The launch of Wii Fit seemed to go off without a hitch in Japan, but you had to know that as soon as it found itself in the hands of sensitive Westerners, trouble would occur. The game has barely hit the UK, but already the first Wii Fit controversy has kicked off, "devastating" one girl by calling her overweight. Uh oh ...
"My [relative] came round this weekend and we let her play on our Wii Fit," claims a poster on the DIS forums. "We have all laughed and joked about being told that we're fat and need to lose weight but I was gobsmacked when it told her that she is overweight."
To be fair, this looks like a bit of a problem with Wii Fit itself. The ten-year-old in question is 4'9" and weights six stone, which is actually a pretty healthy weight. Either way, the girl was upset by Wii Fit's judgment and apparently it took some effort to convince her she wasn't fat. "I know it is just a game but seriously we already have to worry about young girls starving themselves to look like the magazine models and now we have a game that tells them they're fat," the concerned relative states.
Rest assured, this is only the beginning. A game like this is fine in Japan, but just you wait until the sensitive, unaccountable American housewives get their claws on this thing. It'll be sh*tstorm central and no mistake. Personally, I don't need a piece of plastic pretending to be a set of scales telling me I'm fat -- I can tell from looking at the tits.
If I were Nintendo though, I would seriously look into toning down its classification of "fat" before hitting the States, because there will be blood in the streets.
05/06/2008 12:10
FYI
05/06/2008 12:12
05/06/2008 12:14
I am glad I am not some person so is easily sensitive by what other people say.
Who knows, she may've been moving around on that thing and it caused it to not be able to record her weight right.
05/06/2008 12:16
I think it's nice telling people the truth for once. Its tough to hear the truth but in the end it gives you that extra momentum you need to change things about yourself. America is a bunch of fat slobs and as much as a recession and economic crisis sucks its teaching people to be more aware of things and more thrifty in what they buy eat or do. Wii Fit is just the tool needed to tell American's LOOK, stop eating shit and do some exercise you fat cow.
05/06/2008 12:17
05/06/2008 12:18
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05/06/2008 12:22
05/06/2008 12:24
isn't it obvious, she reported an incorrect weight for the kid, she is probably overweight. they said 6 stones, how accurate is that, it's like saying, oh i weigh like 100 pounds...
@F_Whipple
Nintendo is obviously not targeting this game at ripped guys like me ;)
lol
05/06/2008 12:25
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05/06/2008 12:28
05/06/2008 12:29
05/06/2008 12:31
05/06/2008 12:32
05/06/2008 12:33
05/06/2008 12:33
Americans are used to being called stupid. Just look at all the documentary filmmakers and satirists these days. They berate the country they're in all the time and get praised for it.
05/06/2008 12:35
05/06/2008 12:37
05/06/2008 12:39
05/06/2008 12:45
"Ill pretend its a hover-board, Weeeeey Im flying!"
05/06/2008 12:45
After all, there are plenty of parasitic douchebags walking around in the world who will make disparaging comments about peoples' weight, and THEY don't get sued.
05/06/2008 12:59
05/06/2008 13:03
::cries his fat-ass back to work::
05/06/2008 13:04
05/06/2008 13:05
05/06/2008 13:09
05/06/2008 13:11
05/06/2008 13:19
05/06/2008 13:23
and "you're" bad at grammar :P
<- Canadian
05/06/2008 13:28
05/06/2008 13:31
05/06/2008 13:34
05/06/2008 13:36
You're filled with self-hate, aren't you?
05/06/2008 13:37
So wait, the balance board gets screwed up on a carpet? How am I supposed to use it then?! The only hard floor I have in my apartment is the kitchen and the bathroom!!
and the point to using it is to accurately dictate how your balance and weight are right? Which it won't do!
That's extremely problematic
05/06/2008 13:42
05/06/2008 13:46
I may live in a 3rd world country, but at least we don't use measurements from the days we wiped our butts with rocks.
05/06/2008 13:58
05/06/2008 13:58
05/06/2008 14:05
05/06/2008 14:13
As for me, I believe it would say, "Kill yourself."
05/06/2008 14:32
05/06/2008 14:43
05/06/2008 14:48
People will flip wigs about this because fat people don't like being told so. (For the most part I mean.) I imagine lawsuits and teary-eyed housewives.
As for Kannon's suggestion that purchasing this product will '...more thrifty in what they buy eat or do. Wii Fit is just the tool needed to tell American's LOOK...' That is ludicrous. Americans need to buy a $250 console, plus however expensive the game is itself, and the $29.99 MadCatz yoga pad. and this is supposed to teach Americans how to spend money properly?
BAH!
05/06/2008 14:49
Games need to insult people more often. I remember a story about some girl picking up a second hand version of Animal Crossing on the DS and it calling her a smutcunt or something.
Marvellous.
05/06/2008 14:53
05/06/2008 14:54
A. They are out of shape
and
B. The WiiFit will help
so their market is "fat" people. The whole thing is stupid. I found a picture of the kid by the way, enjoy
05/06/2008 15:02
I mean, if a fat girl stepped on me, I'd call them fat too.
05/06/2008 15:13
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05/06/2008 15:23
05/06/2008 15:48
The thing is it's using the clinical meaning of obese which is greatly different than what people on the street consider obese, we think you have to be 20 stone plus before you can be obese but being 2 stone overweight can lead to serious health problems too.
Note the game said i'm underweight so what is the opposite of annorexia cause out of shame i'm off to try that.
05/06/2008 16:26
Thank you for indicating what is obvious with nearly every complaint about video games: they all occur from improper use. Just like with anything else, if you read the instructions and use something properly, you will rarely have an issue with it. So every time someone tells me that video games hurt people, just ask, "do you use the claw end of the hammer to pound in nails? do you use a car to flatten empty beer cans? Do you use a television as a medicine ball?" No? Then don't use video games improperly.
Assholes. Yes, 10 year olds and their families can be assholes.
05/06/2008 16:59
05/06/2008 17:36
Asians tend to be slim "naturally" because they don't eat McNuggets, fries, and a Coke twice a day.
05/06/2008 18:05
05/06/2008 19:18
Damn you Jimmles!
05/06/2008 20:17
and what good would the wiifit be if you stepped on it, and it was like 'Perfect! Go ahead and return the WiiFit to your store--you don't need it" ?
05/06/2008 20:53
Who knows? The article might be being "polite".
But yeah, I've heard that the thing was overtly harsh.
Maybe just maybe...
"You got your GlaDOS in my WiiFit."
05/06/2008 20:59
05/06/2008 22:34
05/06/2008 23:57
05/07/2008 03:03
There's no refunds/exchanges on physically broken items! HAH! Take that you fat bastards! Grrrrr. I can say without sarcasm that I love greedy corporate policies.
Ye I work retail too and I've already seen countless fatties (and herds of fat families) drooling over a board that'll make you magically lose weight.
05/07/2008 13:17
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05/07/2008 15:29
05/07/2008 18:36
05/07/2008 21:07
It should not be changed to account for Americans being fat. Being overweight increases your risks of multiple diseases, and having a BMI 18.5-25 is much more healthy than having a BMI >30, which is asking for an early death.
But for a product that is aimed at the wii, with the likelihood of adolescent girls getting near it, Nintendo should have highlighted the problems with BMI on screen (especially the age problems), not just in the unread manual.
05/08/2008 14:29
Maybe it won't even register me on the scale.
05/09/2008 10:15
Wasn't the BMI scale declared obsolete, like, 5 years ago? it's too inaccurate to be medically significant, i thought.
05/16/2008 13:36
05/16/2008 23:04