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Wii Fit Balance Board to hit stores Wednesday

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By The Lincoln Journal Star

Thursday, May 15, 2008 - 12:31:13 am CDT

Say video gamer, and some people still envision the obese little boy, guzzling Dr Pepper, munching bite-size Butterfingers and playing “Halo 3.”

But that perception might take a heavy blow next week, when Nintendo unleashes its long-awaited hybrid of exercise and gaming.

The Wii Fit Balance Board ($90 a pop) will hit stores Wednesday, although, typical to the Wii, many chains are already reporting Wii Fit shortages.

Even Amazon.com’s already out of stock.

Retailers have said they expect the Wii Fit to be the biggest selling home fitness device of all time.

The board looks like a scale. Like the Wii controller, it’s motion-sensitive, tracking body movements, shifts in weight, etc.

On the game, you get your own personal trainer (either a man or woman) who leads you through up to 40 exercises and activities. 

Wii Fit splits the exercises into four categories: yoga; aerobic exercises (jogging in place); muscle workouts ( like push-ups); and balance games.

And if you’re not a believer that a video game can lead to improvement in overall personal wellness, you should see all of Nintendo’s TV commercials.

Everybody on the Wii board is really lean and good-looking.


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ok wrote on May 15, 2008 8:05 am:
" 250 for the system+90 for the wii fit? I can jog, yoga, balance and do pushups for free, outside in fresh air. The sheep will buy this to feel good and add it to the already useless pile of junk collecting dust in their exercise room. Go drink another 1200 calorie latte!! "

 i wrote on May 15, 2008 10:50 am:
" i'm a proud and happy wii owner, but i think this "game" seems kinda silly, especially as a workout tool. hopefully it will motivate people to do real workouts, but i have a hard time believing people will see significant weight loss, muscle gain, or cardiovascular health as a direct result.

on the other hand, i think there could be some really cool games (think skiing) that utilize the balance board peripheral. "

 CS wrote on May 15, 2008 12:48 pm:
" Studies have been done using "Dance Dance Revolution" as a motivator, and some health/fitness clubs have included it in their rotation. Anything that is a motivator is effective, and I would rather pay 350.00 once than monthly, or 2000 and up for a decent Precor. Fitness and motivation is what you make of it. Im sorry that OK thinks that anything besides the most Spartan of body weight exercises is ineffective. Schools and pediatricians are using this as one of many tools to motivate kids to lose weight. Whatever works. "

 Chill out people... wrote on May 15, 2008 2:27 pm:
" this is to motivate people who can't motivate themselves to work out. Look at it as something to help people who are too ashamed to go to the gym and work out. This helps make people healthy and in turn makes them happy. This is better than some game that you just work your thumbs. "

 hi wrote on May 15, 2008 10:36 pm:
" I have never seen a gamer drinking Dr. Pepper. Mountain Dew is a much more common choice for gamers ;-). I think the game could have really fun options like "i" said such as snowboarding. I already love the bowling game on Wii, just as much fun and much cheaper in the long run! "

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