Oh, Americans will buy it like they buy new treadmills and Bowflexes and Total Gyms. And they'll use it like those devices too, to hang clothes from/as a foot rest.

Gen Eric Gui has it right. Americans are suckers for gimmicks.

In unrelated news, birds are attempting to build a nest in my window. I've repelled numerous assaults, but they just keep coming.

Its because we're fat

I don't get it. Weren't Wii Sport and Wii Play family games?

It will sell like crazy but I doubt many will use it to its full extent. I can't wait to get one.

It's crazy to think this is a game. It's also crazy to think that us fat, lazy Americans tend to live just as long as everyone else in the country.

I don't think it will matter. They would only have to sell 100 of them to turn a profit.

I saw the guys from Good Morning America play a demo and they all looked like they had a good time. I think it will get at the very least lukewarm reception. What I don't get is why the hardcore gamers are complaining about it being stupid as if they have to buy it or something when they aren't even part of the target audience.

Wii Fit will sell by the truckloads.

And then the fitness club industry will complain that Wii Fit is driving them out of business, a la the movie industry complaining about video games.

Being a fat American, I plan on getting one. And inviting my fat American friends over to play.

Wow, all this America hate. There could be Americans in here, you know. Fuckers.

I know a lot of people (mainly women) are actually really interested in this. If Nintendo markets it as successfully as they did Brain Age or the Wii itself, it could do well. You won't see me spending $90 for a glorified scale though.

I'm with you. Well except for the treadmill part. They're the devil and only worthwhile if it's absolutely freezing outside and there's no snow. Actually I'd rather have wii fit over a treadmill

Depends on your physical need and the environment in which you live (I don't see how some people actually like running in downtown DC with all the roads and traffic lights). But, my treadmill is available all the time, has a great hill exercise routine, goes up to 12 MPH, and has a built-in TV screen that happens to be hooked up to my PS2 Slim. I don't play games on it, but I do watch DVDs while I run.

I lol'ed at the false health information being spouted in this thread. While it's true that Wii Fit won't burn shit for calories and thus will not even begin to get you "fit", the hilariously bad advice being given out by some of the posters here is almost as bad.

For example: unless you're already mostly in shape or have a very specific body type, jogging/running will likely do more harm than anything, especially if you do it when not on a specially prepared track. You'll probably do horrible damage to your knees in the long run, and you probably won't be able to keep it up long enough to burn anything substantial unless you're already somewhat in shape.

I think this is Shiggy's way of saying America sucks as a moral authority. Or maybe just sucks in general. Either way, WORD. :P

That video is fucking hysterical

there's a word that encapsulates a behavior for what Miyamoto is doing.. and i forget what that word is.

it has to do with Japanese mannerisms, where if the thing you want to say is negative, you play it down as much as possible without actually saying the negative thing.. for example: you ask a japanese company to do something and they say it will be "very difficult" to accomplish, when they really mean "no way in hell.".

that's that behavior in action, and it got Dale confused in a very predictably westerner way. what Miyamoto is saying, without saying, is that he's worried it won't sell because americans are lazy.

lokid20: The thing YOU'RE ignoring is the fact that everyone responds differently to different exercise. You're one of the ones who responds to jogging, but not everyone will get those same results from that routine. Some people will end up hurting themselves, some people won't lose anything, etc.

For instance, I did cardio workouts for well over a year and got absolutely nothing out of it; within weeks of stating an isometric routine my belt was looser and I had significantly more muscle mass. But that same routine probably won't work for you.

As another example, I had a college Professor who managed to lose almost 20 lbs of fat because he switched to a manual lawnmower over a riding one. That was literally the only change he made in his weekly routine and he really shaped up.

I never suggested that people not exercise; that's obviously the worst choice. What I suggested was that having people randomly throw out advice that will probably hurt the majority of people listening to it is bad. As bad as assuming Wii Fit will actually by itself help you lose any weight because "Fit" is in the title.

Well, Miyamoto has just lost any respect I had left for him. His comment is about as stupid as the Pope blaming American media/culture for priests raping children.

No, Miyamoto... I don't think you have to worry about it because of the divorce rate here. I think you have to worry about that game having craptacular sales because there are likely less fools in the US that are willing to buy a product *THAT DOES NOTHING* for $90 when you can buy Guitar Hero III for the same price *AND ACTUALLY HAVE FUN*.

@Gen Eric Gui: First, what's with the totally new logic spin? You brought up knee injury, I responded to your ignorance of that. Now you're bringing up how people respond to certain exercises as a realtive argument? What's next, a diatribe on anything else so as to create a circular argument?

You're one of the ones who responds to jogging, but not everyone will get those same results from that routine.

Everyone who properly exercises and diets will achieve a healthy status over a prolonged period. Now, they may not obtain the muscle mass build that they want or the removal of all body fat, but they will be healthy with the increased cardiovascular workout and the reduced weight. There are rare instances of people having genetic issues that make it extremely hard to lose fat, of course.

Some people will end up hurting themselves, some people won't lose anything, etc.

The only people who won't lose anything are those who don't need to lose anything. And, as was my point above, the percentage of people who will injure themselves, let alone at a level that would disable them in some way at later years, pales greatly in comparison to the percentage of people who will injure themselves due to obesity and other health risks from not exercising.

What I suggested was that having people randomly throw out advice that will probably hurt the majority of people listening to it is bad.

Yes, because the epidemic of people disabling themselves from running is so great in today's age. Right up there with heart disease, diabetes, and cancer...

You go into any gym and tell them you want to lose weight and they'll all say the same thing: If you just want to lose weight, go running. But, if you want to shape and build muscle while and after having burned off fat, then you'll need an exercise plan.

Anyway, enough of this off-topic mayhem.

I think this might 'bang' in the US too... health and being fit is really 'in' nowadays... so it'll sell... don't know if they'll use it long... but it'll sell like hot buns :-)

I think WiiFit will sell well but even Miyamoto said it was about making you aware of your body. So I don't think WiiFit is all you need to get healthy but for some people it may become a small piece or a motivator but those with grand schemes this is an end all be all health solution will probably end up disappointed.

The Wii's sales numbers show that americans like shitty gimmicks, Wii Fit is all but assured that it will sell millions.

"You go into any gym and tell them you want to lose weight and they'll all say the same thing: If you just want to lose weight, go running. But, if you want to shape and build muscle while and after having burned off fat, then you'll need an exercise plan."

Exacto-mundo!! Distance running can serve its purpose for the die-hard, and I'll admit, it was my starting point to getting back in shape after bloating from college, but now I only do lengthy cardio one day a week, as the rest of my workout program is rigorous enough, which is accompanied by a strict diet.

An increased amount of steady-state aerobic exercise eventually eats at your fat stores, and the next place it goes to is for muscle...the less muscle you have, the harder it is for your body to burn fat. Unless you're a trained marathon runner who is getting in the redonkulous amount of calories to sustain the constant calorie burning and unless you absolutely love distance running (few people I know do), I'd look into high intensity interval training, or other anaerobic programs. Aerobic is good to start if you've had a long layoff, and anaerobic is better for when you've accustomed to the aerobic demands and are ready to step it up; of course, specific training needs may say differently (say, if you are specifically training for a marathon or something of the like).

People do respond differently to different exercise programs though, so don't take that all as gospel. Both of you guys were right in different ways.