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Consumer Reports Gets Its Game On
Itninja writes "A few days ago Consumer Reports posted their first report on a specific video game: Wii Fit. From the article: 'Our testers ranged in age from 24 to 69 and included 10 women and five men. Users ran the gamut from regular exercisers to mostly sedentary folks.' Will this be a harbinger of things to come? Will CR be reviewing the next installment of Gran Turismo?"
Yeah, because it is Nintendo's responsibility to keep me thin.
Keep clamoring for corporations to take responsibility for my behavior, and watch our individual rights continue to erode.
See my journal for slashdot ID's by year. Mine created in 2005. http://slashdot.org/journal/289875/slashdot-ids-by-year
When was the last time you saw 15 people testing a game to write a review, rather than just one?
If you can read this, I forgot to post anonymously.
I agree with this report. In short it explains that Wii fit is good if you need motivation to get off the couch. It is not for those who pull themselves outside or goto the gym and get physical already. It's target group though is over 50% of Americans... and a heavily growing European segment.
I don't think Nintendo is trying to be a "responsible" game company, in the sense that I don't think they feel that they have to somehow atone for the fact that there are fat kids out there. I think they're more interested in making money, and one of the ways they've chosen to do that is by releasing new types of games that appeal to a wider market than video games traditionally had. Their strategy seems to be working quite well.
Sure, playing WiiFit isn't as strenuous as swimming laps, but if you're up and moving at all, you're getting more exercise than you would be sitting on a couch. I think the bigger problem with a lot of exercise routines has less to do with the fact that you don't get results and more to do with the fact that exercising is hard work and usually not particularly fun.
If someone finds WiiFit to be a good time, they'll probably keep playing it until it stops being fun. And in the meantime, they'll get a little bit more exercise than they used to. No harm done. I don't think you'll see any currently fit people giving up their habit of running three miles every morning and just playing WiiFit instead.
One time I threw a brick at a duck.
Which issue? The idiocy of using BMI for anything or the overprotective parents?
Intron: the portion of DNA which expresses nothing useful.
I think it's obvious to anyone with common sense that this Wii Fit can hardly be considered a workout.
Is yoga a 'workout'? Is pilates a 'workout'? If you consider that to be a part of your workout routine, then the Fit is a part of that. And if it accomplishes the same thing as working along with a yoga/pilates video and is more fun, then that would be a win.
Nobody is saying that a Wii fit is a replacement for cardio, or weight training. But it may well be a perfectly legitimate to compliment yoga/ pilates/ and stretching exercises.
Besides, after the buzz wears down, anyone doing these "exercises" will quickly discover there are no results to be had, and the balancing board will end up in the closet with the rest of the rubber bands, abdominizors, and exercises dvds.
Unless its engaging and fun. Which a lot of people think it is, and who will play it regardless of whether they get 'results' or not.
And no matter how you spin it, its better for you than sitting on the couch.
So while Wii fit may not melt fat off, at least its not part of the problem.
I agree 100% with your sentiment - people need to get their asses off the couch and exercise. However, a gym membership can bring a lot of unwanted baggage. They can be full of inconsiderate dickheads (wipe your sweat off the equipment, jackass), let alone the fact that a lot of people just starting out in a gym probably don't feel comfortable showing off their (lack of) prowess/fitness/ability/whatever to complete strangers. Add to that the often brutal membership requirements of most name-brand gyms, and its pretty off-putting to all but the most hardcore fitness buffs.
So two things come to mind when I think about this situation: a) the Wii might fit a nice gap in at least getting people off the couch and moving around. For some true couch potatoes, this might be enough and sufficient for at least a little while. b) Find a small local gym that isn't full of morons and doesn't charge brutal contract fees. They're all over, they want your business, and you're doing yourself and "the little guy" a favor.
9 pounds in 6 weeks is A LOT...most non-quack diet and exercise regimens instruct you to expect between 1 and 3 pounds a month weight loss as being health.
Rule of Slashdot #0: You and people like you are not representative of the larger population. - A.C.
Having a gym membership does jack shit for your condition. Going to a gym and exercising will make a difference. If they make a game entertaining enough for the little porker to get up and do something for a while each day or two, it would be infinitely more useful than an unused gym membership.
are a good thing in my mind. [disclaimer]I haven't managed to get my hands on a copy of this game yet, all the stores near me are sold out.[/disclaimer]
But when DDR got big, I've got to say I saw it as a positive thing. Will it replace treadmills and such? Of course not. But, to someone with my attention span, a treadmill is VERY boring. A video game is fun and exciting, so I am much more likely to use it.
