Wii Fit
I admit; I really want a Wii. And I think the idea of the Wii Fit is awesome; one of the advantages of having a Wii is that it keeps you moving around while you’re playing games. So then why do I find this article vaguely sexist and irritating? Because the Wii Fit is being aimed at “women and moms”? Because it polices your body weight? Because I used to work for the ad agency that’s marketing these things? Why am I annoyed! Help me out here!
WSJ: Given the obesity epidemic in the United States, is it a disservice to promote Wii Fit as a fitness helper? Shouldn’t we be telling kids to get away from the TV and go out and run around the block?
Dunaway: It’s a tool in helping to increase your awareness and to increase conversations that people are having in the family about their health. It’s part of a healthy lifestyle; it’s not saying people should do Wii Fit instead of going out and taking a jog.
My husband just came by and looked at the title of this and said of the Wii Fit, “All you do is stand on a frickin’ board.” Maybe it’s not so exciting after all! I still want to play Wii Bowling, though. And if the Wii Fit turns out to be fun, then… who knows?
Posted by mo pie
Filed under: Exercise, Feminism, Kids, Weight Loss
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Personally, as far as videogames-that-make-you-move go, I prefer Dance Dance Revolution. Unfortunately, it’s a game to rule out in console version if you have downstaird neighbors…
Check out this link: http://youtube.com/watch?v=_iYBmAVuBns
It’s priceless and very true. I have a Wii and its fun on rain days, but it is nothing like real exercise.
I loooooooooooooove my Wii!
I will kick your ass at Wii Bowling. Mmmm hmmm.
Dunaway refers to “women and moms” as if they were separate species. I haven’t any children, but if I did I’d STILL think of myself as a woman. Where does this ditzy reference come from?
Wow, I have to admit, this actually sounds really fun (then again, I’m the kind of person who actually enjoys workout videos). But I’m sure the marketing around it will disgust me enough that I won’t run the risk of actually spending the money to buy it. :)
I think this sentence is what is pissing me off: “Given the obesity epidemic in the United States, is it a disservice to promote Wii Fit as a fitness helper? Shouldn’t we be telling kids to get away from the TV and go out and run around the block?”
So you have the usual obligatory hat-tip to the “obesity epidemic,” this mysterious idea that some exercise is somehow more “noble” or “better” than other exercise, and then in the response the person says no indeed, you still have to run, you just have to do this on top of it. Why?? This argument kind of reminds me of the “Run Easy” campaign you took on a while ago. If people are getting some activity in and enjoying it and becoming fitter, why pick it apart? Promoting fitness should not be about who can sink the most scarce leisure time into exercise and who can derive the least joy and pleasure from it, particularly since there is no evidence that I saw that the Wii Fit provides a wimpy or inadequate workout.
I could see saying, if it were true, “this is strength training only–you should still get in some aerobic exercise too,” but that’s not what they’re saying (in fact I couldn’t tell from the article if there is a cardiovascular program in the device or not… I would have to think there would be). What I’m hearing them say is that you have to run in addition to doing this because, well, you just have to. Gah.
This does sound like fun. But I understand there is a weight limit for the Wii board — so I guess a fatty like me cannot even buy the darn thing without breaking it?
Yep! There is a 300 lb weight limit. I think that really sucks… and it is horrifying if you search the web for conversations about that weight limit to see the fatphobic stuff that is being posted. Sometimes I can’t believe people….
Even if you just have the game the Wii comes with, Wii Sports, it’s still a lot of fun. I love the tennis and I’m sure the boxing can be somewhat of a workout if you move around.
I’ve been waiting months for Wii Fit to come out. I can’t wait to get it. :)
the weight limit is only for it telling you what you weigh/bmi. if you weigh over 300 it won’t give you a weight or BMI but the rest of the game will still be playable just like normal.
Oh man :( I was interested in this. I followed the article link to a video of someone reviewing it. The Wii Fit tracks your BMI and tells you if it thinks you need to lose weight according to that. Is this a feature that can be turned off? Because if that’s something you’d have to deal with everytime you turned on the game, count me out.
