I remember the first time I saw the Nintendo Wii and thinking, “Hmm, they should create a game that tricks people into getting physical activity.” Apparently, Nintendo is headed in that direction, just without the trickery.

The Nintendo Wii Fit is about to launch in America, after becoming the number one game in Japan. The Wii Fit is a balance board console that players stand on and do activities that work on strength training, aerobics, balance games and yoga. The Fit tracks their BMI and can chart their weight and any weight loss and activity level over time. The unit also asks users to input their fitness goals and tracks their progress over time.

The Wii Fit isn’t just a boring virtual gym, though. It seems like it can do a good job of keeping people entertained while they work out. The hula hoop game has users standing on the balance board, shifting their weight and catching hula hoops on their outstretched arms and having them keep those rotating as well as the hula hoop they are keeping moving around their hips.

There is something to be said about a nation of air guitarists who jog in front of their TV, of course, but that’s an entirely separate issue.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008 at 8:04 am and is filed under news. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.