Wii Fit News, Wii Fit Games and other cool stuff for WiiFit

Breaking: Nintendo confirms another big title for Europe.

Nintendo’s new, unique and innovative application for Wii, which is hoping to get all across Europe moving their whole bodies - WiiFit, is set to launch across Europe on April 25th 2008 (much earlier than many were expecting).

Since its launch in Japan on December 1st 2007, WiiFit has already sold in excess of 1.4 million units to date, coming bundled with the Wii Balance Board. The game allows up to 8 people to track progress and monitor performance. Once you insert the WiiFit Disc into a Wii console, a new channel - WiiFit Channel can be added to your Wii Menu system.

Once the WiiFit Channel is added it enables users to not have to insert the WiiFit Disc into a Wii console in order for the Wii Balance Board to scale your weight to calculate your BMI, measure the center of your bodily balance and conduct a balance test in order to calculate your WiiFit Age. It also allows you to monitor how long you did which category of exercise for in one day, all in the comfort of your own home and without the need to keep inserting the WiiFit Disk into your Wii console each time.

There are 4 training categories including Aerobic Exercises, Muscle Workouts, Yoga and Balance Games that will help you and your family to develop bodily balance control ability, burn fat in the body, help tone and condition muscles, as well as help increase aerobic stamina. Discover over 40 different activities within these training categories such as Hula Hoop, Ski Jump, Press-up Challenge, Rhythm Boxing, Rowing Squat, Lunge and classic Yoga poses such as Half Moon, Tree and Crocodile Twist. With all this on offer and much more, WiiFit along with the Wii Balance Board introduces an accessible and intuitive programme for all the family to enjoy.

Through WiiFit’s training programme, helpful tutorials and encouragements from your on-screen fitness trainer, who will change his or her verbal instructions depending on how you actually perform, and the included WiiFit Channel, you will continue to have endless fun whilst having the satisfaction of knowing you are aiding yourself, and your family, on towards a path of a healthier lifestyle.

Once again, the title will come bundled with the Wii Balance Board and launches across Europe on April 25th 2008.

courtesy n-europe.com

Posted by Tom “Tphi” Phillips - Feb 20th 2008 11:44

Wii Fit News

It Began with a Nintendo DS Experiment

Iwata  - For the third part of this series, I would like to interview the two men who were in charge of the software development of WiiFit. For starters, could you two introduce yourselves and briefly describe your responsibilities in developing WiiFit?

Sugiyama  - I’m Tadashi Sugiyama from the Entertainment Analysis Development Division, and I was the producer for this software. In the past, I was involved in the development of games, including the Mario Kart series, so this project was pretty different to say the least! (laughs)

Iwata  - Sugiyama-san and I go a long way back to the days of the Nintendo Entertainment System. He did the pixel art for the first NES title I programmed. I can’t tell you which game it was, though! (laughs)

Matsunaga  - I’m Hiroshi Matsunaga, also from the Entertainment Analysis Development Division. I was the chief director for WiiFit. As a designer, my work until now mostly involved creating game art, so WiiFit marks my first attempt at handling the overall production of a game. Before this project, I was working on the animation and other visual aspects of Mario in Super Mario 64 DS.

Read the complete interview

courtesy of Wii.com

Wii Fit News

An Idea Inspired by Sumo Wrestlers

Iwata -Now, for the second part of this series, I would like to interview the two men behind the development of the Wii Balance Board, the world’s
first game accessory capable of measuring your weight and body balance. It’s interesting to note here that the two are from completely different divisions: one is from the Entertainment Analysis & Development Division, which develops software, and the other is from the Integrated Research & Development Division, which develops hardware.

Read the complete interview

courtesy of Wii.com

Wii Fit News

“The Great Experiment: WiiFit” is an ongoing project to see if incorporating WiiFIt exercising into daily life can lead to weight loss. WiiFit will be used each day from February 5th-March 29th (Vinnk’s Wedding day). He will record his results each day and make notes about his progress or lack thereof.

Links:

February 5th - Outline of the Experiment
February 12th - Week 1 Report

courtesy of 4 color rebellion
by Vinnk

Wii Fit News

Hello, everyone. My name is Satoru Iwata, President of Nintendo Co., Ltd. As you may already know, some time ago I began conducting a series of interviews explaining the vision behind Wii. Now I’d like to continue that process to help explain the thinking and planning behind our new product, Wii Fit.
Over the course of the next few weeks we will hear from those who were actually involved in the development of this title. Given that I will be interviewing my own employees, I admit this is a somewhat interesting experiment, but by talking face-to-face with them, I hope to convey why we believe this is such an important product.
There are many insights that only these key developers will be able to recount. I hope you enjoy these interviews and please look forward to Wii Fit as it enters markets in the west later this year.

