Nintendo Wii Fanboy

ResponDesign is a little ticked off. If you ever played Yourself!Fitness for the Xbox, PC or PS2, know that they had a Wii version planned to capitalize on the success of Nintendo's Wii Fit. Ubisoft was developing My Fitness Coach, with an agreement between themselves and ResponDesign to use some of Yourself!Fitness's assets, including the virtual trainer Maya, in the game. Part of the agreement was to launch in early 2008, to coincide with Wii Fit's release (and thus capitalize on its popularity). Since that didn't happen, ResponDesign is most upset it lost out on a lot of money in royalties.

The lawsuit was filed on July 16 in the Superior Court of the State of California, County of Los Angeles. ResponDesign also had claims Ubisoft "never disclosed that it was developing a game that would be entitled My Weight Loss Coach or any other game in the My Coach product line that would directly compete with or replace the My Fitness Coach game." The agreement was to apparently see ResponDesign receive $250,000 for the initial game elements, $50,000 when Ubisoft completed the first playable version of the Wii game (which was supposed to be completed no later than Nov. 18, 2007), and an additional $50,000 after Nintendo approved the gold master for the finished title.

ResponDesign feels cheated and claims "from the outset [Ubisoft] failed to diligently pursue development of the game, ignored the terms of the license agreement and acted in bad faith."

You know as well as we do that, with some games, you can really break a sweat while playing Wii. Some student researchers from Cleveland University have found out that, at least in Wii Sports Boxing, your workout with Wii is equivalent to that of real, traditional exercise (they aren't the first to conduct tests, though). The goal isn't to get anyone to ditch those traditional routines, mind you, but to get more people exercising.

Still, the difference in calories burned is kind of small. They found that working the bag for 30 minutes only burned 28 more calories than a workout with Wii Sports Boxing over the same period of time. They hope that working out with the Wii will be a more inviting prospect. "One reason people don't exercise is because they feel like it is too strenuous. With the Wii, they get the workout, but there isn't that negative feeling," said CSU Associate Professor Ken Sparks. "Even if you can't get out and jog, you may be able to get the exercise on the Wii."

[Via Go Nintendo]

Nintendo of Japan's latest Wii Fit ads are pretty much exactly the same as most Wii Fit ads, or, really, most Wii ads: a family converges in the living room to watch with wonder as Dad or Grandma or whoever wobbles around. Except, now, it's summer! The slogan for these commercials is Natsuyasumi no Wii Fit, "Wii Fit of summer vacation." In other words, summer is the perfect time to buy Wii Fit, just like winter and spring were!

Other recent ads (30-33) feature idol Eiko Koike demonstrating the game's iconic yoga poses. Something tells us that these ads may end up making more of an impression.

Apparently, some EB shopper recognized Lauren Bernat, the infamous "Wii Fit Girl," who has gone on to some media success after being humilated on YouTube, and asked her to sign a Wii Fit box that he just ... happened ... to have. Okay, it's a dubious story -- even if we assume that he just happened to be buying Wii Fit at the time, it's unlikely in the first place that he was able to walk into a store and purchase Wii Fit.

But however it happened, the meeting occurred and the Wii Fit box was signed. The next step was what anyone would have expected to happen: eBay. At a current bid of $165, that's actually not far off the normal eBay price for Wii Fit.


[Via GameSniped]

While some of you remain skeptical about Helix, we're definitely interested in Ghostfire Games' upcoming WiiWare title. Essentially, everything you need to know about the game is revealed by Ed Roman in this producer walkthrough (embedded up top).

Ghostfire is really stressing the whole "exercise made fun" angle, and with the success of titles like DDR and Wii Fit, who can blame them? What we like most about Helix, though, is that the developers clearly put a lot of thought into every aspect of this dancing game. Take, for example, the calibration option, which helps the software map out your own specific movement quirks more easily. (MotionPlus, schmotionplus.) Also, according to Roman, you can still play the game if you only have one Wiimote, so if you lack two controllers that's not a game-killing issue.

If you're curious about how the developers fit twenty-six songs onto a WiiWare title, or why they decided to use two Wiimotes rather than a Wiimote/Nunchuk combination, or anything else about Helix, for that matter, just check out the video above.

It's probably an outright hoax -- nay, almost definitely complete nonsense ... right? Whether you're a believer or a skeptic, the shocking media and disturbing atmosphere for the enigmatic We Move: Pain vs. Pleasure is simply too intense to ignore.

It began with this trailer -- a seemingly innocent (if odd) attempt at marketing an upcoming WiiWare game. Righto, no problem, we'll wait for more information. While said information didn't arrive, the whole gaming community was shocked by the completely awesome second trailer, with the same woman from the first video becoming a dominatrix for a pained young man.

Now, if this is nothing but a big pile of lies, you can't discredit the creator for having commitment to a project. The latest We Move trailer has surfaced above, and it's just as mystifying as always. The Balance Board Blog team contacted a Nintendo rep, who simply stated that they "know nothing about this at all." A blunt answer to halt any probing journalists before a surprise Pherosesoft announcement at E3, or the cold hard truth that We Move is a hoax? You decide -- just keep an eye out for any additional goss during our E3 coverage next week.

[Via Balance Board Blog]

Commercials that show people having fun while playing the Wii are a dime a dozen, so this Active Life: Outdoor Challenge trailer doesn't score any points with us in terms of creativity. We also think the narrator sounds as excited for the game as she would about an enema (fake enthusiasm is fake), but that's neither here nor there. Yet the game itself -- dare we say it -- looks pretty interesting.

