Consumer Reports Gets Its Game On 301
Itninja writes "A few days ago Consumer Reports posted their first report on a specific video game: Wii Fit. From the article: 'Our testers ranged in age from 24 to 69 and included 10 women and five men. Users ran the gamut from regular exercisers to mostly sedentary folks.' Will this be a harbinger of things to come? Will CR be reviewing the next installment of Gran Turismo?"
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So two things come to mind when I think about this situation: a) the Wii might fit a nice gap in at least getting people off the couch and moving around. For some true couch potatoes, this might be enough and sufficient for at least a little while. b) Find a small local gym that isn't full of morons and doesn't charge brutal contract fees. They're all over, they want your business, and you're doing yourself and "the little guy" a favor.
Re:n = 15 (Score:5, Insightful)
Not everybody who's buying this game is somebody who's overweight and never gets any exercise. Even those who *are* overweight and never get any exercise... I'd rather they play the games that come with Wii Fit than sitting on their ass playing Halo... the games that come with Wii Fit will actually have them getting up and possibly even working up a sweat. I know that I usually work up a sweat by the time I get to the step aerobics in my routine the sweat's usually streaming off (that's about 25 minutes in).
It's better than nothing. But as with any exercise routine, you'll get out of it what you put into it. If you're serious about losing weight then you'll need more than a video game. It's a good start, but it'll require some serious lifestyle changes for any weight loss to take.
There's a couple of major advantages to Wii Fit over going to the gym. You've touched on them yourself... you don't have to deal with asses at the gym, you don't have to deal with grimy sweaty equipment, you can do it in the privacy of your own home... and the personal trainer is actually pretty good. Well voiced, gives realtime encouragement based on your current position, which is limited by the fact that it can only detect your center of balance and not your actual position, but it is still fairly accurate for most situations.
Finally, I'd like to second the comment that using BMI as a measure of anything is approaching idiotic... It's good to keep track of your weight, and how it changes... and that's actually the idea behind Wii Fit: track your weight on a day to day basis so that you're more conscious of what you put into your mouth. There was an interview available on the Nintendo channel that explained this..... Anyway. BMI itself is a fairly useless measurement, because it doesn't keep track of anomalies. There is somebody at my dojo, for example, who weighs 260lbs. This person is 6' tall, giving him a BMI of over 35. Well into the "obese" category. There's just one thing wrong with this definition: This person wears a 32" waist, and has body fat of 13%. Tracking your BMI over time will give you an indication of how much weight you've lost, but it won't actually give anything approaching an indication of how much you still need to lose.
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On topic, though, I think Wii-Fit is a great idea; I promised my wife I'd bu
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Besides, I have stairs outside of my apartment. I am permitted to traverse vertically to my heart's content without an induced fee. I am free to do pushups within most public areas. Additionally, I am permitted to walk, saunter, jog, run, sprint, dash, and speedwalk without so much as tipping my hat to other passers-by.
What makes a difference "in your condition" as you troll, is actually exercising. If you think that buying a game, or a gym membership, or new shoes, or brightly colored shorts, or a new tennis racket will help you, you are free to do so.
I do not comment on other's health choices/investments.
Also, it is cheaper than most home gym sets (if you have a wii already) and may well be more entertaining.
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I prefer "Built for Comfort"
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"I'm not overweight, I'm undertall"
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Muscle is more dense than fat. Someone who is 6 feet tall with a lot of fat could have the same BMI as someone who is 6 feet tall, lean, and muscular. No one would accuse the latter of being out of shape--except for someone only using
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The problem is that it's basing this on BMI, a factor of weight and height which is horribly innacurate for determining anything about body composition. Fat, muscle, bone and retained water are all treated the same. So it's hardly a case of "telling the little fatties the truth" and more of
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I welcome CR (Score:5, Interesting)
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No, I really don't think CR is the right forum to test games, except maybe to discover if they start fires...
Consumer Gamespot Reports (Score:4, Interesting)
NO.
