Posts with tag wii-fit
Wii Warm Up: So who's buying it?
One third of Japanese Wii owners have Wii Fit
It hasn't yet caught up to its Nintendo cousin, Wii Sports, which has almost reached the three million mark. Yet, keep in mind that 1) Wii Fit was released a year after Wii Sports and 2) Wii Fit is a lot more expensive; it costs more than a usual Wii game, while Wii Sports costs less than the standard. To throw in another interesting comparison, Media Create sales indicate that there are almost as many Wii Fit owners in Japan as PS3 owners (with the PS3 currently having a 50,000 unit edge).
While we find it unlikely that Wii Fit will hit the same one-in-three ownership ratio in Europe and North America, we have little doubt that the exercise software will do well in those regions, too. Let it be said that Nintendo definitely understands the casual market.
Gallery: Wii Fit
[Via NeoGAF]
Wii Fit incense comes and goes, 2000 Star Points saved
Luckily for you, UK gamers, the Wii Fit incense that Nintendo just started offering through the Stars Catalogue is now sold out (along with pretty much anything of substance). That means you no longer have the opportunity to blow 2000 points on some Wii Fit-branded incense.You've also missed some Mario game holders and Nintendo-character notebooks, which is actually sad. But take solace in the fact that you don't even have to spend one second of your time wondering if those 2000 Star Points would be best put to use on 500 Wii Points (or Street Gangs), or some grocery-store incense in a fancy tin.
[Via NeoGAF]
Another Week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 4/28-5/4
Even so, Link had to hail to the king (baby), as Mario Kart Wii still dominated the charts. The other big news for Mario Kart Wii? It passed one million sales in the Far East, denoting its success. Meanwhile, Deca Sports clamored back into the top ten, but Brawl only slipped further downward, thus answering our question from last week. Also proving that the Japanese love their sports games for the Wii, Bandai Namco's Pro Baseball Family Stadium debuted at spot twenty.
The Wii triumphed in hardware last week as well. While the console continues to trail behind Sony's handheld, Wii sales went up almost 30,000 units from last week -- perhaps from the Link's Crossbow boost. Go on and check things out for yourself after the break, if you feel so inclined.
Continue reading Another Week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 4/28-5/4
Nyko reveals Energy Pak for Wii Fit [update]
Nyko wants you to know they've come up with a solution for the Balance Board's power consumption, making sure they get in on the cash cow others think it will be. It's a rechargeable battery pack that will release on May 19th, for a MSRP of $19.99. The cool thing about this rechargeable battery pack is that, in order to recharge it, you won't even need to unplug it from the Balance Board. You can charge and play at the same time.
Hit up the gallery below for some screens of the accessory at work.
[Via press release]
EA plans Western-style exercise game for Balance Board
EA Sports' new "Freestyle" brand will feature more casual sports games than the Madden-type stuff found under the main EA Sports brand -- think EA Sports BIG, but in 2008. The first game to come out under the brand will be FaceBreaker, the cartoony boxing game. EA Sports president Peter Moore has already revealed a second Freestyle game, though an official announcement has yet to be made. The new exercise game will support Nintendo's Balance Board peripheral in much the same way that Wii Fit does.
To differentiate between Wii Fit and the new project, Moore describes a "Western," cardiovascular style of exercise, as opposed to the tai-chi-like anaerobic "holistic fitness" in Wii Fit. Which sounds like a great idea.
Wii Fit preorders jog away from retailers
Not only has Amazon stopped taking them for Nintendo's popular fitness game, but IGN reports that GameStop has also suspended preorders for the title and Game Crazy is nearly tapped out. GoNintendo notes that Toys R Us (dot com) has run out of preorder stock, too, leaving Walmart's online store as one of the few options left -- although we're sure it's only a matter of time before that ends, as well.
This sounds eerily similar to what happened in the UK a few weeks ago, and now retail copies of Wii Fit seem to be more scarce than holy grails there. The one lesson that we can take away from all this? Nintendo is really good at printing money.
Gallery: Wii Fit
Nintendo to hold Wii Fit event in Central Park
Unlike the recent Mario Kart Wii event, there won't be any kind of tournament or prizes. But, that doesn't mean you shouldn't show up, because Nintendo has pledged $5 (up to $25,000 total) to the American Heart Association for every person that gets on a Balance Board and tries Wii Fit out. Exercising while helping people? Sounds like a winning plan to us!
