Wii Fit impressions

by Tiberius Jonez

I've had a few days with Wii Fit and I'm ready to give you my impressions of this highly anticipated Wii title.

The first thing I'll say is we were lucky to even get a copy of the game as it's been sold out everywhere around the greater Minneapolis area since its release. We just happened to be in Walmart this weekend and decided to check for it on a whim, and lo and behold, there were two copies that must have just come in so we grabbed one.

When we got it home and set it up the first thing we (the wife and I) noticed was the quality of the balance board - this thing is sturdy. I weigh about 250lbs and it didn't even flinch at me when I stood on it. Conversely, it was accurate reading the inputs of my 2 year old son who weighs less than 30 lbs.

When you first boot up the game it does an overall assessment of your Body Mass Index (BMI) and gauges your balance. The balance part of it seemed a little strange to both my wife and myself as it seems like you have to lean forward a bit to achieve a "center" of balance. Perhaps this is accurate and we both have poor posture but it felt a bit odd. Once the initial assessment is complete, you are asked to set a goal for future sessions. You can set a goal to lose, maintain or gain weight over a period of time ranging from two weeks to 6 months.

Once the assessment was done, we dove into some of the "games" included with Wii Fit. Initially, only some of the mini-games are available to try. As you progress and spend time with Wii Fit, you are rewarded with more game variations based on the number of minutes you spend "working out". I haven't tried all the available options, but I can say of the ones I've tried - stepping, hula hooping, soccer, tight rope walking, slalom skiing and ski jumping - the skiing games are my favorite by far.

The Ski jumping requires you to maintain a squatting, forward leaning center of balance during the run down the ramp and then when you reach the end of the ramp you thrust up into an extended standing position, leaning forward with a good center of balance to achieve and maintain a good jump.

This game is quite fun and it replicated the feeling (or what I would guess the feeling is like) quite nicely. It was a satisfying experience and one I wanted to repeat over and over again.

My other favorite was the slalom skiing. The controls of this were simple to learn, but difficult to master. Essentially, you lean forward on your tip toes to get maximum speed and lean your body weight left or right to steer. It sounds simple, but is much more difficult than it sounds. Even on novice (the only level available initially) the balance board is quite sensitive to your inputs and requires small adjustments to keep from veering off course. If you run the slalom three or four times in a row, you can really feel it in your ankles, calves and hamstrings.

When I got my best time of 30.5 seconds I was very pleased with myself - even though I'm sure that is probably a lame time in the grand scheme of things.

The soccer game has you leaning left and right to stop incoming "shots" of soccer balls while dodging shoes and other non-ball objects. I found this quite challenging, mainly because it is very difficult to recover from a wrong move if you incorrectly anticipate an incoming object.

The tight rope walking game has you walking and maintaining your center of balance while occasionally "jumping" over an obstacle. I thought this was a bit boring.

I haven't delved into the strength exercises or yoga bits of the game yet, but what I've seen so far has been quite positive and I'm sure for those of you who are in less than great shape, you can indeed get a bit of a workout. Wii Fit won't replace your gym membership as an overall fitness regimen, but it will get you moving and can certainly help you improve your balance.

While I was unhappy with the fact that you have to unlock activities by putting time into the Wii Fit activities, my wife thought that was a good thing and an added incentive to get the most out of the title's fitness offering by making you commit some time and effort into the exercise regimen the game offers.

Overall, my impressions of Wii Fit are positive. The balance board is a quality peice of equipment and if the future activities are as interesting and fun as the skiing aspects then I will certainly have a good time playing it. Regardless, at the very least, I know it will be an excuse to spend some quality time with my wife doing something that we will both enjoy.

The possibilities for future games using the balance board are endless and I look forward to seeing what comes of it. A skiing or snowboarding game using it could be quite successful.

In short, if you have any interest in such an offering, I would suggest picking up Wii Fit, that is if you can find one in stock at a retailer near you.

Weak U.S.dollar blamed for Wii Fit shortages – Michael Pachter

By Tiberius Jonez

Americans have been roiling as gas prices continue to skyrocket, and it’s just one consequence of our growing recession. Now, for the first time, it seems our gaming lifestyles are taking a hit as a result of our nation’s economic plight.

Wedbush Morgan Securities’ uber game industry analyst Michael Pachter sites the weakness of the American dollar as the main reason for hardware shortages of the Nintendo Wii and the Wii Fit game.

According to Pachter, "The shortage demonstrates one consequence of the weak dollar. We're seeing companies ignore their largest market simply because they can make a greater profit elsewhere.”

It’s hard to argue with Pachter’s reasoning when we see Nintendo shipping four times as many Wii Fit games to Europe as they are to the United States. Wii Fit is priced at $90 in the U.S. while Nintendo is making the equivalent of $140 on the same unit in Europe due to the strong Euro.

In Pachter’s own words, "They (Nintendo) know that Americans will be just as fat a few months from now" when Nintendo will have more units available. That hurts Mike...sticks and stones dude, sticks and stones.

Another possible reason for the shortage is Nintendo’s own trepidation following the disastrous failure of the Gamecube. They are wary of creating too many units out of fear of being stuck with stockpiles of unsold inventory.

Another analyst, Billy Pigeon of IDC, agrees with my assessment from last week that Nintendo’s (mis) management of hardware supply could backfire on them if they can’t properly meet consumer expectations.

"That's a tough line to tread," Pidgeon said. "When does the consumer get frustrated and move on? So far, the Wii still has cachet, But the fact that consumers can't find a Wii or a Wii Fit is definitely a missed opportunity."

Will a new U.S. President after the November elections mean a possible economic turnaround and more Wii’s on store shelves? We can only hope. Get out and vote!

Nintendo alienating consumers with supply mismanagement

By Tiberius Jonez

Before Nintendo launched the Wii they promised the console would expand the videogame market to previously untapped consumers with an easy, low-stress, user-friendly experience. Fast forward nearly two years later and the Wii experience is anything but stress-free. Angry consumers are being confronted by “sold out” signs at retailers instead of Wii Fit and Mario Kart games.

Nintendo’s hardware and software supply problems following the Wii’s launch have persisted for so long that what was once perceived as the result of unexpected success is now being recognized as an inexcusable mismanagement of the companies supply chain.

Rob Fahey of gamesindustry.biz has written a fairly scathing, but accurate, editorial about Nintendo’s negligence toward their newly found consumers. Essentially telling Nintendo if they want to be the market leader then they need to stop acting “like an overgrown cottage industry” and more like “the vast globe-spanning corporation it has grown to become.”

I have to whole-heartedly agree with him. Nintendo has a long history of inflexibility and straight-up hubris that once cost them the huge hardware advantage they held with the NES and Super Nintendo before the birth of the original Sony PlayStation. From inflexible licensing agreements to unwillingness to adapt to their own growth, Nintendo has repeatedly demonstrated a disregard for the very customers they are so proud of having garnered.

At some point the demand Nintendo thinks they are creating by holding back hardware becomes a backlash against their product with the end result being money left on the table that could have gone into the corporate coffers.