Wii fit can be good... (Score:4, Insightful)
Wii Fit Parody (Score:2)
Wii Fit IS NOT LIKE Gran Turismo... (Score:3, Interesting)
This isn't your typical game (Score:2, Informative)
That would be aweomse (Score:3, Interesting)
Previews: Holy shit, glowing reviews, the game is better than blowjobs and bacon sammiches combined!
Reviews: Walking the fine line between placating advertisers and telling the truth. Reviewers who bite the hand that feed them soon go hungry. So even the most disappointingly middling hash job gets a gentleman's C.
If we get the money out of the review process and really see some honesty... well, I don't know if we'll get better games but I do know it will honk off more suits and that's almost as enjoyable.
Re:That would be aweomse (Score:5, Informative)
Then you should applaud Consumer Reports entering the gaming review market. They don't have any advertising and don't have anyone to please but subscribers. They even refuse to take donated equipment for reviews because of cherry picking and anonymously buy their gear through regular retail channels.
There is one ad on the page with the article. It is for a subscription to Consumer Reports. If you really want the money out of the process, go subscribe. I think it is well worth it for their great, independent assessments of cars, electronics, computer hardware, etc. Without a subscription, for example, I'd never have known Dell has brought their laptop line from near the bottom of the heap to near the top (just under the premium vendors) within just the last year.
If you want people to review things impartially with your interests in mind, pay them already. Otherwise, feel free to put up with reviews that are closer to PR releases
No, CR will not review Gran Turismo. (Score:5, Interesting)
CR will review Gran Turismo if ... (Score:2)
That could really lend to a sense of realism previously lacking in racing games. Or maybe just a new sense of vertigo...
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What if your grandma is a sociopath?
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It is one of many criteria.
Agreed; I do see some innovation on the Xbox and PS3 in this area. And as you correctly point out, the key to the Wii's success is anything but secret.
Ughh... (Score:2)
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Buying a car without the first might seem silly to you, but buying a car without the second seems downright dangerous to me.
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Re:Ughh... (Score:4, Insightful)
What lackluster reviews? BMW 3-series gets top marks in every category (membership required) [consumerreports.org] and the new wagon [consumerreports.org] gets a good score but loses points for controls, cup-holder design, a small interior, and the need for premium fuel. I'm not sure why you're so personally offended by such an honest review, but maybe it would help you to know most CR readers don't focus much on the final "score" but rather look at the pros/cons and consider which are important to them.
Your post really comes across as a pompous attempt to be a "car guy" but real "car guys" (1) don't get their panties in a twist over a CR review and (2) don't drive BMW's.
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While CR does good, unbiased reports on the boring everyday items such as blenders and vacuum cleaners, their car reviews are awful and hold no water except with people who like to drive cars that have no soul...
Disclaimer: I use CR for most things. That said, I've seen people use crappy stuff. Maybe a blender has no soul (believe me, I don't derive enjoyment from driving my Civic, but that's because I use it primarily as a tool to get from point A to point B) but I *do* feel good when it "just works". As opposed to other blenders I've owned that don't blend, or blend very crappily.
The reason that Wii Fit is being reviewed is because it is passing itself off as a piece of exercise equipment, not (primarily) bec
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I dunno, I find them a good source of concrete relative comparisons rather than gushing hyperbole like most advertising-driven reviews from other sources. Even for cars. Yes, there are lots of subjective factors that go into car buying (or blender buying, for that matter), but subjective reviews by
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to me a car has no more "soul" than a vacuum cleaner, so I don't know what you are talking about.
You don't get cars, fair enough. At least you don't go around trying to give impartial reviews on a very subjective manner. I'm not sure if you are trying to bait me into some sort of argument by inferring that I have some crazy minority view about cars, but last I checked (in the countries I've lived...US, UK and Germany) people are crazy about cars. Some people want to get from point A to point B. Might I direct them to Consumer Reports for their next purchase...
Consumer Reports Sucks (Score:2)
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They do still sell advertising space so that's a conflict of interest.
