Wii Fit facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Wii Fit
Wii Fit European box art
Developer(s)	Nintendo EAD
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Director(s)	Hiroshi Matsunaga
Producer(s)	Tadashi Sugiyama
Programmer(s)	Katsuhito Nishimura
Artist(s)	Yauso Inoue Kazuya Yoshioka Ryo Koizumi Motoki Fujita Teiko Takagai
Composer(s)	Toru Minegishi Manaka Kataoka Shiho Fujii
Series	Wii
Platform(s)	Wii
Release date(s)	December 1, 2007 Wii Fit December 1, 2007 EU Wii Fit Plus October 1, 2009 NA EU October 30, 2009
Genre(s)	Exergaming
Mode(s)	Single-player

Wii Fit is a 2007 exergaming video game designed by Nintendo's Hiroshi Matsunaga for the Wii home video game console, featuring a variety of yoga, strength training, aerobics, and balance mini-games for use with the Wii Balance Board peripheral. Matsunaga described the game as a "way to help get families exercising together". It has since been adopted by various health clubs around the world, and has previously been used for physiotherapy rehabilitation in children and in nursing homes to improve posture in the elderly.

The game has received generally positive reviews, despite criticism over the lack of intensity in some of its workout activities. As of March 2022^[update], Wii Fit was the third best selling console game not to be packaged with a console, having sold 22.67 million copies.

Wii Fit Plus, an enhanced version featuring additional games, activities, and features, was released for the Wii in October 2009. It also garnered positive reception and was a commercial success; as of March 2022^[update], it is the seventh best-selling game on the Wii, with a total of 21.13 million copies sold. Both versions have sold a combined total of 43.8 million copies, making the game one of the best-selling video games of all time.

Gameplay

Wii Fit is centered around using the included Balance Board to perform in-game exercises.

Wii Fit requires the use of the Wii Balance Board, a unique platform peripheral that the player stands upon during play. The Wii Balance Board can detect and track the user's center of balance (COB), a feature heavily utilized in the game; it will also measure weight in the same way as a bathroom scale. Wii Fit contains more than 40 activities designed to engage the player in physical exercise, which consist of yoga poses, strength training, aerobics, and balance games. Most activities generally focus on maintaining COB and improving posture.

Players register and play in Wii Fit via a user profile, assigned with the player's date of birth, height, and Mii character, that keeps track of the player's progress. Physical activities done outside of Wii Fit can also be logged into the profile. Wii Fit allows up to eight different profiles to be registered.

Yoga and Strength Training

The Yoga and Strength Training activities in Wii Fit provide the player with an on-screen personal trainer who offers direction and evaluation. While standing or otherwise leaning on the Wii Balance Board, the player is instructed to perform the activity by precisely imitating the trainer's actions. In Yoga, the player holds a particular pose or series of poses for a duration of time; while in Strength Training the player performs a set number of repetitions of the exercise selected. During these sessions, the player is shown a visual indication of their COB, represented as a red dot. The trainer advises the player to maintain the COB throughout the activity, requesting that it not move outside a particular threshold usually indicated as a yellow circle. When the activity ends, the player is scored based on how well the player kept their balance during the session: points are deducted if the player's body haphazardly swayed or shook at any point. Wii Fit has 30 Yoga and Strength Training activities.

Aerobics and Balance Games

The other two major categories in Wii Fit, Aerobics and Balance Games, consist of 18 minigame activities that feature Miis as playable characters. Aerobics focus on activities that require more vigorous movement, and are divided into three distinct types: hula hooping, step aerobics, and jogging. In Hula Hoop, the player twirls their hips in order to spin a series of hoops, and is scored on the number of spins achieved within a period of time. Step aerobics (simply referred to as "Step" in-game) focus on stepping on and off the Wii Balance Board in a rhythmic fashion. In jogging, which does not use the Wii Balance Board, the player runs in place while keeping the connected Wii Remote in their pocket, which acts as a pseudo-pedometer. The game provides variations of step aerobics and jogging (called "Free Step" and "Free Run" respectively) where the user may exercise at their own pace and does not require viewing the game screen; the player is able to watch television or something similar while performing the exercise. Balance Games consist of nine activities that focus on directly controlling the game using the player's COB. "Soccer Heading", for example, focuses on leaning left or right to control the player's Mii in order to head incoming soccer balls. Another, "Table Tilt", focuses on directing balls into holes by shifting the player's balance to tilt the platform they rest on. Activities based on slalom skiing, snowboarding, and tightrope walking are also available, and a Zazen-based game (called "Lotus Focus") in which the player sits on the Wii Balance Board and remains motionless for a period of time.

Body Test

The beta body mass index graph during the game's development

Players may undergo "Body Tests", in which the player's body mass index (BMI) is calculated and balance control is tested. Each Body Test determines and updates the player's "Wii Fit Age", which loosely suggests the player's physical strength in relation to their true age. A standalone application called "Wii Fit Channel" may be installed to the Wii Menu in order for players to perform Body Tests without needing to load the Wii Fit game disc.

Development

A Wii Fit demonstration booth at the Leipzig Games Convention in August 2007

Wii Fit was first revealed as Wii Health Pack by Nintendo's chief game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, during a conference in mid-September 2006. Then described as a "way to help get families exercising together", the game idea had first been included in Miyamoto's original design document for a core group of games including Wii Sports and Wii Play, the entirety of which was scribbled onto a sheet of paper.

As with other games designed by Miyamoto such as Nintendogs, the design of Wii Fit was influenced by activities in his daily life. He states that he and his family had become more health-conscious, going to the gym and tracking their weight. He found that it had become "fun over time to talk about these things", and as weighing oneself "didn't make much of a game", Nintendo decided to build games around the idea to mesh with the concept. The Wii Balance Board had been worked on for "almost two years", and was inspired by heavy sumo wrestlers' need to weigh themselves with two scales.

