Orders for the Norte Americano version of Wii Fit has started arriving from Amazon.com, and just in time for the holiday weekend in the United States!
The balance board is a bit sturdier than I remembered, which is a good sign.
I’ll post more photos (videos if possible.I think I’m coming down with a sore throat) of the opening in a few hours.In the mean time, this is what the box looks like (pictures taken with my iPhone).
Be sure to come back later to check out more pictures!
UPDATE (May 26, 2008): MORE UNBOXING PICS HERE (http://esrb.blogspot.com)
UPDATE 2 (May 26, 2008): For explanation on the "Not Legal For Trade" sticker at the bottom of the balanace board, see Some Life's explanation. Thanks for the information.
In general, Wii Fit was not granted the initial "wow" factor afforded Wii Sports based on the initial reviews and hands-on experiences. Nonetheless, the reviews are still very good.
Here are some main points to know about Wii Fit before making the $90 plunge:
It comes with the wireless balance board. Batteries included (don't hear that too often).
Games including an exercise program that tracks the user's development.
Ability to track weight, body mass index.
Allow for aerobics, strength training, and yoga.
Games for the little ones.
POTENTIAL USES for the balance board to be paired with future games - UNLIMITED.
There are more specifics about Wii Fit but those are what's important to know.
PERFORMANCE
Essentially, Wii Fit isn't going to turn the user into an Olympic-class athlete (unless he or she already is one). What it is is a fun stay-at-home fitness program with a lot of entertaining elements thrown into it for the family.
From the demos and official Nintendo videos, there is a little of everything for everyone. Balance games, exercise games, hula hoops, body toning, and even jogging. There is supposedly more than 40 different activities. Not bad really. Like Wii Sports, Fit is a fitting game to introduce what the balance board is capable of.
It's just that Fit does leave you wishing for a bit more flexibility. For example, it doesn't allow you to create your own exercise regiment. The game play and user interface is simple and doesn't get in the way of the user. Overall, it works well enough for a majority of the casual gamers and people who want to use Wii Fit to start a fitness schedule without having to go to the gym.
But it doesn't replace having to go to the gym or leaving the house. Sorry, guys. No six-pack solution provided.
BALANCE BOARD
What's more interesting is the balance board. There is not a lot about what forthcoming games will take advantage of it nor was there a lot written about the board itself. However, the wireless board worked as advertised. The technical magic Nintendo put in there to work with the Wii is simply a great leap from using merely the hands to control the game play. Already, Nintendo's legendary Wii Nunchuks broke from the simple hand controllers and the balance board with the nunchuks has take the game to the next level.
REVIEWS
Here are the game reviews available online so far:
The potential for Wii Fit lies in the peripheral, the balance board, and the games that coming out for it. Fear not, Wii Fit is only a demonstration of what the balance board is capable of. There are sure to be more exciting and flexible games.
Just like more sophisticated tennis games than the one in Wii Sports came out, for those who are looking to use the board for more strenuously exercise, there are likely more sophisticated workout programs in development.
Now, the question is: Is the balance board with the Fit games worth the admission price of $90? You bet. What you're getting is an excellent exercise program with Nintendo-approved fun added. Beyond that, the user is buying potential. Forthcoming games. Multiplayer features. Downloadable materials.
Some developers have announced their plans for the balance board. More details from Nintendo surely come very soon. And it's a given that Nintendo has games ready to come out in support of their exciting new peripheral and their games are usually among the best of the lot. Expect Mario and Company to make appearances for the board.
Update
Great news! Wii Fit is hours away from being released into the wild. But only for those quick and fortunate enough to have pre-ordered. Even better news. If you don't already have a Wii, you don't have to worry about the Wii Fit because you can't find the Wii anywhere. How's that for a twist?
That't right, folks. Wii is still in short supply, will be in short supply, and will only be available from time to time as bundles.
Also look for retailers to start bundling Wii and Wii Fit together in the near future. You just know that it't going to happen. That stimulus check from the government that't going out to certain people will now come in quite handy.
And if you really want, some of the big retailers do have Fit or Fit accessories pages up. It’ll give you a feel for what Nintendo has planned for the balance board.
Note: Ebay has it (standalone with no bundle) available for "Buy It" at $200. Bidding has reached $157.50 with 6.5 hours to go. Let us know if you've got a winning bid.
May 21, 2008 Wii Fit Update:
Early morning recon has show that Amazon is very optimistic about fulfilling it¢s promises of getting out all the Wii Fit its customers have pre-ordered. Below is a direct quote from Amazon¢s Wii Fit product page:
Attention "Wii Fit" Pre-order Customer:
Please note that we are in the process of receiving all "Wii Fit" product from Nintendo and are working to ship out your orders. We anticipate that all orders will ship on or before May 21. As we begin to ship products, your delivery estimates will be updated. Check your order status for the most up-to-date information. Also, please note that Nintendo officially changed the release date of "Wii Fit" to May 21 a few weeks back. For those who have been unable to order "Wii Fit," we are actively seeking more of this product from suppliers. Please, check back soon to see if more are available.
Best Buy and CircuitCity (and Walmart, Kmart, & Target) are both sold out online but it is possible the Fit was provided with a placeholder page and has not been available for online ordering. A cursory check with different California zip codes as of 8:30am PST showed that Circuity City has the Wii Fit in stock in store only.
