Plummie

Anybody tried it yet? Is it worth the $160? The commercials look fun!

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Kim

Siege

real exercise is a lot more fun in my opinion.

however, wii fit MAY introduce to you some new exercises if you are not aware of anything past the standard push up/sit up.

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robot_parade

We've had it for a couple of days, and it's pretty neat so far.

I don't have time at the moment to go into lots of details, but it's nice in that it helps you with proper technique on some things, etc. No idea if we'll stick with it or anything, though. The kids have a lot of fun, and even our four year old can do several of the various exercises. She likes the yoga best.

It's also nice for families because it lets you be competitive - each even has rankings for everyone in your wii that's played it. The aforementioned 4-yr old girl is *very* competitive. It also sets goals and does various clever things to encourage you.

The games are also fairly challenging.

Probably not really as useful as a gym membership, or for those who are already disciplined and know proper exercise technique. For the rest of us, it seems like a nice way to break a light sweat without expending much effort (going to the gym, going for a run, etc.)

Worth $160? I dunno...I think the retail price is more reasonable ($90 or so). I'd probably just wait - we managed to get it at retail price.

dd3953

Okay, so I don't have a Wii, and I don't really plan on buying one (I'm enjoying my PS2, but thinking about a XBox 360 - for GTAIV) but every time I hear someone talk about the Wii I think of this flick I saw on YouTube. Which, while it doesn't not answer your question, I think will give you a laugh.

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Plummie

Freaking hilarious!! Thanks for sharing.

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Kim

Baraka_Guru

I don't think I want this. I might buy the white pad thingy if there are innovative ways to implement it into games. You know, real games.

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Leto

$160????

I heard it was $89. And at that price I was hesitating.

Esoteric

It's $89. Just checked bestbuy.com

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Leto

I just checked Bestbuy.ca, and it's $99. Last I heard the $US and $C were roughly on par.

so it looks like I'll get it at Walmart where it's $89.

anybody try Wii Ski? it just came out last month, and it is only $29.

Plummie

Hmm I don't know where I got $160, I had Googled it quickly and saw a range of prices from $159.99 to $174.99.

Here's one of the links: http://www.digitalfotoclub.com/from-...fdate=6_4_2008

If it's $90 at Walmart, then hell yeah, it might be more tempting. Still - I'd like to try it out first before buying!

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Kim

robot_parade

Most places are 'out of stock' since it's just been released. Third party amazon.com sellers have it for about $160 now. I'd just wait. It *is* pretty neat, though.

blahblah454

Nothing in Canada is as cheap as it is in the States, its fucking expensive to live in Canada.

And this is a good idea for people who don't do anything other than sit in front of their TV's. But not really for people who actually go outside and do stuff.

I still think its a good idea, but would never own it.

evilbeefchan

I'm lucky to have a girlfriend who's more of a wii freak than I am, and she managed to get one within the first week it came out.

I am in no way out of shape, but then again I'm not fit either. If you've played Wii sports, you probably know what to expect. It starts out with exercises in different categories; strength training, yoga, aerobics and balance activities. The "strength training" focuses on the basic exercises that you can do without weights (pushups, crunches, lunges). The aerobics include a step aerobics activity, a boxing activity (kinda like tae boe but no kicks), and a "running" activity that just makes you jog in place (or around the room) with the wiimote acting like a pedometer. Oh yea, there's a hula hoop activity (that's right, hula hoop) that always seems to kick my ass. The balance games are pure fun, and your thighs get pretty tired eventually.

The board is very sensitive, as it forces you to do balance tests to check your overall fitness. Balancing on one leg, standing completely still, it measures how much pressure you're placing on each leg. Each day you're tested to see how much you've progressed, taking your weight as well as some random activities. My only problem is that it measures your progress by measuring BMI, which isn't exactly the best for everyone (but I guess it's a good start).

Once you start progressing through the game and unlocking more activities as well as different modes, you can get a decent home workout from it. The strength activities force you to go slow and focus on your form. All the activities continue to measure your balance to make sure you're not putting too much weight on one leg or possibly straining your back. Nothing gets too strenuous, so it may be possible to plateau if you don't vary your workouts.

I'm not completely sold on it, as I'm one of the people who eventually got tired of wii sports. Wii sports was fun while trying to unlock everything possible and rank up high scores, but then you find ways to manipulate the wiimote and you get bored. With the balance board, the only activity that you can possibly cheat are the crunches (it's the kind where you do a crunch and tuck your legs in, and your feet are the only way to indicate when you've completed a crunch). For myself, I can imagine using the yoga and strength activities in the long run, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. You can unlock a "freestyle" level for step aerobics so you can do it while you're watching something else (the wiimote acts like a metronome so you can still go to a beat), though I'd rather go out and run. It's nice having a "virtual trainer" in the background to make sure you're doing exercises correctly. I'm guilty of dipping too low on pushups, or using momentum on my lunge to bounce up. If you're disciplined enough to do these exercises on your own, well, you probably wouldn't be considering buying one of these.

sazn

I've had an opportunity to pick up Wii Fit, and I'll say that I was only a little impressed. Well, it's not good, but it's definitely not a disappointment, and if people can stay committed to using it, they could really benefit from it. The games are fun, but don't help in terms of fitness (I absolutely kick ass at the soccer one). The exercises are good and, if done properly, work out your core muscles really well.

I'd personally rather be outside running around or skating on ice over working on core strength at home on my Wii. However, both of those activities (exercising outside and using Wii Fit) are different from each other. And if you're going to do yoga or push-ups at home, using the Wii Fit is almost better than doing it yourself. I find that Wii Fit keeps your pace up and pushes you to go to your limit. On top of that, Wii Fit provides some nice incentives like the bank system, more difficulties, high scores, and new activities. Well, you could slack off and go at your own pace if you wanted to, but who wants to look like a balance noob? Do you often trip over your feet while walking?

Overall, I had very low expectations for Wii Fit, especially considering the price-point. However, it's proved to be pretty enjoyable and also beneficial to those who stick with it. Monitoring your weight and BMI allow you to see your progress and shoot for your goal. So I guess whether it's worth it or not depends on how much you play it and how disciplined you are... but I suppose that's the same with any game you get =P In my opinion though, for its price, Wii Fit is still not worth it. But hey, if you have the extra cash clunkin' around, it might be worth while.

Mirth

My older brother has it, and it is a neat game. Whenever the family has a group of people over from the 10-50 year old range, the game becomes a big hit.

As far as fitness, my sister is a bit overweight for her age, 12, and we all know it's because she eats adult portions and doesn't exercise at all. My brother made her come over and play Wii fit for 30 minutes everyday, and I think they said she lost 3 pounds in a week; this is on top of trying to cut down on eating so much also.