They do? Where? There are no ads accompanying the article and I don't see them on any of the reviews I've looked at.
The reason CR sucks though it that their reach is too far to produce any real usable information and reviews.
I've found their reviews very useful and their expertise in affordable testing procedures carries from products to product. They provide fairly useful reviews from a normal person's perspective, with some product lines being reviewed by experts as well.
You say Consumer Reports sucks.. well maybe so, unless you compare them to every other company out there. They're pretty much the most re
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The point is no one place reviews all these things because to do so is madness. Still individual publications out write CR in every field they cover. This is because they specialize which is a good thing.
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Well take my example of Digital Cameras. http://www.dpreview.com/ [dpreview.com] [dpreview.com] is much more informed and not biased at all and very professional.
How do you know it is not biased? They're being paid by the companies they are reviewing. So how do you know they don't nix the most critical reviews? Do they take donated cameras? Are those cameras the same as normal people buy, or cherry picked by the companies donating them?
The point is no one place reviews all these things because to do so is madness.
There are several things useful for review sites. Expertise is one, and maybe one where CR is not top of their game. Another is credibility, where CR is at the top of their game. With other sites, you just don't know for the mos
Re:Consumer Reports Sucks (Score:5, Insightful)
They exist to keep regular joes from getting ripped off.
They do not exist to give expert advise to nit-picking, niche hobbyists. If you want that sort of expert advise, go to one of the many magazines dedicated to whatever niche you have a fetish for.
Meanwhile the people who just want to buy a washing machine/refrigerator/car/bed/television/dvd-player/vacuum/etc that does a decent job and won't break down a month after the warranty expires can go to CR.
Anyone actually TRY this? (Score:5, Interesting)
I own a Wii Fit. I've been using it for 5 days now. Not a workout, my ass! Maybe if you only do the balance games, or maybe if you only consider a workout to be doing weightlifting. I've been doing the cardio games (Hula Hoop, Stepping, Running), and I end each session out of breath and sweating. No, a single 2 minute stepping series on the starter level doesn't wear me out. 30 minutes of rotating between the 3 exercises in the more advanced mode (which you only get after having done them for 30 minutes...I think. Regardless, they are an unlockable you wouldn't see the first time you tried) will have your heart rate up just as effectively as the same amount of time on your average exercise bike or elliptical trainer.
Would I lose any more weight if I drove 30 minutes to the nearest gym, paid the equivelent of a used car payment in membership fees every month, and used machines covered in somebody else's sweat? I doubt it. More importantly, I wouldn't bother, so I wouldn'get get ANY exercise. Walking into my living room and turning on the TV seems to have a much lower barrier to entry, so I can't easily make excuses for why I can't work out today.
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I see a lot of people complaining that it's not a REAL workout, or it's just a gimmick. Knowing that the Wii Fit is sold out almost everywhere, how many of you have actually tried it?
In general that's a criticism of something many people throw blindly at the Wii or Guitar Hero, or Rock Band simply because they don't understand it. They're quick to criticize and say "Why don't you just play [real] tennis, play a [real] guitar, or shoot a [real] Nazi?" and they miss the entire point.
In general however, I can understand if people think Wii Fit isn't a workout. Some people may either beyond the point where the exercises are on the easy side of what they are used to, or they are of the
My Quick Wii Fit Review (Score:5, Informative)
The use of BMI without any warnings about the flaws of BMI is a little disappointing, but generally it is accurate enough for average people. Still, it is good to be aware of what BMI is, and they don't do anything to help you understand that.
Overall, I like it. I'd give it a 7 out of 10. You can really use it to work on your fitness. It probably won't guide you to being a top tier athlete, but just to stay in a reasonable shape I have little doubt it could work. Like most things at first it will be great, and then you will likely grow tired of it. You have to keep using it to get results, and there is no magic there. Like anything else you only get out of it what you put in. It nicely tracks your weight and BMI over time and provides graphs so you can see your progress over time. At first the games are lots of fun, but after the novelty has worn off (like with Wii Sports) the fitness stuff will remain for those willing to take it seriously.
