At long last, Wii Fit hit shelves in the U.S. this week, bringing with it the sleek new Balance Board. Seldom have I been so interested in a game; usually, one has something of an idea what to expect. But trying Wii Fit is an experience that videos just can't quite get across. How does it feel? What's it like to really stand there on the board? After lingering over the unboxing -- which you can check out in the gallery below -- it was time to readjust the living room and get in the game. The baby daddy decided to play along, and serve as guinea pig and unboxing assistant. After a little time with the title, a few things became abundantly clear ....
1. People with big feet are screwed
I have pretty big feet for a chick -- size ten -- but they're by no means the biggest feet around, so it was shocking to find that the board just about fit my feet. I can't imagine a guy in a size thirteen being comfortable on it!
2. Being hit in the head with hula hoops by two friends is awesome
The presence in Wii Fit of the other Miis in your Mii Plaza is just delightful. Your friends turn up at random moments as participants, and in the hula hooping minigame, they throw hoops at you. If you miss, it bashes right into your noggin. Classic. if you happen to have celebrity Miis in your Plaza, then one of the tenets of Wii Sports carries over here: it's pretty cool to see your celebrity Miis in action. I got to spend part of my evening stepping in time with Stephen Colbert and our own JC Fletcher. How many people can say that, huh? Take that, other-console-fanboys!
3. Look out for Wii Fit 2
A few quick things here:
- It's lame that lots of the content here is locked.
- There's a lot to do!
- But for all of that, there isn't a lot of depth. There looked to be only about fifteen yoga poses, for instance.
4. Wii Fit is definitely a game
So many people have argued against Wii Fit's classification as a game, but it can't possibly be considered anything but. There are goals and challenges just as with any other game, and even experience points of a sort. If it happens to also offer some health benefit, however slight, that's just a bonus. This is meant to be fun. How can you tell? Well ....
5. Watching someone else play Wii Fit is hilarious
If your friends and family have fun with games like Wii Sports and WarioWare, then expect this to be a hit. There's nothing quite like watching someone gyrate and fumble their way through a new game ... and when the fumbling wears off, the competition for records begins. Any and all fitness benefits aside, Wii Fit will be a great addition to silly afternoons of multiplayer, even if it doesn't actually have multiplayer modes.
Also, it is imperative that you play or somehow reproduce music from Rocky while playing with others. Trust.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-22-2008 @ 9:44AM
Jimbo said...
My size 14 feet are long enough to make it uncomfortable to use the Wii Fit board.
That is OK though, the wife enjoys it.
Reply
5-22-2008 @ 9:45AM
Karrde said...
I'll address issue #1 since I happen to be a man with size 13 feet. I tried out a few things last night and had no problems on the board. My feet were outside of the "defined" area for feet, but still fit fairly comfortable on the board. Much bigger than mine and there are likely to be problems.
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5-22-2008 @ 12:06PM
Jody Anthony (cookingrebels.com) said...
I also have size 13, and it was just right.
my wife has size 11 and she didn't have any problem either. (she's 6' tall)
5-28-2008 @ 1:58PM
Sal Moriarty said...
i wear a size 17 and i get major toe hang over... i'm trying to find the perfect balance that will give me a proper center of gravity, but i think my foot size gives me false positives on many of the games...
5-22-2008 @ 9:46AM
bombtrak said...
"Any and all fitness benefits aside, Wii Fit will be a great addition to silly afternoons of multiplayer."
Yeah, except that there are no multiplayer modes from what I've read about it. So, what....you're going to have one person do a bunch of exercises, quit to the main menu, select another person's ID, and watch them, then switch to the NEXT person's ID, and so on? No thanks...
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5-22-2008 @ 10:24AM
Alisha Karabinus said...
More like one person does a few mini-games and then switch off. I'm sure the novelty of watching someone go through this stuff will wear off, but for now, it's really funny.
5-22-2008 @ 10:52AM
jasenj1 said...
