Some might consider the biggest announcement from Nintendo this year to be Wii Fit, and the Wii Balance Board; Nintendo certainly thinks it is. It was easily one of the biggest surprises of E3, and it might leave a lot of gamers wondering if it's right for them, and the answer is simple -- it just may not be. I was able to spend a few minutes getting a bit of a workout atop the board, and as amazing a piece of hardware as I thought it was, I can completely see how there are gamers out there that are just a lot more comfortable sitting on the couch. And that's OK, the Wii Fit isn’t really for them (although they might stand to lose a bit of weight while gaming – I sure can). From the time I spent with the game it’s really easy to see that Wii Fit is a great piece of software, built on top of an intriguing piece of hardware – the Balance Board -- but don’t you remember the Power Pad?
I was able to see a great sampling of the games Wii Fit has to offer -- from heading soccer balls (I broke 250 points on my first try) to yoga poses -- and it was really fun, creative, and unique. Many of the almost 10 million Wii owners out there need to own this and use it on a daily basis. In fact, it just may be that piece of hardware that Nintendo is banking on, and it will sell even more Wiis, and turn even more non-gamers into players. The Balance Board works very well, and it is very responsive. The games Nintendo was showing worked really well, and were fun. The only thing I can think to compare my first experience on the board to was my first experience using the Wii controller.
I’m so convinced I will own one that I would reserve one right now if there was a release date, a price, and a game store that would take my money this far in advance. Probably because I used to be a “jock,” I used to be skinny and in-shape, and I really wish I could be that again. Is the Balance Board really going to help me as much as running 18 laps during a soccer practice when I was 15? Nope, but it will help a little bit, and every little bit helps (especially when I can play a game doing it).
I’m confusing you, I know; I’m contradicting myself. But Wii Fit (similar to the DS and the Wii) is a confusing, contradictory product. It is so comparable to the Wii that it raises some of the same questions. Will it be able to sustain interest, particularly on a daily basis? I’d like to think it will (but I fear I may find myself on the couch more days than not).