Miyamoto: Wii Fit is Not Designed to Make You Fit

[The Teej]

Miyamoto: Wii Fit is Not Designed to Make You Fit

Shigeru Miyamoto was recently interviewed by Nintendo President Satoru Iwata about the Wii Fit project. Miyamoto revealed among others things that Wii Fit actually isn't supposed to make you fit.

In the newest "Iwata Asks" column on Wii.com, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata interviews Nintendo's legendary designer Shigeru Miyamoto about his inspiration for designing Wii Fit and how the unique project came together.

While the application initially was inspired by Miyamoto's own obsession with his weight (he actually enjoyed tracking it with charts), eventually the decision was made to turn the balance board into much more than a glorified scale.

"I just thought having relationships like that within the family would be ideal. I know this may sound a bit extreme, but measuring your weight is fun, and there are ways to keep fit when thinking along those lines," Miyamoto said. "Though we were trying to move in that direction, we couldn't decide on what the next step would be and work came to a virtual standstill ? until, that is, a staff member bought two scales, and found that it was pretty good fun to step on both of them at once and try to balance on them evenly. At that point, I asked the programmer to connect two scales to a computer and set it up so that your balance would be displayed on-screen numerically in a way that would be understandable even at a glance. When we did so, we decided to attempt to make measuring one's balance a theme for the software. We were sure there were methods of keeping fit involving balance, and when we looked into it, they did indeed exist."

He continued, "I thought this project perfectly suited the Wii concept of involving the whole family. That's why I felt it was my mission to make it into a full-blown product somehow, and went to all the necessary lengths to eliminate the negative elements connected with it. However, just when development got underway, the scale manufacturers we had talks with didn't show much interest in the idea. We subsequently decided that we'd just have to go ahead and make it ourselves, fully aware that if we just made it like an ordinary scale you could buy anywhere, it'd be just plain boring. That's when, after a process of trial and error, we settled on the idea of making it so that you could balance on four points: front, back, left and right, and this in turn lead us to the idea that we could also use it as an interface for a game. While we were busy working on that, the Wii Balance Board gradually took a form that was more than just an ordinary scale."

Interestingly, although many in the mainstream have talked about the benefits of "exercise" on the Wii, later on in the interview Miyamoto confessed that he doesn't believe the real purpose of Wii Fit is to make you fit.

"I forgot to mention something important earlier: I don't think Wii Fit's purpose is to make you fit; what it's actually aiming to do is make you aware of your body," he said. "That's why we wanted people to talk with their families about Wii Fit, and become aware of these things together as a group. If you're standing still, and it tells you "Your body is swaying", you can see on the training results screen that your body has been shaking. But I think you'd never realize that your body is shaking in day-to-day life. I think becoming aware of things like this about yourself is quite interesting."Source:b> Game Daily

Sure, sell a million in Japan and THEN say that, honestly:rolleyes:s:

[Lt-DavidW]

Playing video games is a bad way to keep fit.

[-Vivicidal-]

Playing video games is a bad way to keep fit.

So true....

[XerXis]

no **** sherlock

[Mathachew Veteran]

Playing video games is a bad way to keep fit.

+2

[hotdog666al]

... "No ****" ?

XD

[Andrew Lyle Global Moderator]

Playing video games is a bad way to keep fit.

+3

Who would think that playing Wii would keep you fit? It just keeps you more active then normal

[PermaSt0ne]

the first thing I thought of when i heard the name was that the game was supposed to make you think about fitness, not make you fit

i dont' think anybody really thought it's supposed to make you fit

[MightyJordan]

A bit bloody obvious, eh? You can't get fit from standing on a board. True, games are a bad way to get fit, unless you're a hardcore DDR player, in which case, go nuts!!!

I bet someone sues Nintendo for "false advertising" when Wii Fit hits outside of Japan.

[Liquidfox]

Don't you mean when it hits the US? ;)

[SnowRanger13]

What about the guy I know that lost 25 pounds by playing DDR all the time.. lol

No doubt some games have more physical activity then others.

[MightyJordan]

Don't you mean when it hits the US? ;)

Exactly!!! ;)

To quote Don King, *don king voice*"Only in America".*/don king voice*

[oldaccount1]

^agree with cloudstrife. ddr is a great example of a video game that, when used regularly, can get/keep some people fit.

[TheDreamX]

I know the Wii itself was never intended as a source of getting fit, but isn't the included "game" with Wii Fit an exercising trainer? Isn't it supposed to be used just like a stepping board? I'm very confused.

[night_stalker_z]

Playing video games is a bad way to keep fit.

+4

[_neutrino Veteran]

i would have to say that there are a few game that you can actually play to keep fit. you can get in rather great shape from playing DDR for at least 1 (one) hour each day just make sure that you are not playing the crappy easy step here step there songs and something that has a lot of moving around and a rather quick pace and then you will be burning fat soon.

[goji]

"... I don't think Wii Fit's purpose is to make you fit; its to make you aware of how awesome I am. Now give me all your money."

The corrected quote.

[RPDL]

I'm glad Miyamoto has made this statement. It's annoying when news reporters say "Shocking news! The Wii doesn't make you fit according to our research! ITS A LIE!!!". Now that he is blunt about it, idiots wont go around debating the subject.

[Alan-]

Heh, the common excuse to buy a Wii: It helps me stay active!

So hearing this, other stories, and knowing 2 people at my school who are hardcore Wii players and not in the best of shape, I think it's safe to say not only is it not designed to make you fit, but it won't ever get you fit. Not even in 1,000,000 years, seriously. Don't even try.

Edited February 16, 2008 by MrEggsalad

[Nicholas-c Veteran]

+3

Who would think that playing Wii would keep you fit? It just keeps you more active then normal

well the argument most people i know for owning the wii is "it keeps me fit" lol

[spy beef]

I lost 40 lbs playing with my wii. It's quite exhausting, and my arm is always sore.

[Gamerhomie]

I lost 40 lbs playing with my wii. It's quite exhausting, and my arm is always sore.

You may want to switch to the other arm.

:D

[dead.cell]

Everybody knows you got to have a weighted controller if you REALLY want to get built.

/flex

[Swordnyx]

The only thing this **** is designed to do is to make money for Nintendo and steal money from you.

[Gilly]

The only thing this **** is designed to do is to make money for Nintendo and steal money from you.

Umm, you buy the product in the first place. Nobody's stealing anything :s

And this is an example of what I call "No **** News".