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On the day Wii Fit came out, I was in my neighborhood videogaming retailer (i.e. used game racket). While I was browsing the used section for deals slightly better than "$3 off this battered copy of Perfect Dark Zero", two people came in to purchase Wii Fits. Both were older women, obviously out of shape, but also very enthusiastic about picking up their white and green boxes. The minimum wage clerk rang them up and ignored their enthusiasm.
One lady had a couple of kids in tow. The boy was particularly dismayed that they were only getting Wii Fit. She tried to buoy him by pointing out the balance games he could play with his sister. He wasn't having any of that. Poor kid. He was about to be forced into trying to have fun by shifting his weight from his right foot to his left foot. When I was a kid, we called that "restless". Now Nintendo is selling it as "gameplay".
The other woman tried to engage the clerk with videogaming talk, suggesting now that she was a regular there, like her son. "He normally comes in here," she bubbled, excited about being on the verge of fitness, "but now it's me instead."
Both women struggled inelegantly to get out the door with their Wii Fit boxes in their arms. I consider it a metaphor for their upcoming experience.
Today, I glared at the Balance Board ™. "You're not much better than a televangelist," I told it. I'm two days short of my two-week target to lose 5 lbs. I'm clearly not going to make it using Wii Fit. In fact, I've gained a bit of weight, partly because I'm not doing the exercise I normally do. Instead, Wii Fit has been an inefficient use of my time and energy when I could be outside going for a run, or just doing yoga poses without having to Wiimote laboriously and without guidance through menus and score screens and trainer platitudes. I put the Balance Board™ in the closet in the back room with my Wii Zapper, Scene It controllers, old Dreamcast, Steel Battalion controller, and busted Stratocaster. But first, I scavenge the batteries.
It actually pisses me off. I think of the opportunity Nintendo had to do good for those women who came into the store. And suddenly Brain Training doesn't seem quite so cute anymore either. It's like Nintendo is a snake oil salesman targeting the whole family, but especially the moms.
Frakjack
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By Weebork at 7:51 PM ON 06/08/08
Are you, perhaps, gaining muscle mass, which would account for your lack of weight loss? (Muscle tissue is denser than fat tissue).
Just trying to give it happy spin, if that's possible!
By Mono at 9:55 PM ON 06/08/08
Ah, but what if the women in the store weren't getting ANY exercise prior to the Wii? For you it's a step down, but perhaps for some folks it's a gateway drug to do something aside from sitting on the couch.
By Joshua at 11:18 PM ON 06/08/08
Wow! That's the harshest comments I have *ever* heard about Wii Fit. By far.
The thing I wonder about is, will those women have the same experience as you do? That is, they will get bored of it fast and go back to their regular routine (in their case, nothing)? Or will they get hooked and go for some real exercise?
A lot of pro-Wii Fit arguments on the internets say its the latter. But its hard to believe. No doubt a lot of unhealthy people (myself included) have workout books, exercise tapes, and lots of failed attempts in the past. Because working out blows and it seems that not even Nintendo in their infinite power can make it fun. Oh well.
By Lee at 11:31 PM ON 06/08/08
While I agree with a lot of your criticism of the software I disagree with you on the whole. I have lost 7 pounds in 3 weeks. Not because the exercise Wii Fit gives you to do, which could be better, but because seeing the graphs motivated me to eat better, drink less beer, and get off my butt. Seeing me weight shift was motivation, and seeing a blank bar for what I did for fitness that day reminded me I need to get out or at the very least do some Fit stuff. But also I can now do more push ups and sit ups in the process, so I have gained some strength through the software.
The Fit is what you make of it, if you really want to try, its a good stepping stone and motivator. It does not make exercise fun, although some of the balance games included are nice breaks.
By Tom Chick at 4:09 PM ON 06/09/08
Firstly, congrats to Lee! That's encouraging to hear. I hope your experience with Wii Fit is more common than mine.
As for those ladies having a different experience than I did and perhaps Wii Fit serving as a "gateway", it's certainly a possibility. But part of my disgust with Wii Fit is that there are so many missed opportunities to make this more likely: a program of some sort, less emphasis on balance, more flexibility for different kinds of users, and so on. Wii Fit and Nintendo are so well known and it's a shame they don't do more to help people with the enormous mind share they've got.
I think part of my problem is that there's a much better exercise "game" called Yourself! Fitness. It does a great job of being interactive without being annoying. It runs you through an exercise routine and lets you modify whether it's too hard or too easy. And the trainer is much better than the creepy telepathic ghost chick. I don't have it any more, but I've actually been looking for a used copy of Yourself! ever since it became clear that Wii Fit wasn't working out very well.
In the meantime, it's back to Wii-less Fit for me.
By daozizuoji at 4:30 PM ON 06/14/08
I have to agree with Lee. I found it a great motivator. I saw that I was missing multiple days of exercise.I stand alot at my job and the balance exercises helped me stand better. As a result my back pain went away. I also get my 5 year old exercising. She really likes the Island run. Overall I do get better exercise on my own but the Wiifit keeps my from getting lazy. Also, like Lee I have started watching what I eat. Good health to all.