Nintendo Wii Fanboy

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]

The balance board is certainly smaller than most exercise equipment, which means it obviously requires less space, right? Not necessarily. Anyone who hasn't yet purchased Wii Fit, but is considering it, needs to sit down and consider a few things before bringing home the balance board. Space, room design, and location of the television can all impact your exergaming experience, so we've put together a quick guide to designing your optimal workout space for Wii Fit.

Nintendo has finally accomplished some things they've wanted for a long time: expansion of the gaming market and a few successful peripherals. They've been trying to convince us that add-ons are the way since the beginning. The problem was that the games didn't really hold up their end of the bargain.

Now, however, Nintendo has achieved the kind of universal appeal in their simpler games that allows them to expand into all sorts of oddities, and Wii Fit is just one example. Half game, half lifestyle tool, Wii Fit rides on the coattails of the success of both the Wii and the DS (and its popular Brain Age) into living rooms around the world. But once there, how's the experience?

If you happen to also follow our shenanigans over at DS Fanboy, you might have noticed the yogathon we just wrapped up, courtesy of Let's Yoga, a DS yoga trainer. With the release of Wii Fit, we've now got a great opportunity to compare two entirely different games that include yoga lessons. Five years ago, did you think you'd see that on a gaming site? Viable exergaming options -- we never thought we'd see the day. But how do the two titles stack up to one another? Check out our handy comparison chart, available after the break.

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 ....

Wii Fit is now out in the three major regions, which means it's time for us to ask: are you (literally) on board? Some folks we know are waiting for shipped preorders to arrive, so they're not yet Balance Board owners. Others are happily hoopin' it up ... and others have shunned the release, claiming disinterest in a fitness nongame. How about you?

Are you preparing for Brawl? Are you cracking your knuckles, choosing your favorite characters, and planning your taunts? Are you on a special diet? Training hard? Tell us about your routine. We know some gamers who are going back and replaying old versions, while others are stoically attempting to avoid all spoilers, news, information, and thoughts about the title, instead choosing to attempt a zenlike state until release day, on which they will release the full power of their newly-centered minds and bodies.

Okay, maybe we made that up. But how are you hyping yourself?

If you were hoping to get a crack at Otona No Joushikiryoku Training DS, well, too bad. That's one DS training game that isn't yet on board for an English-language release, but it does seem to be headed toward the Wii ... at least, in Japan. The non-game focuses not on common sense as we often colloquially use the phrase, but more on "general knowledge." For example, in the above screen, players are asked to locate the Caribbean Sea. From some of the other screens (handily included in our gallery below), we can see that the title focuses on a variety of skills and knowledges that are useful, from tying a tie to cultural information.

Perhaps the Wii title will have a better chance of crossing the globe, considering the ever-expanding casual market, but for now, we'll have to settle for a little free translation training from the kanji-heavy screens.

The Wii version heads out to Japan in March.

Ubisoft has dropped the price of the Wii version of My Word Coach to $29.99, which is the same price as the DS version. So now potential My Word Pupils can base their choice in coachery format on considerations other than the pecuniary.

We suggest going for the Wii version if you're confident in your word ability (word smarts). By displaying your dominance of the English language on your TV, where others can potentially see, you send an unmistakable message: I know a pretty good number of words. Also I throw strange parties. On the other hand, displaying your flailing attempts to perform well in this game shows an interest in self-improvement. So that's not terrible either!

[Via CAG]

Read - GameStop
Read - Amazon

GameTrailers has a ridiculous number of Wii Fit trailers and demos up right now. While they're all in Japanese, the videos still offer a great (if sedate) look at the fitness trainer and its different uses. We've put one up here in our weekly video spotlight, but if you have the urge to watch more, you'll have to head over there. We're not kidding when we say there's a lot.

The DS is home to stacks upon stacks of kanji training games, and now the phenomenon is making its way to the Wii. Kanken Wii is a bizarre educational take on Mario Party: a four-player kanji training party game. Like Mario Party, it involves a board game motíf used to parcel out the minigames.

Kanken Wii is named after the Kanji kentei, a standardized test of kanji comprehension. It doesn't normally involve kung fu or hamburger building in non-Wii situations, opting instead for the "characters on white paper" approach popular to so many other tests.

While it may seem like a crazy idea at first, studying with others is often helpful, so maybe playing training games in a crowd also helps. Big Brain Academy was an interesting diversion, but didn't really reinforce any skills that require much learning. Of course, the lack of kanji focus enabled Big Brain Academy to be released outside Japan.

We spotted a Gamefly listing for some DS game called Ninja Reflex a couple of days ago. Now a Wii game of the same title has appeared on the site, with a release date of March 6. What is it? Nobody Only EA knows! If we had to guess, we'd say it's some kind of ninja-themed training game, which sounds like it might be enjoyable. EA did start up that EA Casual division after all; we can expect more casual-type content. And we welcome the spread of training games to the Wii, although the Wii's party focus may be at odds with training.

For us, though, the most important thing about Ninja Reflex is that it allows us to make repeated Duran Duran reference. If you get handed an opportuntiy like this, why-yi-yi-yi-yi don't you use it?

[Via Siliconera]

The idea of using the simulated world of Second Life as a training and educational hub isn't new -- in fact, it's even promoted on the official website. It looks like those Second Life simulations are about to get a lot more hands-on, however, thanks to the Wii remote ... which, it seems, really can do anything.

According to some, training in Second Life has thus far been somewhat limited. Sure, you can recreate nearly any physical environment, but what happens when you need to get a little more hands-on? Second Life can help, for example, a new worker for Orkin learn how to inspect a house, but what happens when virtual training requires the new employee to pick up a tool? Enter the Wii remote. Training on tools from screwdrivers to scalpels will now be much easier, and all without anyone getting dirty. The implications are so far-reaching that MIT research fellow David E. Stone calls the Wiimote "one of the most significant technology breakthroughs in the history of computer science." Wow, and we thought we were fans!

Stone's firm has been hired by Orkin and others to help create more fully-realized training simulations using Second Life and the Wii controller, and a consortium of European universities are even considering his services in the creation of a virtual cancer lab. Can the Wiimote help cure cancer? It looks like that could be a possibility.

[Thanks to Christopher and hvnlysoldr!]

Trust us. With regular use comes a guaranteed increase in size, or your money back! Girls will flock to you, women will be putty in your hands! After all, we've seen the results firsthand. Yes, that's right, we've sunk quite a bit of our own money and time into this product, and we're just absolutely 100% positive you'll start seeing results within a few weeks. And hey, it's not your fault nature didn't give you a little more to work with! So go ahead and start Training Your Brain, Miyamoto-san, and give those women what they really want: your astronomically high IQ.

- DS Lite: 111,213 52,572 (32.10%)
- Wii: 52,193 351 (0.67%)
- PSP: 27,505 6,928 (20.12%)
- PS2: 10,881 467 (4.48%)
- PS3: 8,659 180 (2.04%)
- Xbox 360: 2,026 79 (3.75%)
- Game Boy Micro: 428 20 (4.90%)
- GBA SP: 330 13 (3.79%)
- Gamecube: 276 39 (12.38%)
- GBA: 33 15 (83.33%)
- DS Phat: 26 13 (33.33%)

[Source: Media Create]