In a household of five rabid Wii fanatics, we really rack up the hours on our games. That’s especially true for new games, and our Wii Fit balance board has already absorbed more hours of foot-time than I would have thought possible in just a week of use.
The Wii balance board requires batteries, just like any other game controller, and you know how quickly your devices can suck those AAs dry! Well, now there’s a handy rechargeable solution for the balance board: the NYKO Energy Pak.
The Energy Pak is small and easy to use. The lithium-ion battery fits flush into the existing battery compartment in the board. It’s attached to the charger port, which nestles snugly into the contours of the bottom of the board, and does not interfere with gaming.
I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly the initial charge was completed, and we were playing on the fully-juiced board in just a few hours. The Energy Pak comes with a 10 foot cord, so you can play while it’s charging, if needed. I prefer to charge it near the outlet and disconnect it for play, because I don’t need anything on the floor to trip me up while I’m trying to keep up with my Wii Fit step class.
The bottom line? The NYKO Energy Pak is easy to use, and for about $20, well worth the money.
I’ll be honest, when Nintendo revealed Wii Fit at last year’s E3, I was anything but excited. However, once my wife saw the footage — a woman who hasn’t played a video game since Tetris for the Gameboy came out — she immediately said, “We should buy that.” I should also point out that we didn’t even own a Nintendo Wii at this time, so I couldn’t help but raise my ears a little bit.
I know the excitement that comes on the day a game is going to launch, but my wife has never had such a feeling. In fact, it’s probably safe to assume that she could never understand why I got so excited about such a thing in the first place. It is, after all, only a game.
Then came Wednesday, May 21.
My gym-loving wife had already called a few stores and purchased Wii Fit, all before lunchtime. She told me afterwards that she finally knows why I get excited on launch day.
Wii Fit is a great supplement for anyone’s workout routine. Using the slightly heavy and durable Wii balance board, Wii Fit tracks a user’s weight and BMI (Body Mass Index) by measuring the user’s weight and height. After some calculating, the game will tell you if you are underweight, ideal, overweight or obese. Be prepared to hear the truth. The balance board doesn’t lie. In fact, it will go as far as making your preset Miis larger or smaller depending on the result.
From there, the game’s calendar allows you to track your progress as you work towards your goal of becoming more fit.
While Wii Fit may look quite simple, the techniques employed in the game can be quite laborious for people who have never done them before. Players will have the option between various Yoga poses, strength exercises, aerobics and balance mini-games. All present a good level of challenge, even for those who regularly exercise. An exercise trainer is built into the game to offer tips, encouragement and even suggestions as a means to maximize your workout.
The Yoga section allows the player to improve their balance, body control and posture through slow and focused positions. A yellow circle is placed on the screen and players must focus to keep a small red dot in the center of the circle for an extended time, all the while executing proper breathing and posture position. The exercise requires great focus and attention to the body’s center.
Strength exercises have the player doing everything from push-ups to lunges. These exercises are meant to push the player’s endurance as they must perform the activities with precision along a monitored tempo. After four exercises, I was ready to call it quits and retire to the couch to enjoy some much needed rest. The strength building techniques work on all aspects of the body, including upper body, abs and lower body.
The aerobics section is meant to get the player’s heart rate up. There are several activities, including step aerobics, jogging and cooperative running to improve the player’s cardio. The step aerobics are very intuitive and players are judged by how precise their movements are. Jogging and running employ a Mii trainer for you to follow on your desired length of run. Players will need to utilize the Wii Remote by either placing it in a pocket or holding it in their hand while running.
The balance games are used as a way to mask actual physical training. Games such as using a Hula-Hoop, walking a tight-rope and slalom skiing are just a few of the games that players can have fun completing and unlocking.
The game works on all levels. It not only provides an intense workout, but it is presented in a way that makes everything easy and inviting. The latter being the most significant for those who are apprehensive about working out. Exercising can be quite intimidating if you have never touched foot in a gym before. However, Wii Fit provides a very warm and inviting presence, allowing players to ease themselves into the game’s workout routine.
But there lies the rub.
Even though I was able to set a daily, weekly, monthly or even yearly goal, the game doesn’t provide any feedback as to how to actually go about completing your goal. The player is given the tools and techniques, but they are left feeling lost when it comes to actually developing a routine, which is perhaps the most significant part of working out. For people who have never exercised before, how are they supposed to know the frequency and order of techniques to work on? Sure, the game may say that you are obese, but how do you go about improving on your health? It turns into a game of blind darts, where players just close their eyes and randomly select a fitness technique to work on.
This is where Wii Fit fails. The game does a great job of explaining each and every exercise, but there needs to be some way to give people a set routine. Perhaps the game should have launched with preset routines that could be scaled in difficulty. Otherwise, the player is left feeling lost in a sea of fitness techniques, which is sorely the case.
So while Wii Fit provides players with the tools to improve their health, it doesn’t provide a direction for players to follow. It’s like telling someone they need to drive to Albuquerque, New Mexico when they’ve never been there before. The driver is given a car and a full tank of gas, but no map. The end result is a lost driver meandering aimlessly until he finally gets tired of being confused. The basic principle of working out is to develop a routine and stick with it, which Wii Fit fails to provide. Any gym rat will tell you that repetition and consistency is the most important aspect of having a successful and meaningful workout. I’m confident that Wii Fit works at its goal of making the player healthier, but how many people will lose sight and give up when they find out that they don’t have the proper direction and guidance in game?
The Wii balance board then just becomes another useless peripheral that they shelled out hard-earned money for.
This is where I can see the Internet being a major player in the game’s success. By utilizing the Wii Channels, Wii Fit could sponsor an actual instructor to host fitness classes. This way, not only would the player have additional instruction on the techniques, but guidance on how to build a proper workout. Virtual Yoga classes, step aerobics classes and virtual marathons are all things that Wii Fit should be striving for if Nintendo really wants to revolutionize home fitness.
If the game can garner more direction, through the use of online sources, then Wii Fit can become a standard for any home exercise enthusiast. Until then… it just might be doomed to be another fancy paperweight.
One month, one million. That is a pretty impressive feat for any game, let alone one that dives headfirst into such untested grounds as videogame fitness as Wii Fit does. Wii Fit has become a very major hit in Japan, reports Japan’s business news source Nikkei, selling over one million WiiFit packages (the game and balance board together) as of Jan. 6. Unlike many of my more cynical gaming friends, I can’t wait to get my hands on this and see if it can actaully whip me back into some sort of decent shape. Reports from Japan make it seem pretty fun and show it as working well but we won’t know till later this year when the Wii Fit comes to US shores. Even if excersing does turn out to be a lame duck we can always keep our fingers crossed that companies will actaully use the board for some really innovative games like, say, a Back to the Future hover board game. Am I the only one who would be excited for that? Guys? Come on!
Heather | June 5, 2008
In a household of five rabid Wii fanatics, we really rack up the hours on our games. That’s especially true for new games, and our Wii Fit balance board has already absorbed more hours of foot-time than I would have thought possible in just a week of use.
