Chart Toppers: Wii Fit Shapes Up a Success

The idea of mixing video games and physical training is not a new idea in the least. Dance Aerobics got gamers going with the Power Pad in the early '80s, the DanceDanceRevolution series has been getting gamers out of their seats for a decade and several EyeToy titles (particularly EyeToy: Kinetic) have had conditioning benefits. Leave it to Nintendo, however, to package Wii Fit in such a way that it busts the fitness game market wide open.

Now, the Wii has been something of an example of "active" gaming since the beginning, with Wii Sports producing a myriad of gesture-filled get-togethers with friends and the occasional destroyed television. Wii Fit, by contrast to the spastic flailings of Wii Sports, is actually concentrated on exercises designed to help users lose weight and meet fitness goals, not unlike the gaming equivalent of a yoga video. America (and the world in general, it seems) is always on the lookout for the next fitness gimmick, and Wii Fit seems to fill that void quite nicely.

We got physical with Denise Kaigler, vice president of corporate affairs at Nintendo of America, who gave us the blow-by-blow on Wii Fit.

"We've seen Wii Fit resonate with everyone from core gamers to people who have never before used a video game."

Consumers get Fit
According to the NPD, Wii Fit was the third best selling game overall in the month of May. The game was the second best selling Wii title, behind only Mario Kart Wii. Overall, the game sold 687,700 copies in America during the May period.

"We are very pleased with the positive consumer response to Wii Fit," responded Kaigler. "Millions of people worldwide are using it to combine fun and fitness and to become more aware of their fitness levels."

Of course, the success story for Wii Fit doesn't begin and end in the United States. Wii Fit reached the one million sales plateau in Japan alone in just over a month of availability, surpassing two million in sales by the end of May in that region. The title also had a high level of demand in the U.K., with Chart-Track claiming it to be the sixth fastest selling game of all time.

Of course, despite the high worldwide demand, the release of Wii Fit has not been without its hiccups. For one, just like the Wii (which Nintendo has never met demand for in the United States since its release), Wii Fit has been in short supply in North America. Thousands upon thousands were rebuffed in their attempts to find a copy of Wii Fit on launch week, so much so that IDC analyst Billy Pidgeon called it a "missed opportunity." Wedbush Morgan Securities' Michael Pachter theorized that a weak U.S. dollar led to Nintendo shipping in the range of 500,000 copies in the U.S. compared to roughly two million to Europe.

What's this damp sensation under my armpits?
The purpose of Wii Fit is to, ostensibly, get the user into better shape, although users shouldn't expect to get totally fit, if you ask Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto. The game comes packed with exercises that are classified as yoga, strength training and aerobics, with feedback provided by the Wii Balance Board that comes standard with the game. The fitness aspects of Wii Fit mean that the game appeals to a large demographic of people, from soccer moms who want to shed a few pounds to core gamers intrigued by the possibilities of the Wii Balance Board.

"The Wii Balance Board is an unprecedented new game accessory that appeals to a broad range of consumers. It's exciting for long-time players and easy and fun for newcomers," described Kaigler. "It also provides developers with a new creative user interface for their development toolbox. We know there are a number of third-party developers working on new games and applications that will make use of the Wii Balance Board."

"There is great potential appeal for the expanded audience-including those who've never played games before and for those looking to get a start with fitness," she continued. "We've seen Wii Fit resonate with everyone from core gamers to people who have never before used a video game."

Wii Fit not only lets users try a variety of exercises of ever increasing intensity, the game also charts progress. This way, users can also see how far they've come over time and even record physical activities they've done outside of Wii Fit. It's worth noting that, because of the structure of Wii Fit and its own uniqueness, many enthusiast reviewers had difficulty assigning a quantifiable score to the product; sure, much of the game is reliant upon repetitive activities, but so are most workout regimens, and like any workout regimen, you get out of Wii Fit what you put into it.

"With the tracking feature, users can see how they and their household members improve with time," commented Kaigler. "Like the gym, Wii Fit keeps you coming back for more. We saw consumers respond similarly to the Brain Age games, which also let you track your progress. There's nothing like seeing your positive results tracked on a chart to make you want to continue."

Of course, Wii Fit also has a set of Balance Games for users to try. This set represents the most "game-like" elements in the whole package, where players use the Wii Balance Board to ski jump, head soccer balls, and walk a tight rope, among other activities. These mini-games no doubt appealed to consumers looking for a title like the other games in the so-called "Wii Series" that include Wii Sports and Wii Play.

"I'm sure the fun games and activities in both Wii Sports and Wii Play paved the way for people to enjoy those in Wii Fit," said Kaigler. "People like new challenges, and Wii Fit offers people a completely new way to interact with their games."

Potential in that little white thing you stand on
Despite reports of the "largest ever" ad campaign from Nintendo of America to support Wii Fit, such a campaign did not seem to materialize. It's as though the biggest promotion the game received was during E3 2007, where it was highlighted at Nintendo's press event and given a long promotional trailer that was humorously mocked on YouTube. Nintendo even offered no comment on the promotional campaign for this article, leaving us with a two-fold conclusion: one, Nintendo knew that Wii Fit would be popular anyway and two, they probably knew their initial shipment was going to come up far short of demand and felt there was no need to exacerbate that with an extensive ad campaign.

Wii Fit is most certainly a hit and just another case of Nintendo moving from strength to strength with its Wii console. Considering the success so far, we'd anticipate seeing another game in the popular "Wii Series" at E3 next week. The future is even brighter for the Wii Balance Board, with Namco Bandai, THQ, Ubisoft, EA, Activision, Majesco and Koei all planning on supporting the device, with others likely to follow.