Track your progress

Once you’ve created a profile for yourself, the game will begin to track your progress and display graphical information such as your BMI overtime. As your fitness improves, the game will adapt and make your tasks more challenging. This is a nice feature that helps set it apart from other forms of electronic exercise and make things such as morning workout shows increasingly useless.

On the presentational side of things, Nintendo has, in tune with other games aimed at expanded audiences, opted to have Wii Fit continue the trend of utilizing simple graphics. This isn’t really an issue however as Nintendo has more important things to focus on with these games. And although simple, the graphics are smooth and clean with those lovable Mii’s back in full force.

Couch/chair potato no more

Wii Fit and the Balance Board may very well be Nintendo’s largest innovation to date. While not comparable to the Wii-mote in terms of scale and overall effect on the industry, they are not very far behind with many companies showing interest in utilizing the Balance Board for their own games (let’s hope Tony Hawks and SSX have their chance on the Balance Board). For many years gamers have – in many cases, wrongfully – been accused of being anti-social couch potatoes (unless you’re a hardcore PC game, then you’d be a chair potato), preferring to lead their lives in a virtual world as opposed to the real one.

Advents such as the Eye Toy, the Wii and the DS have helped make video games more socially acceptable and Wii Fit, coupled with the Balance Board, is set to take it to the next level. Who would have ever thought that one day people would be turning to their home video game consoles for their routinely work-out? And while it may not be as beneficial as going down to the gym or taking your morning jog there’s no doubt that people who have never even considered more traditional forms of exercise, will end up benefiting from Wii Fit.

Ready to balance?

Wii Fit has already proven to be successful in Japan, enjoying more than 1.5 million sales since its early December release. The game will hit Europe in late April, reach Australian shores by the first third of May and finally make its way stateside on the 19th of May.

You’re wondering why it has taken Nintendo so long to prepare the title for international release? One contributing factor is that Nintendo has been ‘localizing’ the Balance Board in addition to simply the software. In other words, Nintendo has opted to increase the weight limit from the Japanese limit of 300 pounds (136 kilograms) to 330 pounds (150 kilograms). This game has garnered a great deal of interest and is likely to, excusing the cliché, sell like hotcakes as gamers and non-gamers alike begin picking it up.