Nintendo Wii Fanboy

Agree with David all the way. I hate Wii Fit. It is certainly not "innovative", after all companies have been exploiting stupid, insecure people with lifestyle, self-help crap for ages, it's just another gimmick. It's yet more boring mini-games and exercises wrapped up in Wii branding (or blanding as it perhaps should now be known). I love Nintendo more than life itself, but this depresses me and makes me lose a little faith. What if they begin to realise that instead of crafting wonderful, beautiful gaming experiences, they can just churn this stuff out with no effort, no creativity and no imagination and make maximum profit? In my opinion Wii Fit is tedious, bland, soulless, cynical, opportunistic, manipulative, casual mediocrity at its very worst.

This video pretty much sums up my opinions:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=_iYBmAVuBns

Reply

Gotta disagree with you alarmists. You guys sound like a kid when his parents bring home a new baby and you're scared they will love it more than you. The board is an extremely well made piece of kit and doing Yoga on it at least lets me know I am doing it right. Compare that to a DVD here is the pose, now do it. No feedback on my balance, nothing. The exercises are not minigames they are exercises. They added a few balance minis to round out the experience for you the gamer.

If you think for one second that this heralds the end of classic style games you are pretty insecure and I think you need to stop worrying about whether or not you can "have faith" in a company of game developers. The board also has gaming potential, but the pack in was never attempting to tackle it, so the statement that the games are bland is more alarmist warbling.

Bottom line I have fun with the device, and it actually delivers on providing feedback on Yoga and other exercises I can do at home. For that it is totally worth the price tag especially considering what some of the fitness DVD sets go for.

Reply

If you dislike it and you haven't tried it, you aren't being fair to the game or yourself. If you dislike the concept, fine, but you should at least give the execution of the game an actual chance. I mean, how stupid is the concept of a fat italian plumber jumping over barrles thrown by a giant ape? But it was executed well and lead to the Mario franchise. How many games sounded awesome but blew chuncks? A lot, because it doesn't matter how good the concept is, it's the execution that counts.

Reply

I love my wii fit.

How can you hate a device that has you standing naked in your living room muttering "...you f*cking bees!"???

Reply

After playing Wii Fit, it seems like it would appeal to a wide variety of people. However, I don't think it was advertised well and didn't really make that point.

The mini games are pretty fun, they kinda tie back into the fun of Wii Sports. Some of the exercises, like Yoga, aren't really useful in my opinion, but I know Yoga appeals to a lot of people. The strength training activities are actually stuff you'd do anyways while working out, so why not have Wii Fit track what you're doing and unlock goodies at the same time? Aerobics are another example of something that everyone should be doing anyways too.

Even if you're just a Wii gamer, and not interested in fitness, the balance board has lots of promise for future games. If you're a hardcore gamer, not interested in Wii Fit, but have a Wii; you must own it for the hardware innovations, right? Otherwise it seems like it'd be a system that type of person passes on.

Reply

As someone who isn't afraid to say they're overweight, I gotta say I love Wii Fit. Doing it 30 minutes a day with a good all-around workout that incorporates all the different aspects leaves me feeling great about myself and I can actually feel the burn. The exercises may not be the same as going to a gym, but fuck that - I don't want to go to a gym and pay a monthly to look at people who are more fit than me do things I can barely do. I want to do a moderate amount of exercise that's aimed at my level, that pushes me to get better and better. A time may come when the exercises in Wii Fit don't do anything for me but for now they're great. Combined with healthier eating and lots of walking around, I'm on my way to being healthier, and I'm having fun doing it.

The gaming industry is changing, and it's a welcome change. Better this than Final Fantasy XXXVIIIIWTFBBQ which will boast minor and ultimately inconsequential revisions to the turn-based combat system. Innovative!

What I would like to see is Nintendo putting out a more strenuous exercise game based on the balance board - taking the Wii Fit concept and ramping it up for people who want something a little more intense. That would be great.

Reply

In gonna go home after work and jog. for free.
and than weigh myself on a scale I bought for $20.
Rubes.

Reply