Wii Fit
Wii Fit is one of the video games that Nintendo has developed for its Wii video game console. It is an exercise game and its main feature is the unique platform peripheral known as the Wii Balance Board. Aside from the 50 physical fitness activities that can be done with Wii Fit, it also computes the user’s body mass index after his height is entered.
There are four categories of activities that are allowed with Wii Fit and these are yoga, strength training, balance games, and aerobics. Yoga activities include the dance, cobra, deep breathing, spinal twist, sun salutation, standing knee, shoulder stand, tree, warrior, palm tree, and chair. Strength training activities include lunge, single leg twist, torso twists, arm and leg lift, single leg extension, sideways leg lift, triceps extension, and push-up challenge. Balance games include ski jump, soccer heading, tightrope walk, table tilt, snowboard slalom, ski slalom, lotus focus, penguin slide, and balance bubble. Aerobics activities include the hula hoop, basic step, rhythm boxing, basic run, free step, advanced step, and free run.
The FitBank serves as the database of the activities that have been performed using the Wii Fit. New activities are made available as the user gains Fit Credits, which is the number of minutes spent doing an activity. Wii Fit also monitors the activities of the user outside of the game. This information is stored on the user’s activity log. These activities are classified as heavy, medium or light. Examples of heavy activities are sports activities while medium activities include walking, cleaning, painting and gardening. Light activities include stretching and playing the guitar or piano. Different multipliers are used for the three categories to show their impact on the user.
Although Nintendo has no plans yet to link WiiConnect24 to Wii Fit, this could provide important benefits. WiiConnect24 permits the user of the Wii console to be continuously hooked to the Internet even while Wii is on standby. In the standby mode, users can receive e-mail messages, Miis, information from the Wii Message Board, game content, and information regarding software updates. Therefore, the WiiConnect24 can be utilized by a therapist or physician to send messages to the user to assist when he is undergoing training exercises or physical rehabilitation.