Case it point: in my living room right now, I have a nice metal dance pad and a nice elliptical machine. They both cost about the same. Guess which one gets used more? Exactly. So even if the dance pad doesn't give a better workout, it gives a better workout anyway because I will actually use the damn thing rather than avoid it like the plague.
Just my 2c
In Soviet Russia jokes are formulaic and decidedly non-humorous.
How else would you explain the lackluster reviews of cars such as the BMW 3-series, that seem to win award after award in nearly every automotive journal on the shelves?
What lackluster reviews? BMW 3-series gets top marks in every category (membership required) and the new wagon gets a good score but loses points for controls, cup-holder design, a small interior, and the need for premium fuel. I'm not sure why you're so personally offended by such an honest review, but maybe it would help you to know most CR readers don't focus much on the final "score" but rather look at the pros/cons and consider which are important to them.
Your post really comes across as a pompous attempt to be a "car guy" but real "car guys" (1) don't get their panties in a twist over a CR review and (2) don't drive BMW's.
everything in moderation
Um... from an economical perspective if you already have a wii for other reasons (like teh gamez!) it is a "sunk cost". At that point, you have to decide if the additional game money is worth it.
Besides, I have stairs outside of my apartment. I am permitted to traverse vertically to my heart's content without an induced fee. I am free to do pushups within most public areas. Additionally, I am permitted to walk, saunter, jog, run, sprint, dash, and speedwalk without so much as tipping my hat to other passers-by.
What makes a difference "in your condition" as you troll, is actually exercising. If you think that buying a game, or a gym membership, or new shoes, or brightly colored shorts, or a new tennis racket will help you, you are free to do so.
I do not comment on other's health choices/investments.
Also, it is cheaper than most home gym sets (if you have a wii already) and may well be more entertaining.
Most of the people posting on this thread don't seem to have actually played the game.... I actually have it. Bought it on Wednesday of last week, and I've been playing it between 30-45 minutes a day. In the last week, I've also attended 10 hours of classes at Jiu Jitsu, and I biked to work on Friday, at 1h15 each way (about 27km each way). I also went swimming on Saturday, about 2km in lengths.
:)
Not everybody who's buying this game is somebody who's overweight and never gets any exercise. Even those who *are* overweight and never get any exercise... I'd rather they play the games that come with Wii Fit than sitting on their ass playing Halo... the games that come with Wii Fit will actually have them getting up and possibly even working up a sweat. I know that I usually work up a sweat by the time I get to the step aerobics in my routine the sweat's usually streaming off (that's about 25 minutes in).
It's better than nothing. But as with any exercise routine, you'll get out of it what you put into it. If you're serious about losing weight then you'll need more than a video game. It's a good start, but it'll require some serious lifestyle changes for any weight loss to take.
There's a couple of major advantages to Wii Fit over going to the gym. You've touched on them yourself... you don't have to deal with asses at the gym, you don't have to deal with grimy sweaty equipment, you can do it in the privacy of your own home... and the personal trainer is actually pretty good. Well voiced, gives realtime encouragement based on your current position, which is limited by the fact that it can only detect your center of balance and not your actual position, but it is still fairly accurate for most situations.
Finally, I'd like to second the comment that using BMI as a measure of anything is approaching idiotic... It's good to keep track of your weight, and how it changes... and that's actually the idea behind Wii Fit: track your weight on a day to day basis so that you're more conscious of what you put into your mouth. There was an interview available on the Nintendo channel that explained this..... Anyway. BMI itself is a fairly useless measurement, because it doesn't keep track of anomalies. There is somebody at my dojo, for example, who weighs 260lbs. This person is 6' tall, giving him a BMI of over 35. Well into the "obese" category. There's just one thing wrong with this definition: This person wears a 32" waist, and has body fat of 13%. Tracking your BMI over time will give you an indication of how much weight you've lost, but it won't actually give anything approaching an indication of how much you still need to lose.
If you believe everything you read, you'd better not read. - Japanese proverb
They exist to keep regular joes from getting ripped off.
They do not exist to give expert advise to nit-picking, niche hobbyists. If you want that sort of expert advise, go to one of the many magazines dedicated to whatever niche you have a fetish for.
Meanwhile the people who just want to buy a washing machine/refrigerator/car/bed/television/dvd-player/vacuum/etc that does a decent job and won't break down a month after the warranty expires can go to CR.