“Shouldn’t we be telling kids to get away from the TV and go out and run around the block?”
This makes me mad for a variety of reasons. Obesity epi-panic aside, even. First of all, people are totally paranoid about letting their kids just run around outside anymore (mine was ahead of the curve – she kept me a prisoner even in the 70s when the streets were quiet) and it isn’t exactly the child’s choice. Second of all, what the hell are they talking about? It’s natural for children to run in the course of playing games with their friends, all sorts of games, to climb trees, to swing, to ride bikes and scooters and skateboards. To jog around the block for the sake of jogging is something adults do because they have to or because it is their chosen sport. Somehow I think thin kids would get a pass on being expected to just go jogging or running around the block (not in the course of their natural activities.) And that sucks. Let them play again by all means, let them play again, give them their freedom again, but don’t make exercise a freaking chore for *children.*
(And if a kid is interested in track, or dad jogs and he just wants to go along, that’s great. Just don’t make it a chore, is my point. They need free play time again.)
This article is hitting you as vaguely sexist and irritating because it is sexist and irritating.
Maybe “women and moms” don’t want to wait in line for the damn Wii Fit becuase women and moms already wait in an assload of lines.
Well, you see, all us Moms are so old we’re not really women anymore. Just near-virgins who only had sex as many times as we have kids, and never again after that.
I’m not even going to start on the whole sexism mom fat thing, but the Wii? It is SO FUN. And bowling especially. I want the Wii Fit, too, and I’m betting it’s more than just standing there – it’s such a cool game system.
One of my main issues with Wii Fit, is it bases your goals on the BMI. That alone is a reason I won’t buy it. If you want a game that gets your heart rate going, I reccomed the Rayman Raving Rabbids games.
There are alot of ones where you have to move the Wiimote and Nunchuck up and down alternately from each other. You wouldn’t believe it, but it really is a workout. Your arms are sore after about an hour.
There’s also Warioware Smooth Moves for the Wii, which encourages you to move your body in different ways for different minigames. It might be easier for some people to just sit and use the Wiimote though, because the games are very fast. So you might be doing something like squats one second, then be asked to do something totally different the next.
So really it seems the Wii Fit is an attempt to make money off the market of people who are obessed with what they weigh. As a Nintendo fan for all of my life, I have trouble seeing when they do wrong. I think this might just be creating a game for a niche market they know will make lots of money now. Given all the great games Nintendo has put out, I think they’re permitted to put out something shallow once in awhile.
Off-topic, if you have a internet connection to the Virtual Console on the Wii, I highly reccomend you download Yoshi’s Story for the N64. It’s like the cutest game ever!
It’s the whole “oh, women don’t play games because they don’t like games, so let’s girl it up by making it about weight loss!” thing that rubs me the wrong way.
Amen. No way would I buy a game that tracks my BMI and tells me to lose weight. I have In the Groove (a DDR game) for my computer. I hook my laptop up to the TV for a bigger picture, and off I go. The game is free with the purchase of a DDR pad here and probably other places as well. It doesn’t require that you buy a game console, it does try to set your goals for you, and it’s a lot of fun.
I just got my Wii Fit (earlier release date in the UK) and absolutely love it. No, it is no substitute for exercise but it’s a fun game and raises some fitness awareness. And I don’t find it weight obsessed at all. Yes, it measures your BMI and makes you set goals and monitors your progress, but the focus is not taken off fun and just doing the actual exercises/games. You don’t just stand on a board either! It’s very cute and creative like all Wii games and is very inventive in my humble opinion. But then I love Wii Sports too, I love the tennis and I work up a real sweat boxing too. The Wii is the best thing I’ve bought in a while. Give it a chance.
Magpie, I think you nailed it. This was exactly what was bothering me in the first place!!
Normally things like this would have me flying off the handle, but as was said above, I love the Wii too much to mind it. I certainly love the Wii too much to give up on them entirely – let’s start a letter-writing campaign and see if they respond (and I still get to play Super Mario Galaxy while waiting?)
I think it’s kind of interesting but I wouldn’t buy it.
