Wii Fit – My First Impressions

So, I’ve been going back and forth these last couple weeks on whether I should purchase Wii Fit.  Well, today I finally broke down and bought it.  After checking several places, I went to my local Toys-R-Us, where I saw 2 copies.  I quickly grabbed one and headed to the check-out line.  They offered me a 15 month protection plan, which they strongly recommended.  I went ahead and purchased it, knowing that it would be nice to have a warranty if I accidentally broke the balance board (or if it stopped working for some reason).  I know Mickey is doing the Wii Fit Experiment, where he will go more into depth, showing you how the game works and all that.  But I decided to share my thoughts and first impressions with you, mainly because I’m sure I am/was not the only one debating this purchase.  I’ll leave the full review and experiment up to the man himself.  :-)

The Box:
The box is fairly attractive, and it seems Nintendo is still appealing to all ages and both genders.  As you probably already know, the box (opposite the side shown in the photo above) shows a younger woman, a little girl, an older man, and a teenage boy using the balance board.  One thing I noticed, as I picked up the box, was how heavy it is.  This was due to the balance board (because the game and case isn’t that heavy!).

Balance Board:
It took me a bit to realize you cannot sync the balance board until you start the game.  Initially, I was really upset, because I thought I bought a broken board.  After a while, I decided to just start up the game, where it asked me to sync up the board and the Wii.  The balance board is much bigger than I anticipated.  However, if people are to stand on it (and do push ups on it), I guess it does need to be fairly large.   It’s also a hefty piece of equipment.  Unless you drop it on a hard surface or intentionally break it, it should stand up over time.  The board is fairly easy to stand on, and I did not ever feel like I was going to fall off (even while standing on one foot during yoga poses).

Wii Fit (Game):
The “game” itself is quite informative.  I learned quite a bit about posture, fitness, and balance just by reading/listening to the in-game instructions.  At times, all the talking got annoying, but I soon overlooked it when it kept encouraging me and reminding me to breathe (which I often forget while working out…haha).  Once I started the game, it did an initial body test on me, where it gathered my weight/BMI (BMI = Body Mass Index) and measured my balance.  I then proceeded to set a goal for a BMI 3 months from now.  You can set this at whatever you want and for a shorter or longer time.  I chose 3 months, because I have a bigger goal, and I want to work out quite a bit this summer.  After this, I started on the activities.  I have only completed the ones that come with the game, plus 3-4 more than I unlocked while playing today.  Overall, I did work up quite a sweat, and I enjoyed knowing I was working out while having fun playing video games.  My favorites were the ski jump, slalom skiing, and all of the strength training.  After I tried all the activities, I went back and did another body test.  This time, I was 6 pounds lighter.  Now, I’m pretty sure I didn’t lose 6 pounds during one workout, so I did another one.  It was the same, so I’m assuming I was doing something wrong the first time.  (I did have the balance board backwards for the first 5-10 minutes of gameplay…maybe that was it.)  Overall, I believe I will like having Wii Fit help me get into shape.  My only wish right now is that there was a workout mode, instead of just picking what you want to do each day.  However, maybe there is such a thing and I just don’t know how to get to it yet.  I still have a lot to learn about it, but my first hour or so was good.

Conclusions:
This does not seem like a video game at all (except maybe the balance games portion).  However, do not let this make you think Wii Fit is not fun.  And if you are like me, and trying to find something to get you motivated to work out more, I would recommend Wii Fit.  I know my opinion(s) might change over time, as I get into the game more, but as of now, I think I am going to enjoy this.



Around The Net:


  • Jesica

    Your entry came up on an ask.com search for “Wii Balance Board won’t synch”. I had clicked on the Game Channel as it had instructed in the manual, and it wouldn’t synch for anything. While on the phone waiting for a tech support rep, I happened to have read your comment about actually starting the game and waiting for the synch up screen. Wouldn’t you know it? That worked! I’d spent 30 frustrated mins thinking I also had a faulty board, when really Nintendo just left out the small step of “actually start the freaking game” in the instructions instead of just “Go to the Game Channel”. Grrr Urrrrg and THANK YOU!

  • http://forums.wiinintendo.net/ SirVenom

    Lol, well I am glad to hear it worked :)

  • Brian

    I am 12 days in. I am in good shape but some of the advanced exercises are really tough. And the expert rhythem boxing is fun! Good choice for everyone thinking of getting it.

  • ViperJoe

    Yeah, the harder rhythm boxing is really fun and exercises your brain power by making your remember long patterns kind of like “Simon.” I really sucked at it at first; you really gotta pay attention!!

  • stinkbug

    I love my wii fit and balance board, but…

    I had the exact same experience as you: was unable to sync the board because I wasn’t “in” the wii fit game. I even tried changing the batteries. I was starting to get really sad until it dawned on me that maybe I had to have the game running for it to sync. Ugh.

    Likely future versions of the manual will clarify this.

  • http://http://videogamesforthesoul.typepad.com/ James Stafford

    What most reviews of Wii Fit are missing, is the hairy leg problem for men.

    Hairy Legs and a white balance board do not go….see this as proof: http://videogamesforthesoul.typepad.com/ !!!!!

    Please bring out a black balance board!!!

  • http://www.wiibalanceboardgames.com WiiBBG

    After several weeks with Wii Fit I’ve found that I spend all my time skiing or snowboarding as opposed to any of the other games. To be honest, I only really bought Wii Fit for the balance board and the games that were rumoured to be coming out so I’m really excited that EA Skate It and Shaun White Snowboarding will be coming out later this year.

  • http://www.motionplusgames.com/ WiiMPG

    Thanks to Wii Fit I have lost a lot of body fat and working out was never so fun. When I don’t have time to go in gym I just go on Wii Fit for half hour and it is done!