I'm looking forward to future games using the Wii balance board. There is a lot of potential there for some incredible gameplay.
Short answer: no (Score:4, Interesting)
CR picking up on Wii Fit is less an indication of CR getting involved in game reviews and more an indication of the success of Nintendo at reaching out to non-gamers. By the blurb alone it's easy to see that they tested it not as a video game but as a physical fitness device.
So no, Consumer Reports will not be reviewing the next installment of Gran Tursimo, any more than they review the next movie or album.
Optional Balanace board ? (Score:3, Informative)
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Considering you can't buy the board separately, wouldn't that be like saying "WiiFit" itself is optional?
Nothing to do with games, but possible claims (Score:2)
Most game reviews are like book reviews, they're pretty subjective and it depends on the what you like, but there is a need for an unbiased look at a video game that's claiming to be a fitness product.
I disagree that you need a huge sample to test it out, just a diverse one. I suspect that while just about anything to get the couch potato off their butt would help, it's not going
aargh (Score:2)
Will CR be reviewing the next installment of Gran Turismo?"
No, they won't. You still don't get it, do you? While MS and Sony fought over who gets the bigger piece of cake of the gamer's market, Nintendo choose to make the cake larger. Quite a few of the titles you can get for the Wii are solidly on the borderline of what counts as a "game". Wii Fit is one of them. A few of the mini-games are just that, but the overall package just doesn't belong to the same category as Gran Turismo or Counterstrike or Halo.
Um. Doubt it. (Score:2)
Itninja writes: "A few days ago Consumer Reports posted their first report on a specific video game: Wii Fit... Will this be a harbinger of things to come? Will CR be reviewing the next installment of Gran Turismo?"
Great question. Let's go to the TFA [consumerreports.org].
Now let's see... aha! First sentence!
After an intensive few days of bending, jumping, and precarious balancing by Consumer Reports staff, under the watchful eye of expert testers from our Health franchise, we have our first test reports on Nintendo's Wii Fit, the wireless "balance board" that hit the market in North America earlier this week.
Unless Sony starts making claims about the health benefits of Gran Turismo, I think it's safe to say no.
Wonder what they will give... (Score:2)
Comment near end is right on (Score:2, Informative)
My wife and eldest son are both very obese, and the machine can get them both sweating with jelly-legs. I'm not overweight, but don't get to exercise much any more. I find I can get my cardio right up on it. Is it a complete substitute for a gym with personal trainer?
Fitness games in general (Score:5, Insightful)
But when DDR got big, I've got to say I saw it as a positive thing. Will it replace treadmills and such? Of course not. But, to someone with my attention span, a treadmill is VERY boring. A video game is fun and exciting, so I am much more likely to use it.
Case it point: in my living room right now, I have a nice metal dance pad and a nice elliptical machine. They both cost about the same. Guess which one gets used more? Exactly. So even if the dance pad doesn't give a better workout, it gives a better workout anyway because I will actually use the damn thing rather than avoid it like the plague.
Just my 2c
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I could even see a Flintstones [copyright/trademark owned by someone] game, wherein you are using foot-power to race your own Flintstone-mobile.
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Keep clamoring for corporations to take responsibility for my behavior, and watch our individual rights continue to erode.
Re:Wee Fit (Score:5, Interesting)
But when Nintendo makes a workout game, I have no such hesitation. perhaps because I know it won't kill me. Perhaps because they have a nice track record. Perhaps because there are other video games known to give a nice workout.
Your pessimism really doesn't apply here.
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I can't figure out which salad you're talking about, anyway. Every non-ceasar salad with chicken has at least 260 calories per serving, plus another 40 from the dressing (again, always assuming 1 serving of each).
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Add 40 calories for the dressing and you're looking at 260 calories for the whole thing.
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Me: *raises eyebrow* Caesar?