Sincerely,
Satoru Iwata

courtesy of Wii.com

Read the complete interview

Wii Fit News

WiiFit can be hard on your feet. So why not give them a nice massage? And by “give them a nice massage,” we mean “make them stand on some plastic nubs.” Japan Trust Technology hopes that the nubs on their Silicone Fit Cover Tsubu Tsubu (tsubu tsubu refers to something grainy or pebbly) will be just the thing to put them at the top of the burgeoning WiiFit board cover market.

In addition to feeling neat, the nubs help players keep their feet positioned properly and prevent slippage. JTT is selling this item online — in blue only — for 2480 yen ($23). We make fun of stuff like this, but we can certainly see the appeal of getting a nice cover for something that we have our feet on for hours.

courtesy of nintendowiifanboy.com

by JC Fletcher

Wii Fit News

On the same day that I bought the game that hardcore Nintendo fans have been dying for, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, I also bought WiiFit, the “non-game” that everyone else is talking about. Originally, I was planning on giving it a try and then posting some impressions. However, as I was changing into my workout clothes, I noticed they no longer fit me. This made me take a long look at myself, and I decided a different plan of action might be better.

Long-time stalkers might have realized that I am getting a bit… chunky. I blame the holidays for the weight gain, but I blame myself for the fact that it is still there long after the holidays are over. I recently found out that I have officially crossed the line into “obese” (by Japanese standards) for my height. It is time to do something about it. Thus, The Great Experiment.

What follows is my not-very-scientific experiment plan:

Goal: My goal is to see how much weight I can lose before my wedding that will take place on March 29th.

Process: I will attempt to use WiiFit every day for a minimum of 30 minutes. The maximum time I will spend on it in one day is 60 minutes. During this time I will try to do several different exercises.

Eating Habits: I will keep my diet similar to the one I have now. I will eat 3 daily meals with snacks once or twice a day. Also, there will no doubt be occasional over-consumption of food and drink on weekends. For this experiment, my exact caloric intake will not be calculated. I do not plan to change my diet in any significant way, however with any fitness program there will be the desire to eat healthier and possibly less. I will try to make note of any large changes.

Exercise beyond WiiFit: I ride my bicycle to and from work every morning, so I put in at least 1 hour of cycling every day, as I have for the last 4 years. Despite all this cycling, I have still managed to slowly gain weight over the years. WiiFit will be my exercise in addition to this bike riding.

Recording: I will make a log every day of how much exercise I do with WiiFit, which exercises I do and other general notes. I will try to mention my progress towards my goal and feelings towards Wii Fit and exercise in general. At the end of every week I will also weigh myself, and as the weeks go on, I’ll chart these results.

Now for the embarrassing personal details:

Status before starting Wii Fit: My height is 176 cm (a little over 5’9”) and my weight is 80 kg (about 176 lbs.) That puts my BMI at 25.73. Physically, there is a definite Wisconsin beer belly forming. See photo below:

I will begin the experiment tonight. My next report will be in one week. Wish me luck!

courtesy of 4 color rebellion
by Vinnk

Wii Fit News

Over the last four weeks, WiiFit has enjoyed a top spot on the Japanese sales charts. Actually, it’s enjoyed the top spot, as the bundle has been selling like crazy in the Land of the Rising Fun. If you’re one who likes to keep track of the sales numbers for the region, then this is old hat to you. We know you’re impressed though, because you can bet we definitely are.

And, as you are undoubtedly already pondering, this could be the very same scenario when WiiFit releases to North America and Europe this year.

courtesy of nintendowiifanboy.com

by David Hinkle

Wii Fit News

Let’s face it: the Japanese sales numbers for the week of 1/21 are just foreplay. What we really want to know is how Super Smash Bros. Brawl did, although rumors are coming in that the game sold a whopping 500,000 copies in its first day. All this hype even catapulted the Wii above the DS in hardware sales last week, according to the numbers released by Famitsu. We think the Wii will hold the top spot in Japan for at least another few weeks, while it basks in Brawl’s glory.

The Wii may have made a stir in the hardware charts, but all’s boring on the software front. WiiFit shows us its well-toned legs by remaining at the number one spot, and Super Mario Galaxy has fallen out of the top ten once again. Wii Play also slipped a bit, losing some of its former dominance.

Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto is interviewed in the latest issue of Famitsu. While the interview, which was done to commemorate the magazine reaching issue number 1000, is mostly reflection, Miyamoto did give a few hints on future plans.

First, the Balance Wii Board, the peripheral that’s included with WiiFit. The magazine noted that WiiFit has been quite the success story for Nintendo so far. To this, Miyamoto responded that if the game sees success overseas as well, Nintendo may end up releasing separate titles that make use of the peripheral.

The first title to use the Balance Board as an option actually hits Japan tomorrow in the form of Bandai Namco’s Family Ski. Could a certain similarly themed Nintendo franchise be next?

courtesy IGN.com

Wii Fit News