Don't take "interesting" to mean "good," but we can't help but be intrigued by some of the activities and the use of the mat. Granted, the last thing we need is yet another peripheral in our households, which will probably be enough to keep us away from Active Life. If Nintendo doesn't have its Wii Fit stock act together by the fall, though, we wonder if people will turn to Active Life instead. Granted, this game won't have even half of the hype that surrounded Wii Fit, but the situation does present an opportunity for Namco Bandai. Who knows, families might even buy into the whole "working out together" angle.

On the other hand, there's yet another obstacle in the way of Active Life. It looks to us at least that if you're going to go with a game with a mat, DDR would probably offer a better workout. But what do you lovely readers think? Does Active Life: Outdoor Challenge have a place in the current gaming market?

Hey, don't feel too bad. Just because you haven't heard of Active Life: Outdoor Challenge is no reason to shed those tears. Wii Fit is great and all, but you need something more. Something to do with a big island of fun, apparently. With a bunch of games and a new mat, it's pretty obvious that peripheral-crazy Wii gamers will dig this latest installment into no holds barred gaming fun.

It's your fun-loving responsibility to check out the new official gallery with the latest and greatest in Active Life images. Hit the link below for river-rafting, see-saws, and a traditional mine cart ride. Despite the notable lack of Short Round on this ride, the characters are stumpy enough to be somewhat passable.


[Via press release]

European publisher JoWood has announced that, along with new development partner Tivola (publisher of the great-looking Music Monstars on the DS), they're creating a yoga game for the Wii. The name: Wii Yoga. There are no specific details about the game yet (except those evident from the title), but it is planned for a "second quarter 2009" release in Europe, and it uses the Balance Board.

No information has been released about a possible American release, but a Wii Yoga game was among the titles revealed in the massive Intellisponse leak a few weeks back, which suggests that Activision or Disney may be releasing the game. Or that another game called Wii Yoga is planned, which isn't that unlikely given the completely, plainly obvious nature of the title.

If British accents annoy you, do not click this link. This one. Right here. It will take you to the Feel Great Britain website, where group after group of chortling, crumpet-eating British lads and lasses have a go at Wii Fit. The site is designed to complement to upcoming Feel Great Britain tour, running through July and August.

Nintendo aren't just sitting back and letting Wii Fit sell itself (which it does quite nicely, thanks). It's good to see they understand that exercising is an ongoing activity, and they are willing to actively support the product during the months ahead. If you happen to be British and haven't balanced your way to fitness yet, check out the website for official tour dates.

Where in the past Wii Sports has been the ideal Wii-based solution for rehabilitation patients, Nintendo's newest craze, Wii Fit, is now stepping up to show everyone that it has something to offer outside of a really fun hula hoop mini-game. Now, sports trainers are looking to Wii Fit to help rehabilitate injured athletes.

"We are looking to incorporate Wii Fit into the athletic training room as far as rehabilitation, for example, on post-operative knees and ankles," said Sue Stanley-Green, professor of athletic training at Florida Southern College. She noted that the success of the console in other rehab scenarios fueled their interest in Wii Fit, stating that "Fitness-oriented video games are also being used more and more in nursing homes for rehabilitation," also adding "Fitness video games have some really good potential to improve fitness in everyone."



[Via Engadget]

A poll from the UK insurance firm Sheilas' Wheels analyzed the exercise habits of women, and the potential disaster area that has become their homes. Despite the initial "ZOMG Wii Fit destruction!" outcry from the mass media, the details of the poll really don't have much to do with Nintendo at all.

The general response criticizes massive damage caused by these women knocking over junk as they worked out on Wii Fit. On average, £6.55 per person was the estimated dollar (that is, pound) value of destruction, or a whopping £20 million worth total. Wii Fit, you've got some 'splaining to do!

Or, not. Wii Fit isn't responsible for the damage at all, and the original release from Sheilas' Wheels merely mentions the popularity of Wii Fit and Nintendo in general -- then immediately states the most popular home exercise method is watching an instructional video or DVD. Sure, the Wii has been responsible for some breakages in the past, but tacking the £20 million sum anywhere near the Balance Board is just poor form. Read over the official Sheilas' Wheels news article before subscribing to the Wii Fit Angry Mob newsletter.

Finally, the results explain that the survey was conducted to gather home damage estimates over the past year. Wii Fit has only been out in the UK for a month. The math doesn't add up, and a genuine attempt to gather information on home exercise routines has been misrepresented. Besides, if Wii Fit was solely to blame, what have the women been doing to smash up their stuff during the 11 months before it was released? If you guessed cleaning the kitchen, sewing and baking cookies for the men, you would be correct.

Wii Move, developed by a team containing former EA and Rockstar North staffers, is the first announced WiiWare game to make use of the Balance Board. It's also ... a game of some kind? Probably? All we know is that it has at least one character model, a woman who is featureless and plainly rendered aside from breast physics. She runs, and then walks, among a crowd of her own clones.

We suspect that the reason PheroseSoft made such a cryptic teaser video for this game was because it's an exercise game, and that may not be as exciting to everyone as some mysterious WiiWare project.

The blogger of the enthusiastically-named "Wii Fit is It" blog (is Coke not it anymore? Wasn't Coke it?) apparently works for a very progressive company. His workplace provides each employee a $150 allowance for exercise equipment or services. Instead of getting a gym membership or a Gazelle Edge (sorry, BallyTotalFitnessFanboy.com and TonyLittleFanboy.com), he got a copy of Wii Fit.

Apparently, the person in charge of approving the claims knew all about Wii Fit (possibly from having the television on or any magazine open at some point within the last few months) and was looking for a copy himself. It's nice to see Wii Fit treated like an actual exercise tool in some official capacity!


[Via Kotaku]