Gallery: Wii Fit
Amazon sells out of Wii Fit preorders
It looks like the grim picture painted by Michael Pachter is coming true. Wii Fit fever has caught on, thanks in part to the software and Balance Board, as well as the mainstream media coverage and marketing push from Nintendo. Our advice? If you haven't planned on how you're going to get Wii Fit by now, there's a good chance you won't be able to nab one on release day.
Gallery: Wii Fit
[Via Joystiq]
Walmart fattens Wii Fit with $10 gift card
While some core gamers might not have succumbed to the Wii Fit hype, we're sure quite a few of you are more than intrigued by Nintendo's latest innovation. If so, you might be interested to know that Walmart is offering a $10 gift card with Wii Fit preorders. Of course, since shipping and tax will amount to more than $10, you're not actually saving anything. Yet, should you want to avoid the angry mom rush in brick and mortar stores and get something in return for your troubles, it might not be too bad of an idea to take advantage of this offer.
If you're considering this deal, just keep in mind that it ends on May 11th (or possibly earlier if Walmart runs out of stock).
Gallery: Wii Fit
[Thanks, Tristan and bakk!]
Another Week in Europe
Wii Fit is selling like gangbusters in Britain, where it accounts for half of all Wii software sold in the last week, and has given Nintendo its first one-two finish in the All Formats Chart since 2003. And guess what? It's more or less the same story throughout the rest of Europe.The Irish are shedding the Guinness pounds, the Germans are working off those brätwurst, and Sweden ... well, we don't really have a lazy, go-to food stereotype for the Swedes. Anyhow, the point is: they're all loving it, and if Wii Fit doesn't appear in a chart (see: Spain, Denmark), it's probably because a country hasn't got it yet, or the charts have fallen behind.
Mind you, don't expect any of this Nintendo dominance to last: next week's charts are guaranteed to be all about one game (yet we suspect Wii Fit might give you have better legs than GTA IV in the long-term). Lean past the break for this week's European charts.
Get fit with Wii at Westin Hotels
And now, the business travelers and other folks that find themselves staying at a Westin Hotel can also enjoy Wii (complete with Wii Fit) inside the confines of the Westin's workout room. So whether you're down for some Wii Sports: Bowling or simply want to have a nice, peaceful stretch with Wii Fit, you won't have to be away from your beloved console when on the road.
Gallery: Wii Fit
[Via Joystiq]
Another Week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 4/21-4/27
Mario Kart Wii continues to top the charts in Japan, but a lot of movement happened with the Wii's other software. Because a bunch of new games came out last week, Wii Sports, Deca Sports, and Super Smash Bros. Brawl were all knocked out of the top ten. We know that Wii Sports will return to top ten fame soon enough, since it always does, but we'll be interested to see whether the other two titles can pull that off as well.On the hardware side of things, the Wii got sandwiched by the two portables as it jumped up into second place:
- PSP: 92,411
- Wii: 48,796
- Nintendo DS: 42,435
- PlayStation 3: 9,107
- PlayStation 2: 7,108
- Xbox 360: 1,283
Continue reading Another Week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 4/21-4/27
Wii Fit distributors getting weekly exercise
Nintendo U.K. told GamesIndustry.biz that "stock is coming in all the time on a weekly basis." We're surprised that Nintendo is even pretending to be able to keep up with demand, with Wii Fit as enormously popular as it is there. The true test of their production capacity will be the U.S. launch oh May 19th.
GameStop offering free Wii Fit promo DVDs
For those of you who like to collect promotional DVDs, know that GameStop is giving away free DVDs that show off Wii Fit. Our best guess is that the footage on the DVD is things you've already seen (here at Wii Fanboy, we hope), so if you're intending on picking it up and catching something new to watch to hold you over until the bundle is released, then perhaps that might not be the best plan in the world.
Instead, we suggest you approach this as an opportunity to show it off to someone in your life who doesn't know what the 411 is. Show the game off to your mom, your English teacher or simply get a bunch of the DVDs and throw them around like ninja stars. That used to be fun with those AOL 3.0 CDs back in the day.
Gallery: Wii Fit
