After almost a week with the Wii Fit + Balance Board for the Wii, I'm happy to say that there has been no less enthusiasm for the game. It is incredibly addictive and there is a certain amount of satisfaction when you come in and see your son doing push ups because he thinks it is cool on the Wii.
On top of that, my wife has found it a whole lot of fun too and has been using it faithfully every morning before the kids get up for school. She's actually disappointed when she has to quit because a lot of the games and exercises have a "just once more" element to them as you try to better your score from the previous try.
If you happen to pick one of these up, I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Just don't be surprised if your calves hurt after a long bout with the balance games.
I'll be sure an update again on this in about a month. We'll see if it is still as compelling then as it is now.
9 comments:
Guess what?
Our family has actually entered the Wii age, and we've got a Wii Fit to go with it.
It. Is. A. Blast.
If for no other reason than the ability to play a game with your balance, rather than just your thumbs.
The Fit is an extension of the Wii's "get off the couch" philosophy in a dramatic way. You can actually take or leave the the whole fitness aspect of the balance board. As a new form of controller, it's a revolution all by itself. I want a Marty McFly Back to the Future II hoverboard game.
We are using the fitness tools, and I'm finding them to be engaging, intuitive, and just the right mixture of helpful, fun, and pushy. I WANT to play another game. I WANT to burn a few more calories. I WANT to unlock new games and levels. I WANT to beat high scores.
Simply put, it works.
It won't be a revolution forever. The newness will wear off. But it'll never be any worse than a treadmill in your home, and the balance board earns an instant, permanent spot in the tool box of future game designers - regardless of whether your intent is to shed a single pound.
Welcome to the club!!
I think you'll find it a whole lot of fun as I have.
I'm anxious to see what new games will come out that use the balance board too. I've heard there will be a new Raving Rabbids game which sounds intriguing because it will use the balance board. I've seen bits of the previous games in that series and the mini-games all looked hilarious.
I'll agree with you too that it won't stay on the top forever but I think your comparison to the treadmill is apt. The best part is that is a whole lot less money!!!
Now if we could only post our Wii Fit scores online.
Or at the very least, combine high-score boards with other Wii users in some sort of group. So I see your scores intermingled with mine, and vice versa.
I want one SOOOOOOOO bad! That said, iPhone 2 comes out Monday (or thereabouts) so I don't want to press just yet:)
Press! Press!
You know, one other thing I'll say about the Wii in general, is how unabashedly it honors the Mac interface. I mean, you could take "Nintendo" off of it, put "Apple" on it, and you'd be hard pressed to tell it wasn't an Apple product. Some of the menus are direct Mac OS X interface design.
What's really scary is I sometimes hear the Mac "bong" startup sound when I turn on the Wii. I swear it.
It's all an evil plot by Apple and Nintendo to take over the world! MWAH-HAH-HAH!!
Seriously though, perhaps that is one of the reasons it is so successful.
I've advocated an Apple/Nintendo mashup for years. I think it would be the perfect corporate marriage (or as close as such things can be).
As you guys say, they have extremely similar design aesthetics. Also each would bolster the other in areas that would be very helpful and that neither has much expertise in. Apple cold provide media services through iTunes to the DS and Wii and Nintendo could help with games for the iPhone, iPod, etc.
There was going to be a mash up but when the marketing guys combined the names Nintendo and Apple all they could come up with was "Nipple".
The two companies are still trying to recover and so are taking their time for now.
I don't know, the "Nipple Wii" has a nice ring to it.
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