The game was announced under its current title at Nintendo's E3 press conference on July 11, 2007, and demonstrated by Miyamoto, Nintendo of America CEO Reggie Fils-Aimé and other participants. Miyamoto revealed that Wii Fit had been developed with a "full-scale" team for a year at the time, and added that there were no plans to integrate WiiConnect24 functionality into the game. He said there was a possibility to take advantage of WiiConnect24 in the future, such as using the service to keep in contact with a doctor to help with rehabilitation, or with a fitness specialist to help with training exercises.

Wii Fit Plus

Wii Fit Plus is an enhanced version of Wii Fit, released in Japan on October 1, 2009, and other regions in the same month. The game was announced during Nintendo's E3 2009 media briefing on June 2, 2009. It includes all of the original content from Wii Fit along with 15 new balance and aerobics games (referred to as "Training Plus") and six new strength training and yoga activities. New features include a calorie burning counter, the ability for users to create custom fitness regimens or choose from a number of specialized routines based on specific objectives and available time, and the option to create profiles for pets and babies. Users are also able to navigate more quickly between exercises.

Following the commercial success of Wii Fit, producer Shigeru Miyamoto decided to produce a follow-up. Miyamoto learned during Wii Fit Plus development that many Wii Fit owners had stopped playing the game, believing the primary reason to be inconvenience. A new menu interface, My Wii Fit Plus, was implemented to address this issue and make accessing activities quicker and easier. The interface was recreated and adjusted multiple times during development. In designing new minigames for Wii Fit Plus, Miyamoto wanted to create activities that played upon the Stroop effect, requiring coordination of both the player's mind and body; minigames in which the player uses both the Wii Remote and the Wii Balance Board at the same time became a major focus.

Other uses

Wii Fit has been used for physiotherapy rehabilitation, and gaming rehabilitation and has been adopted by various health clubs around the world.

Wii Fit has also been used for the treatment of balance problems in the elderly. In a study, an 86-year-old woman was unable to walk without close supervision, even with a walker, due to poor balance and a tendency to fall, after a stroke. She participated in four training sessions along with physical therapy. She was tested on the outcome measures of Berg Balance Scale (BBS), the Functional Reach and Lateral Reach tests, Timed Up & Go test (TUG), computerized posturography, and the Short Feedback Questionnaire (SFQ). This was done before the first training session and after the last one. From the results and her own feedback, she had improved antero-posterior symmetry of stance. "When released from hospital, she was able to walk with a walker with minimal supervision."

In summer 2009, Finnish Defence Forces support organisation invested in 384 Wii consoles (including Wii Sports and Wii Fit) for military bases around the country, in order to inspire soldiers to exercise more in their free time. The feedback from the conscripts and officers was positive.

Some nursing homes use Wii Fit as a way to engage in gentle exercise. The system is used to give the residents a yoga workout along with flexibility and balance exercises. The game allows those who are unable to perform rigorous daily exercise to increase their heart rate and improve their overall health. Depending on their level of mobility, some can perform the exercises while standing, while others may remain seated.

Legacy

Successors

The third installment in the series, Wii Fit U, was released for the successor to the Wii, the Wii U. While maintaining most of the overall features of its predecessors, the game utilizes the Wii U GamePad and can also sync data with the optional Fit Meter, a pedometer accessory which measures activities such as steps taken and altitude. Released on the Nintendo eShop in October and November 2013 to major markets, a retail version, made available in Europe and Australia in December 2013, was scheduled for release in North America in January 2014, and in Japan the following month.

A new exercising game for the Nintendo Switch, Ring Fit Adventure, was released on October 18, 2019. It attaches the right Switch Controller on a wheel peripheral included in the game (called the Ring-Con) and attaches the left Switch Controller to their left thigh by a Leg Strap. This is intended to perform more complex maneuvers for stretching, poses, and jogging in place: compared to the Wii Fit Board. This game introduces a new protagonist (Ring Fit Trainee) who performs these exercises to go on a role-playing adventure. The Trainee has their own Ring-Con ingame that can be used to defeat mobs in combat.

In Super Smash Bros.

The female Wii Fit trainer was revealed at the 2013 E3 convention to be a playable character in the 2014 video game Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. Series director Masahiro Sakurai noted that while he expected that people would see no meaning behind the trainer's inclusion, he included her because of his perception of her uniqueness and to surprise people, instead of doing so for "cheap novelty." It was later revealed by Sakurai, in commemoration of the release of the trial version of Wii Fit U, that the male trainer would also appear, albeit as an alternate character that shares the female's slot and characteristics. The Wii Fit Trainers were announced to return in the series' next installment Super Smash Bros. Ultimate alongside every fighter that has appeared in the series' history at the 2018 E3 convention.

According to US Gamer, the female Wii Fit Trainer has gained a cult following their announcement in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, initially receiving positive attention from people on the Internet as well as skepticism from critics such as PC Magazine's Will Greenwald and Mike Fahey of Kotaku. Some critics however praised her inclusion; Patricia Hernandez wrote that Wii Fit Trainer was one of her favorite characters in Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, citing their uniqueness and charm as factors, and Cecilia D'Anastasio said that characters like Wii Fit Trainer were what made the game worth playing.

Other appearances

The gym from the Rhythm Boxing minigame is the same gym from the boxing training games from Wii Sports. The island featured in the Jogging minigame also serves as the predecessor to Wuhu Island, which appeared in Wii Sports Resort, Wii Fit Plus, and several other Nintendo titles.

See also

In Spanish: Wii Fit para niños

• Wii series
• Fitness Boxing