Agreed. My family played a bunch yesterday using my daughter's profile. If you back out to the activity menu and then go back in, the board recalibrates for whoever stands on the board. It will whine that the weight is very different, but will go on. It would be much better if there was a party mode to rotate between Miis quickly.
5-22-2008 @ 4:33PM
Waffala said...
You could also just use a Guest Mii, of a friend who's not going to be doing daily training on your Wii anyways and just use it for whenever you're wanting to do any sort of multiplayer, like jasenj1 said, the board will recalibrate even though the weight is different you can still go on. I accidentally started it anyways instead of retrying when I was standing with only one foot on the board the other on the floor and it messed up my readings until I quit and went back in, so that wouldn't be too difficult, just take longer turns per person so you don't have to go back to the selection screen too often.
5-22-2008 @ 9:47AM
stinkbug said...
Not to complain (I like the wii fit), but, um, you made another wii fit posting 90 minutes earlier. I recommend spreading wii fit postings across a greater distance of time.
Reply
5-22-2008 @ 9:49PM
Gewurztraminer says: R.O.B. is the last Cylon! said...
See, when games are new, this is not likely to happen. Don't you remember Contra 4? Besides, what would a fanboy site be without talk of new games?
5-22-2008 @ 9:48AM
Swampgirl Inez said...
The Hubby and I are wondering what are the exact dimensions of the board? While our foot size shouldn't be a problem, we're wondering about it fitting into our Wii travel bag.
Personally, I was really hoping they'd make it foldable, but not holding my breath.
Reply
5-22-2008 @ 10:04AM
glaci3r said...
The Balance Board should have been designed for larger feet for the European and American markets. My feet barely fit on the board and I'm Asian.
The Balance Board is NOT foldable. It is fairly rigid because it supports up to 350lbs. Its the size of maybe 2-3 Wiis duct-taped together.
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5-22-2008 @ 10:13AM
Steven said...
I've got size 15 feet and I don't find it uncomfortable at all. You people are just weird.
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5-22-2008 @ 11:50AM
Jimbo said...
Cut them off a little and drop down to 14 and tell me how it feels.
5-22-2008 @ 10:44AM
Hughesmar said...
My feet are 11.5 and my big toes hang off about half an inch. Just enough to be slightly annoying.
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5-22-2008 @ 2:28PM
Brad said...
Best unintentional humor moment came when my wife was trying to head soccer balls and dodge cleats and cow heads in the soccer / balance game.
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5-22-2008 @ 3:17PM
Michael said...
How do you download celebrity Miis and such. We are new to the Wii so don't know much about it.
Reply
5-22-2008 @ 3:32PM
+++volume+++ said...
That would be through the 'Check Mii Out' channel, which you can download in the Wii Shop channel.
: )
5-22-2008 @ 3:31PM
V0LUM3 said...
Sterling Marlin is running a Wii Fit sponsored race car in the Coca Cola 600 this weekend. They were just talking about the Wii and Wii Fit on the practice session on SPEED channel.
Reply
5-22-2008 @ 4:37PM
Damian G. said...
I have size 14-wide feet, and I find the board isn't too small in that regard, but it does not accommodate for people who, like me and Larry Craig, have a wide stance.
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5-22-2008 @ 4:56PM
CJLopez said...
size 15 here. Will I have trouble with the board????
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5-22-2008 @ 7:18PM
Hamster said...
Wii Fit 2? Now there's a depressing thought if ever there was one....
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5-23-2008 @ 5:19AM
Jonathan said...
I didnt get those additional feet with my UK wii fit
Reply
5-30-2008 @ 3:32PM
Brittany said...
I have little feet and i have problems when i have to shift my weight to the front or back, often i have to move my feet before it will register a change
Reply
6-03-2008 @ 6:34PM
JonnyBruha said...
I missed my opportunity to buy it this week, but I may hold off now until I find a buddy who bought it. If a size 13 foot will have problems, I think my size 16 feet will be much worse.
Reply
6-28-2008 @ 8:41PM
Dan Burress said...
Can anyone tell me if more than 8 Mii's can be added to the Wii Fit Plaza?
Reply