Girl behind the counter: That's a kind of dressing?
Me: *waits patiently while girl checks*
Girl: oh. Wow. I didn't know that! *slaps forehead*
Me: *dies inside*
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Re:Wee Fit (Score:5, Insightful)
Sure, playing WiiFit isn't as strenuous as swimming laps, but if you're up and moving at all, you're getting more exercise than you would be sitting on a couch. I think the bigger problem with a lot of exercise routines has less to do with the fact that you don't get results and more to do with the fact that exercising is hard work and usually not particularly fun.
If someone finds WiiFit to be a good time, they'll probably keep playing it until it stops being fun. And in the meantime, they'll get a little bit more exercise than they used to. No harm done. I don't think you'll see any currently fit people giving up their habit of running three miles every morning and just playing WiiFit instead.
Re:Wee Fit (Score:5, Informative)
I own a Wii Fit. I'm also a martial artist. I bought the thing mostly so me and my girlfriend can work out together a little on the weekends.
Turns out, there are some exercises in there - in the advanced section that you have to unlock - that are quite a good workout even for me. Remember that in many cases, it isn't how much weight you lift or how fast you do something, but the number of repetitions. Also, all that yoga stuff and balance training is quite a good addition to my usual training.
There are also parts that I don't like that much (like having to start with the baby stuff, no matter what) but all in all it definitely is good exercise - as long as you don't consider it a total replacement of all other activities, but it does a good job of reminding you about that.
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as long as you don't consider it a total replacement of all other activities, but it does a good job of reminding you about that.
A lot of people don't engage in any other activities already. I have a friend whose mom is like 62 or something, and her body has just broken down because she stopped doing anything, just sat on the couch and watched TV or read books or ordered shit from catalogs while balancing the ice cream container on her gut. If she would get up and walk around the building a couple times, it would be an improvement. Depending entirely on Wii Fit would be a DRAMATIC upgrade.
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have you ever used a balancing board? (Score:5, Interesting)
It is a HELL of a workout of your leg muscles, and VERY effective. The workout I get fromt hat is comprable to doing wall sits which are a staple of my boxing class every night.... and your quads get a tremendous burn.
Unless the wii balancing board is somehow deficient, you'd sure as hell get a nice workout.
after i went through therapy with a balancing board, i bought one for home traning the next month.
Re:have you ever used a balancing board? (Score:5, Funny)
balance board in real traning is awesome... i apoligize for not researching the wii "board" before posting.
Re:Wee Fit (Score:5, Interesting)
Why do you feel the need to mention it, out of curiosity?
Wii Fit is a completely reasonable "workout" of balance and flexibility, and even for very moderate workouts for people who are otherwise sedentary (and there are a lot of those people, though they're probably sitting at their computer writing about how Wii Fit isn't a real workout because they see everything as a binary full-on-workout, or nothing).
Steps and other basic activities aren't going to replace the gym for someone who is actually into fitness, but it's better than nothing for people who have limited activity.
And one of the best elements of the Wii is the simplest element of all -- weigh-ins with time plotted tracking. It's simplistic, relying upon the lame BMI scale, not taking into account muscularity and other variables, however again for a normal everyday person seeing an accurate graph of their weight when they occasionally weigh into their Wii can be a very powerful input.
Analogies are like a dog with a tail growing out of its nose. Kind of like the planet Mars with annuity insurance.
Nintendo's whole angle with the Wii has been whole-body gameplay that is their "gimmick" instead of the traditional thumbs only. This is an obvious continuation of that. Like Wii Sports, the included game (Wii Fit) isn't the most incredible demonstration of the board, but it gets the units out there.