Supplies are likely to be limited so maybe it¢s a good idea to go out take that coffee break around 10am when most stores open.
Here are the numbers to call:
Best Buy1-888-BEST BUY (1-888-237-8289)
Circuit City1-800-843-2489
Walmart1-800-WALMART (1-800-925-6278)
Target1-800.591.3869
Kmart1-866-KMART-4U
Gamestop 1-800-883-8895
Toys 'R Us1-800-ToysRUs
KB Toys1-877-5KBTOYS
Another option is to go to the websites and find a local store and give them a call.
If you know of any other places where the Fit is available, drop us a line. Your input on the best way to get the Wii Fit is greatly appreciated so that we may share this information with other readers. Remember, sharing is care!
Since Pong and the early days of the Atari 2600, gaming has changed dramatically. What hasn't changed is the hours millions spent sitting in front of the tube (or plasma or LCD) each day trying to get to the next level or to simply trying to get a drop on your enemies before they blow you into pieces.
So, how is this good for the body and mind? A majority of the gamers are boys or young men who really can spend more time doing physical activities or even dating. Well, we can't help with the dating part but we can point out a few things that you can do make playing console or computer games healthier.
Look for our in depth article on healthy gaming while even stay a step ahead of your opponents. Stamina is important but so is being able to stay sharp after hours of driving, trekking across various realms and space, or playing hide-and-seek with zombies and alien bloodsuckers. If you're playing against AI elements, they don't get tired but if you're playing against your roommate or some punk half way around the world, you need all the help you can get.
Also, sitting around playing games isn't all that different from the throng of company warriors who man their cubicles every day for eight hours or more Monday through Friday.
We'll go through some topics that will help you get started on your way to dominating those puny Orcs! Stay tuned!
I am really looking forward to this game, it is going suck up all my free time and sleeping time when it is finally released. Starcraft 2 still doesn't have an exact release date yet, but it is rumored to come out during this year's holiday season. Meanwhile, back to gold-farming in World of Warcraft. Peace !!!
So how many of you have bought a Playstation 3 just to play Gran Turismo? I admit I am one of these people. The full version of Gran Turismo 5 won’t be ready for another year or longer, but Polyphony is giving us an early preview of what GT5 looks like. Thus we have the Gran Turismo 5: Prologue version. It is released in the US on April 15th, 2008, you can get it here from Amazon store.
Although it will cost you $40 to purchase the Prologue, it is well worth the money and wait, since the game has enough contents to be a stand-alone game. GT5: Prologue contains over 70 different cars, and 6 race tracks. And for the first time in Gran Turismo history you can play this game online, pit your racing skill against other players, and move up (or down for some) the ranking ladder.
If your racing skill isn’t quite top-notch yet, you can also get enjoyment from GT5 simply by sit back and watch it on your HD 1080p television. Every detail of the game, from the race track, to the crowd, to the car itself is rendered to perfection on the screen. Sound effects are also just stunning, for example, you can tell the difference of each car’s horse power by the vibration coming from the engines.
If you like cars, or racing, or just the need for speed, then try this game. It’s a must have for PS3 owners. Sorry Xbox and Wii owners, you are just not cool enough to play this game yet.
I just recently upgraded my desktop, and it has all the hardware necessary to play the latest PC games. Here is my system spec: AMD phenom Quad-Core 2.3 GHz, 4 GB of RAM (of course Windows XP can only access 3 GB of it, but that’s for another story), 512 MB Nvidia 8500GT, 500 GB SATA HD. Total cost? $550 including case, power-supply, etc. Not a top-of-line system, but enough to get by and able to play most of the graphic-intensive FPS games running at decent frame-rate.
Anyway, I am a huge Call of Duty fan. I played since CoD 1, then the expansion, and CoD 2. Never played Call of Duty 3 though, because I only play FPS games on PCs and Call of Duty 3 does NOT have a PC version. I was just so fascinated by the whole WWII setting in Call of Duty franchise, but I am also ready to move on to the next stage in world conflict, so the first thing I did after I got my new system is to install Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. I was really looking forward to play it. After installation complete, I dived right into the single-player campaign, and started playing as the British special-op, code-named "SOAP". Cool name, eh?
As the name suggests, this game takes place in a setting similar to what the world is currently going through: middle-east conflict, renegade Russian general armed with nuclear warheads, and all these good stuff. As either a British agent or US Marine, you will go on various missions such as assassination, search-n-rescue, and my favorite mission is playing air-support for ground troops from a high-flying aircraft. I especially enjoy the sarcastic comments from the co-pilot as I set the little dots (enemy personals) on the ground in seas of flames, KAAABOOOM ....
As for performance of the game, I have all the video settings at moderate levels, and I see no lag what-so-ever at all, I guess I was been too conservative, and when I play this game again, which is soon, I will try to crank up the settings to see how my system handles it under the pressure.
Overall, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is one of the best first-person shooter out there right now. Especially if you are a CoD fan, some of the cool things you can do in the game are just mind-boggling, but I don’t want to spoil too much of that for you right now, go try it out for yourself. Only negative thing I can say about this game is that the single-player mode ended too fast, I think I finished the easiest mode in less than 4 hours, I wish it was longer and I can’t wait for the next expansion of this game.