I have a PS2 which I bought for American Idol (yeah, I know) but ended up falling in major love with the Dancing with the Stars and Dance Dance Revolution games. DWTS is *really* tough at the pro level, by the way!
DDR has some exercise setting, but I don’t use it. I play the games for fun not to lose weight. So marketing something specifically for weight loss isn’t going to do it for me.
I don’t own any of these game systems. The only ones I’ve had were Atari and Gameboy, which I used just for Tetris. I did play my brother’s old Nintendo, for Mario Paint (that game was awesome, you could also compose your own songs).
But the idea of a weight loss video game? Nah, I’ll just go out and take a walk, or put on some dance music and work up a sweat.
OK my first comment didn’t have much substance, aside from the fact that I will kick your ass at Wii bowling.
I think the Wii is great on many levels. One, it’s fun. Even for “regular” games. Example, I played the most recent Zelda on Gamecube, then again on Wii, and it is much more fun on the Wii since you have to actually make slashing motions to use your sword instead of just hitting a button. Among other things.
Two, it’s more oriented toward group use. Sure, other systems have had party games but they were always a little lame. Wii has more of these games and they’re more fun to play. (hello, Mario Kart with an actual steering wheel?)
Three, and I know this isn’t completely unique to the Wii, you can connect your system to your friends’ by inputing a code, then you can play against each other and share your little people and such.
Four, it seems like a good way to trick kids into exercising. Even if it’s not as heavy as playing soccer or whatever, it’s still better for them than just sitting with a controller pushing buttons. There’s also a certain amount of coordination that it can help develop.
Plus, of the newest group of systems, it’s the cheapest by far.
(in case anyone is confuzzed, by “newest group of systems” I meant Wii, Xbox 360 and PS3. The Wii will run you $250 or so and the other two are closer to $400-$500)
I totally *heart* my Wii…. And the marketing doesn’t bother me. Statistically, females don’t play as many video games as males. And Moms are probably the most important demographic. (If Mom ain’t happy, nobody’s happy.) So how do we get Mom to feel good about plunking down $250 for a video game system during a recession? Appeal to Mom’s interests. Statistically, most women are interested in weight loss. So there you go. Let Mom known that the Wii can give *her* something and the kids, too. It’s not sexist, it’s business. It’s just common sense. I love playing my Wii, and yes, one of the factors for buying it was the fact that you have to get up off the couch. That’s what makes it unique! My husband plays a lot of Zelda… I play a lot of boxing. No biggie.
Sometimes, I read this blog and I think it’s downright silly how thin-skinned we are. I mean, what’s the big deal about Wii being marketed to Moms? If they *didn’t* market to Moms, then someone would get all pissed off because Nintendo wasn’t doing enough to include women in their marketing… But then, I remembered… I went off on a loud, obscenity-riddled tirade at a little craft store today because they had one of those oinking pigs that you stick in the fridge on the counter… And I was personally EXTREMELY offended by that smug little bastard. So if you’re offended by Nintendo, that’s your right, sister. I respect it. Excuse me, I need to hop on the Wii and box out my rage…
I love my Wii — although I will be the first to admit that I have pretty much abandoned Wii sports for the much less active Super Mario Galaxy!
for those of you who are condeming the wiifit.
try it, just try it, it is so much fun all the negatives are quickly forgotten.
I let my 10 year old play too and he giggles the whole time which is another perk.
I have had it for 4 days and now consider it my “me time” I love the tracking of your progress.
I ljust ove the wii as a whole, our family plays other systems too xbox360,(we all play guitar hero together) etc, but the wii is for getting off the couch.,,like I said, give it a fair try before u dismiss the wiifit
It just makes me uncomfortable, honestly. The games are fun and all that, but the fact that it tracks your BMI, makes your Mii chunky or slim compared to how ‘obese’ you are, and contains personal trainers which tell you that you can do better and need to burn more fat and calories really bothers me. It’s sad, because I really would like to get it, but it just rubs me the wrong way.
I love my wii and my wiifit balance board. I got the balance board specifically for the balance games.