fit. But then I'm not an insecure, easily manipulated and exploited woman, so it's not really made for me.

Too @ Jul 27th 2008 12:00PM

Fantastic tool. Not a game. Keeps me interested in weight change and it's way simpler going to the living room than going to the gym. I love it! I never thought of it as a game although.

Even the bitching about me being away for a day makes me care. That's quite an impressive feat of a game/software. Shaping my habits...