My first impression: OMG, I’ve spent $90 on a piece of crap that I’ll never use. Go me!
I warmed up to it after a while, though, really. It just didn’t hit me as totally awesome right off the bat like Wii Bowling did, or like Dance Dance Revolution did years and years ago.
Things that made me a little doubtful from the get-go:
- The Balance Board is NOT an accurate scale. It shows me as being at my ultimate goal weight, some 30 pounds less than I am now.
- I took the initial Body Test twice (once before dinner, and once after), and it gave me two VERY different Wii Fit Ages. The first time, it said I had the fitness level of a 34-year-old; the second, 27. I’m actually 32. How can I be so unfit and then so healthy in the same day?
- The first activity listed is Yoga. While I understand why — stretching is important before exercise, and yoga is all over that — doing deep breathing, half-moon pose, warrior pose (a simplified version), and tree pose is not exactly party time.
What saved it for me was the aerobics. The Hula Hoop® is actually quite a workout (especially when you open up SUPER Hula Hoop®). Step aerobics are done much like DDR — step off behind or to the side, and back on, in time with Miis on-screen and simple, easy-to-understand footprint graphics. Running is actually fun, too, which I hadn’t expected, since you’re just putting the wiimote in your pocket and jogging in place (not on the balance board), basically changing the speed of your footfalls to keep up with the Mii in front of you.
I tend to think of the Wii as a party-game console, as many gamers do. This *could* be used as a party game, I suppose, if you hang with people who like to point and laugh at their friends trying to twirl a virtual hula hoop. Some of the balance games could be mighty fun, too… especially if you’re drunk.
Will I actually use this for fitness? I’d better, since I paid almost $100 for it. Seriously, though, some of the games and activities are engaging enough, while still being quite the workout. (I was breaking a good sweat after 10 minutes of Wii Fit aerobics.) It’ll be more fun than throwing in a 45-minute workout DVD, and I can decide when I’ve had enough without feeling guilty for ducking out early on Billy Blanks.
I almost tweeted to see what you had thought of the Wii Fit you were getting.
I’ve been debating on getting a Wii Fit. The cost is one of the factors that make me consider if I’m going to use it as much as I’d like to use it. That, and I’ve been looking at portable solar chargers, and they come out to the same cost, so then I have to consider if I’m going to use that as much as I would like to as well.
Stupid cost-benefit analysis.