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Wii Fit - Having Fun While Losing Weight |
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Written by Glenn
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Wednesday, 18 June 2008 |
The Phenomenon of Wii  When Nintendo released Wii, the gaming industry was changed forever. This revolutionary gaming console has the interaction that everyone wanted while keeping the prices low. Although it doesn’t have the resolution compared to Xbox360 and PS3, the fun in gaming is fully realized in Wii. Not only are the kids enjoying this gaming console but also the adults and even the non-gamers. Wii-related parties are common for those who own consoles and the online community of Wii is just growing. Not to mention you are physically active and if you have a few extra pounds on you, this can help lose weight. It is also great to help children with obesity to have fun in their house and lose a few pounds. Many of todays children are ashamed of their bodies and will hide in the house to avoid teasing, so get fit with the wii and things can change today.
The key to the success of Wii is its motion sensor devices. Instead of pushing buttons, the console responds to the movements of the user holds the remote control of Wii as well as its Nunchuk. Since its motion sensing playing games in Wii doesn’t need any familiarization. Right out of the box, players can just start enjoying the games that comes with Wii. The games are also the reason why Wii became so popular. Aside from motion sensing, you can play against each other in sports-related games in Wii called Wii Sports: Tennis, Boxing, Baseball, Bowling and Golf. All of these games can be used with the remote. With motion sensors, they can play against each other for hours.
As the game and the console became more popular, more and more people have realized the health benefits of Wii. A game of tennis as well as boxing is physically demanding that those who played these games sweat a lot and even lose some weight. Because of the apparent health benefits of Wii, Nintendo has thought of another product that would go perfectly with Wii.
Enter Wii FitFirst released December 2007 in Japan, Wii Fit is a game that encourages the player to exercise. The game comes with different types of exercise related exercises and these games can be played with a Wii Balance Board. Some even call it the “Wii Fitness Balance” because one of the games in Wii Fit will test your balancing skills. Some even call the balance board as the “Wii fitness mat” because one of the games in Wii fit will require you to be in a yoga position.
There are four types of Wii fitness games – Yoga , Strength Training , Aerobics and Balance Games. Each of these games is composed of small activities related to that game. For example, Balancing Games is composed of Ski Jumping, Table Tilt, Balance Bubble, Penguin Slide and other balance related sports. Using the power of motion sensor of Wii, users don’t press buttons to control the game but to use their body to control these games.
What makes Wii fit different from other sports and exercise related games is that aside from sensors, the game comes with Wii fitness program. Through the console and pad, you’re development is monitored through “Wii fitness age”. Basically, this age will monitor how well you have developed by using the Wii fit. By carefully placing your height, weight and age, the Wii Fit will tell you your Wii fitness age. It will monitor your development as you play this game everyday or depending on your schedule and every time you tip the balance pad, a graph will show how much you gained or lost.
Advantages of Wii FitSome have shown skepticism with Wii fit, basically, Wii is another console that should be used for fun. And Wii for fitness is a little bit absurd. But studies have shown that Wii is actually helping people lose weight and it is even used in different rehabilitation programs. There are hospitals who have designed their Wii fitness program based on the games in the console so that it could be used in rehabilitation. By presentation the rehabilitation program as a game, the users will not feel any pressure and will even have fun while being in physical rehabilitation.
The activity log really helps those who religiously follow their Wii fitness score. The community support for Wii fit should also be noted as more and more people are coming out online – giving tips on how to maximize the game so that you can reduce weight and eventually be fit through Wii.
The Challenges of Wii FitThe challenge in Wii is not actually in the game but also in the person. Wii Fit is a game but it should be treated as an exercise as well. For the Wii fitness plan to achieve its purpose, users have to use the game according to schedule. The user cannot expect immediate results with Wii fit especially when the game is only used as preferred.
Another challenge is the scarcity of the console as well as Wii fit. Although there are already millions worldwide using the game, there are still millions who are looking for this particular type of game in vain. Unless they have to order online, they will never be able to have a cope of Wii Fit. With the popularity of Wii Fit, the console got even more scarce which has caused a minor backlash for the company. Restocking is slow and pre-orders are unusually high in Wii and Wii fit.
There was also a report of the BMI (Body Mass Index) functionality of Wii. It is apparently limited and isn’t able to properly identify the BMI of young kids. Apparently the healthy kids were labeled overweight. Although they didn’t make any changes to the game, Nintendo apologized for this problem.
Having Fun while Staying FitOne of the main reasons why we don’t like to exercise is that it looks difficult and boring. We all wanted to be fit but we just can’t imagine ourselves stretching and doing the strenuous exercise without any reward. Most of us can easily get frustrated because the results are very slow even with all the effort we made.
The console Wii and Wii Fit has apparently figured out a solution to this problem – integrate exercise with the game. By using Wii Fit, not only we get to exercise but we also have fun doing it. With Wii Fit, our bragging rights are not only based on our Wii fitness score but also in how much weight we have lost.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 30 June 2008 )
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