There are over a dozen balance-board-using games in development, and of course it launched with Wii Ski. It's another input controller (one with amazing potential...and it's bluetooth, and could be used with a compatible PC bluetooth stack), and Wii Fit is one use of it. I certainly don't think very many people are going to stick with their Wii Fit regiment
Wii Sports Experiment (Score:5, Informative)
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Re:Wii Sports Experiment (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Wee Fit (Score:5, Insightful)
Is yoga a 'workout'? Is pilates a 'workout'? If you consider that to be a part of your workout routine, then the Fit is a part of that. And if it accomplishes the same thing as working along with a yoga/pilates video and is more fun, then that would be a win.
Nobody is saying that a Wii fit is a replacement for cardio, or weight training. But it may well be a perfectly legitimate to compliment yoga/ pilates/ and stretching exercises.
Besides, after the buzz wears down, anyone doing these "exercises" will quickly discover there are no results to be had, and the balancing board will end up in the closet with the rest of the rubber bands, abdominizors, and exercises dvds.
Unless its engaging and fun. Which a lot of people think it is, and who will play it regardless of whether they get 'results' or not.
And no matter how you spin it, its better for you than sitting on the couch.
So while Wii fit may not melt fat off, at least its not part of the problem.
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Not perfect, not a gym ,
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What else? Rainy Day fi
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I think it's obvious to anyone with common sense that this Wii Fit can hardly be considered a workout.
I don't think that is obvious at all. Compared to aerobic step based exercise programs offered by many gyms or compared to DDR why would anyone assume this is less of a workout?
On one hand, I commend Nintendo for at least attempting to get people off the couch, but it's only a half-a$$ed attempt.
I'd say this is about as much of a workout as one could expect from any video game console. That is not to say it is the best activity for people looking to lose weight, but it is pretty decent compared to people looking at playing video games based off of any other input device.
Besides, after the buzz wears down, anyone doing these "exercises" will quickly discover there are no results to be had, and the balancing board will end up in the closet with the rest of the rubber bands, abdominizors, and exercises dvds.
I think you missed the point. This doesn't belo
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Wii Fit may not turn you into a body builder but its weight training program should be able to help you put on 2.5lbs of muscle, i
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The diet stuff leaves you hungry, leads to more snacking. Supposedly, when you eat food (with real live calories) your body thinks it's been in starvation mode (thank you 0 calorie soda!) and stores as many calories as it can as fat. HFCS does other nasty things to you, not t
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Upon googling it seems that there is no solid answer and people are claiming anywhere from 6 calories per day to 90 calories per day; it isn't quite as simple as the 35 calories you listed either being that most (seemingly trustworthy) sites claimed between 35 and 50 calories per pound of muscle per day.
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Diet soda has 1-2 calories (Aspartame & acesulfame potassium or sucralose). A bottle or large cup of non-diet soda has about 300 calories (sucrose/glucose-fructose or HFCS). All else being equal, if you're drinking sugary soda all the time, you're going to be worse off than if you drink diet soda. It's simple in-and-out calorie counting.
On the other hand, drinking diet soda is like playing tricks
Re:Wee Fit (Score:5, Interesting)
Since your post makes it painfully obvious that you haven't used Wii Fit at all, I'll post about my actual experience, and then people can comment.
After 30 minutes of actual activity on Wii Fit, I am sore. I am also pretty fat (32.xx BMI, and I'm not an athlete, so that's pretty accurate). The game charts your progress (based on BMI, and as a relative percentage) every day, which is quite useful.
The game places an emphasis (peculiar, at first, I have to admit) on balance. This is for a few reasons. The Balance Board is the game's only input, but it can tell where your center of balance is (and what your weight is) very well. The game doesn't come with any weights for additional resistance, so any resistance your muscles would work against is directly related to your body position.
Finally, the emphasis on balance seems to be firmly rooted in eastern culture. I mean, I can't really think of why it's so important to have *exactly* 50.0% of my weight on my left foot, and 50.0% of my weight on my right foot, and right now, that goal seems impossible.
