Telegraph tests out new Wii Fit
Monday, April 7th, 2008
Wondering if Wii Fit, the new exercise package for the Nintendo Wii, is for you? This review for The Telegraph by Glenda Cooper may help you make up your mind.
On the one hand, we thought gaming was supposed to be all about fun, not hard labour. On the other, what better way to expand the demographic? Anyway, here’s what Glenda thought, and if you have an opinion after trying it out, leave a comment, we’d love to hear from you.
Getting a Wii bit fitter?
I am unbalanced. It’s official. This is not news to my family or, indeed, to any neutral observer, given that I have impersonated a tree, headed imaginary footballs and run round my sofa for the last 30 minutes. But this is the first time I’ve had such a verdict delivered via my television screen.
I’m being insulted in my own home, courtesy of the latest idea to combat couch potato-dom. The success of the Wii video game console over the last year (last Christmas, Amazon sold 1,400 in a 10-minute period alone) has led its makers to develop a new “exergaming” (exercise combined with computer games) product called the Wii Fit, which is to be launched this month.
Exergaming has been around since the 1980s, when exercise bikes were hooked up to video games allowing the user to cycle through a virtual landscape. But the Wii, launched in 2006, was a breakthrough in that it was fun: players hold a wireless remote to mimic real-life sports - swinging it like a tennis racket, or punching the air to simulate boxing - while watching a computer-generated character of themselves (inevitably called a Mii) compete on screen with an opponent.
The Wii Fit is due to be released on April 25. Pre-order it from Woolworths here >>
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Tags: Nintendo, Wii Fit, Woolworths