Given you can’t really appreciate the impact of the Wii Fit straight away, we asked Ian Winter to write this multi-part review of his experience.
Here’s the news if you’re thinking of buying a Wii Fit to lose weight, improve overall fitness, live longer and attract cuter sexual partners: it probably won’t make any difference.
I’ve been using a Wii Fit for the past month, having nabbed one on its UK launch date. In that time I’ve maintained my usual levels of diet (mainly vegetarian, probably too much bread, definitely too much cheese, but I’m not a big snacker), exercise (I dog-walk a couple of miles most days, occasionally cycle to take The Boy to school), and my weight according to Wii Fit has not changed at all in a month. Despite spending typically half an hour an evening on it, I am still at the top end of Wii Fit’s “overweight” zone.
Hardly a scientific study, but my straight conclusion is: it’s a lot of fun, it certainly gets you thinking about your weight and fitness, and like most Wii experiences it’s a great family pastime, but this is not a serious fitness tool.
But don’t let that put you off buying one, because as a non-serious, passive, occasional fitness device, it’s fantastic value for money. And it does have moderately beneficial effects to your balance, your “sense of fitness”, and maybe even your sex life… more of which later.
What is Wii Fit?
The surprisingly heavy Wii Fit packaging contains the Wii Fit software disc and the Wii Balance Board. This is a white battery-powered plastic slab, around the size of a dinner tray and an inch or so thick, which communicates wirelessly with the Wii in the same way as the Wii Remote.
The Balance Board has four weight sensors, one per corner, so that when you stand on it the Wii can measure your overall weight along with your exact weight distribution. This in turn allows the Wii Fit software to react to any lean, bend or drunken imbalance that you perform while mounted on the Board.
It’s a sturdy and extremely sensitive device, and as a controller for video games it has some fantastic properties, chiefly that it’s very hard to fool. With a hand-held controller one can quickly learn the combination of button presses or Wii Remote moves to achieve something in a game, but on the Wii Fit Board it’s very hard to fake a set of balancing manoeuvres. Result: it’s a great leveller, with practised users being less likely to marmalise newcomers in any high-score challenges.
- Complete review
- Wii Fit Review: A Month After Living With Wii Fit
- Wii Fit Review: Getting started with the Wii Fit and the Aerobic exercises
- Wii Fit Review: After A Month: The Balance Activities
- Wii Fit Review: After A Month: Boost Your Sex Life? & Scores (77%)
Ian Winter runs HomePage.
Fit is a perfect, but not a toy. It really helps me to become thiner.