Where the game succeeds best is, as is noted in the CR review, is in the balance games. Some people can exercise without the additional benefit of visual stimulation -- they enjoy varying degrees of pain or short-term uncomfortability for the hope of long-term progress. I am not one of them. So this is a big boon to me. And these exercises are not of the Wii Sports variety, either; whereas that game would just give you tennis elbow, in Wii Fit you're fighting yourself while trying to head soccer balls or being the human Super Monkey Ball. (Fighting yourself. How very eastern.)
Most importantly, the game makes sense to anyone who hasn't touched a controller. It's straightforward in the way Nintendo has made all of their games in the Wii generation, so that everyone can use it. This alone will be why Wii Fit should outsell Gran Turismo by at least a factor of 2-3 : 1.
I don't exercise nearly as often as I should. I also don't think this game will be the start of a sweeping change in our culture (where everyone walks swinging their arms as much as possible to improve their posture). But it's a big step forward in getting the interactive part of exercise to the home, without having to resort to video tapes or DVDs (no feedback in terms of balance), Bally's (image conscious?) or personal trainers (far more expensive than $90).
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The abdominizors and work out balls et al don't end up in the closet because they're ineffective in the sense that you mean. Used regularly, pretty much any of those As-Seen-On-TV exercise doohikies would improve fitness of your average couch potato. Sure the benefit/eff
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Besides, after the buzz wears down, anyone doing these "exercises" will quickly discover there are no results to be had,
Do you have any idea what you're talking at all?
As a hobby game designer, one of the first things I noticed about Wii Fit is the carefully crafted positive feedback loop. These guys hired someone who knows about motivation and listened to his input. There are literally dozens of different ways to nudge you to continue, do one more exercise, come back tomorrow, and so on. The unlockables, the minutes you accumulate, the records, the positive remarks of the virtual trainers, the reminders by the animated boa
Re:Wee Fit (Score:4, Informative)
Now, I'm no fan of yoga nor am I knowledgable enough on the subject to critique it.
The strength training exercises are the standard group of exercises that you would normally do, pushups/side planks, various leg lifts, jackknives, all the Wii Fit does is watch your center of balance and in some cases count what you are doing. It also does almost all of these excercises at an excruciatingly slow pace, which if you know anything about most strength training exercises is the correct way to do it. 30 very slow and controlled pushups will put a burn in your muscles far beyond 100 rocket fast pushups.
The aerobics piece is basically the same. The game does very little more than give you something to play along with while exercising. How much workout you get is entirely dependent on the effort you put into it, not what the game is doing. As you spend more time on the thing it unlocks more exercises and more options. The hulahoop thing on TV eventaully can go into longer time frames and it measures your balance and movement control while you are doing it.
The balance games are pretty amazing themselves. They force you to shift your center of balance around and are far more difficult than they look. I had major reconstructive surgery on my ankle and I thought it was getting quite a bit better until I played with this for a while. I realized that all I was doing was shifting more of my weight onto the opposite leg rather than really rehabilitating. These balance games are forcing me to rebalance my weight and build the muscles required for better stability.
Finally it lets you do little body tests every day for weight and body control and tracks that information. The game isn't meant to make you fit. The game is meant to give you motivation to get fit yourself, let you set goals and track them. The little beast is very effective at giving you a solid measure of progress.
I don't think this has anything to do with Nintendo trying to be a "responsible" gaming company. They did it because there was a demand for it and those devices are flying off shelves. I think it is obvious to anyone who has actually played with one of these that you probably haven't seen anything other than some commercials. Also, your S=$ isn't that clever. They are profiting off of a real demand, not some enforced monopoly status like MS. And the S=$ isn't even that clever there.
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I found the boxing in Wii sports to be a light impact cardio work out. Im usually a touch winded after a couple of fights. I wouldnt call it a work out but its a lot more interactive than Mike Tysons Punch Out.
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I will say that sometimes they do miss some important points when they deal with specialized products. I remember once seeing a review of bicyles that included a braking distance rating -- just like for cars. Well, all the bikes in the price range they were testing probably used the same or very similar Japanese component sets on rims of the same alloy. Any remaining difference in stopping distance would be determined by (in order): adjustment, ride
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