Wii Fit – The path to fitness begins with a single step
Monday, May 19th, 2008 at 9:16am by Jack
Well, in case David’s New Game Get for this week was somehow missed by your prying eyes, Nintendo wants you to know that this week is Wii Fit week (and maybe Star Soldier R, I’m not sure yet).
I’ll be stepping up to do a little review of this game changer a little bit later, so watch out for that (sorry, I don’t do before and after’s because perfection can’t be captured in a 40-day fitness diary).
For now, you can enjoy this press release; but not Wii Fit if you didn’t pre-order, because no store has any in stock. Wii Fit hits stores on the day of my birth, May 21.
Nintendo’s New Wii Fit Makes Fitness Fun
Wii Balance Board Forms the Centerpiece of 40+ Activities; Launches during National Physical Fitness and Sports Month
REDMOND, Wash.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– The path to fitness begins with a single step.
Nintendo’s new Wii Fit™, launching today, combines fun and fitness in ways that will have people getting up off their couches, moving around, having fun and maybe even breaking a sweat. Wii Fit gets everyone pumped up about making enjoyable physical activities a part of their daily routines. Wii Fit even tracks users’ progress, which lets people see how they have improved while challenging them to better their scores and stay motivated to keep going.
At an MSRP of $89.99, Wii Fit comes packaged with the Wii Balance Board™ accessory, a precisely engineered platform that senses both weight and shifts in movement and balance. The Wii Balance Board connects wirelessly to the Wii™ console and serves as the centerpiece for more than 40 fun activities that challenge users in areas like yoga, aerobics, strength training and balance. Helpful virtual trainers in the game talk users through the different activities and make suggestions for improvement.
“Wii Fit will get you moving whether you’ve been playing video games for years or this is your first time,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “Wii Fit is easy for anyone to try and is yet another example of how Nintendo continues to expand the world of video games to new audiences.”
To celebrate the launch of Wii Fit, Nintendo is holding an interactive release party today for the public in the southwest corner of New York’s Central Park, near the Merchants’ Gate. “We’re looking for everyone to ‘get on board’ and get excited about their fitness,” said celebrity trainer Ashley Borden, who will be on hand to do personal Wii Fit demos and training.
Wii Fit, which has sold more than 2 million in Japan, starts with a simple measurement that calculates an adult user’s Body Mass Index, or BMI. From there, the Wii Balance Board accessory can be used as a platform for twirling a virtual Hula Hoop®, shredding on a virtual snowboard, performing leg extensions or doing a downward-facing dog yoga pose. Wii Fit contains a wide variety of fun games and physical activities that target the body’s core.
Different people in the same household can use Wii Fit and track their progress separately. Users’ Mii™ caricatures even reflect their fitness levels and change as people become more proficient at the activities.
Wii is the first video game system ever included in the President’s Challenge, a program of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports that encourages all Americans to make physical activity a part of their daily lives. Wii Fit builds on that honor by encouraging people to keep their bodies moving.
Wii Fit is available today exclusively at the Nintendo World store in New York, and will be at retail stores across the country May 21.
Remember that Wii features parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other Wii features, visit Wii.com.
For more information about Wii Fit, visit WiiFit.com.
May 19th, 2008 at 9:33 am
Since when did it get pushed to the 21st?
I thought it may be out tomorrow given the constant confusion with ship dates vs. release dates, but the date was May 19th.
I don’t recall them saying….”May 19th…at the the Nintendo World Store only!!!” before this statement today.
This gets me pretty pissed as I was hoping to get it today…
May 19th, 2008 at 9:39 am
I noticed that Amazon has a ship date on mine of the 27th. That blows – I pre-ordered it MONTHS ago. They pulled the same crap with Rock Band. I found it locally, went to cancel my order on Amazon, and suddenly, it had already shipped!
May 19th, 2008 at 11:23 am
Hrm…going to try to grab it at the local Best Buy (no preorders taken there) Wednesday morning…hopefully they’ll have one in stock.
May 19th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
Rushlion: Uh – the 21st has always been the release date for Wii Fit.
No changes were ever made. Sorry, but that’s the way the video game industry goes.
May 19th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
It’s strange that WiiFit wasn’t released in the US first because the US needs it the most!
I’m from Europe by the way… I don’t need WiiFit because I’m pretty fit and I go the gym once a week (I should go there more often and eat properly) and I play soccer twice a week. But I’m still thinking of buying WiiFit for fun.
May 19th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
Is my eyes deceiving me or do those handles/gaps at the side in combination with the 4 peg leg stands look like they could lock the balance board into a new peripheral or something else in the future?
May 19th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
@ Joltman
I’m pretty sure up until this announcement it was May 19th with no reference to only the NWS.
I’ve been watching this release for awhile and not once has the 21st come up. Wednesday is never a release day for Nintendo normally either so it’s odd to that effect as well.
I’m just saying I’m bummed as I would have liked to get it today. That’s all.
May 19th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
Mattiac, awesome way to insult Americans! Perhaps if there’s ever a WiiDentist, Nintendo should release that in Europe first, since Brits need it more?!?!
Half-kidding aside, will this thing work on a carpeted floor? Cuz if that’s the case – I can’t buy till I renovate my house in a year or so…
May 19th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
Just so I don’t get flammed for sources
http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/15/nintendo-confirms-may-bound-wii-fit-priced-at-89-99/
May 19th, 2008 at 1:19 pm
From Nintendo itself: “Wii Fit is available today exclusively at the Nintendo World store in New York, and will be at retail stores across the country May 21.”
So, yes, they were telling the truth. It’s available today. In NYC.
May 19th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
I believe you Jack. I’m just saying it wasn’t stated that way at the beginning.
Guess I’ll have to wait a few more days to get “Fit”….
May 19th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
I sit corrected.
In a previous Infendo post:
“In anticipation of the U.S. launch of Wii Fit™, the new interactive fitness game for the popular Wii™ system, Nintendo of America Inc. has announced pricing details for this groundbreaking release. Available at Nintendo World store starting on May 19, Wii Fit and the innovative Wii Balance Board™ accessory will be bundled and sold together at a suggested retail price of $89.99.”
It does say available at the NWS starting on May 19th. Regardless, I’m very pumped about this game.
May 19th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
@Jaime
Sure, it works alright on a carpet.
May 19th, 2008 at 2:38 pm
Thx Negrin.
May 19th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
I pre-ordered mine on Amazon.com and it shipped today! I have Amazon prime so I should get it by Wednesday at the latest. Hopefully everyone else that pre-ordered got theirs shipped too.
May 19th, 2008 at 5:20 pm
I also pre-ordered mine on Amazon ages ago, but it hasn’t shipped yet. It does say that it is processing now, so hopefully it will get going soon. I do have to say that my wife has never been a gamer and never been interested in gaming in our 12 years of marriage, but she is ecstatic about this title. I did get a little Wii Sports playtime in with her when it was first released, but she’s pretty much ignored it since that newness wore off. That’s why I really want this one to come in.
May 20th, 2008 at 8:25 am
Just got my call from GameStop…my copy is in and can be picked up on Wednesday!
May 20th, 2008 at 6:12 pm
@Jaime: I was kidding even though it’s true that the US has the most overweight citizens, or isn’t that true? I don’t care if you half-insult the Brits. I’m not from the UK. Fjolliga tedrickare!