Evaluation Essay Wii Fit Exercising can be so monotonous sometimes, and boring! Many people love to exercise, however, for others it seems like it is a tiresome and occasionally painful process. For those who love exercising and who have made it a lifestyle, it takes a lot of hard work and dedication. Nintendo came up with a video game, Wii Fit, which was intended to make exercising fun and interesting targeting those less dedicated individuals. The primary intent of the game was for working out. As such, many gamers', including my son, bought it since they were given the idea that it was just like working out or going for a jog. The game, along with the Balance Board controller, is able to weigh, evaluate the user and guide them through exercises and yoga poses. I do question how it makes the user have a positive experience when, as you first step on the Balance Board for your initial weigh in, and each time you come back and step on the board, it makes a sound like a moan making the user feel as if they are too heavy, as it starts the process of recognizing you and recording your weight. The intent of the game is to keep the user motivated and coming back and I wonder if that sound appropriately reinforces the initial goal. Parts of each game strongly imitate exercise that could also be learned from a good exercise video or book. Wii Fit is a brilliant concept that can keep bringing people back to have fun while they exercise; however, it lacks depth and many features that may only keep it interesting for a short period of time. Factors that make Wii Fit unique is that an individual will find it with the Aerobics and Balance game section and its goal is distracting and entertaining users as it provides a full-body workout. For people like my son, who grew up playing video games, the mixture of exercise and gaming holds the potential of being more interesting to them than a one-hour session of jogging on a treadmill or an intense workout at the gym. Contrarily, I found many of the games available on Wii Fit to lack a great deal of depth. The games are interesting at first and have enough depth to grab an individual’s attention for a given duration, but with time, they become boring and monotonous. For instance, it takes very few play sessions to master virtual ski jumping, walking on a rope, or twirling a Hula Hoop. Therefore, after regular playing or exercising, the games and Balance Board end up having a similar entertainment value as other stationary gym equipment. Consequently, the idea of making exercise interesting would only apply if the games themselves are not repetitive and monotonous. Nintendo has strived to sort this out by developing the Wii Fit Plus as well as developing a variety of games that utilize the Nunchuks and Balance Board controllers of the original Wii Fit. The Wii Fit Plus has the traditional strength and yoga-training sessions present in the original Wii Fit, and provides an option to customize full workouts. Nonetheless, a lot of emphasis is on the fifteen additional games and activities available in the game’s Training Plus segment. These games are intended to reinvent the concept of exercising while having fun. Unfortunately, they did nothing to take away that “moan” as you step onto the board for your daily weigh in and player recognition. Many of the additional games are too simplistic and a user may notice this after the first few attempts. In addition, jogging and cycling games do not focus on reflexes and strategy and instead concentrate on roaming on Wuhu Island. Luckily, there are interesting games such as Perfect 10, which focuses on using hip thrusts to add up sums. There is also Tilt City, which centers on ball-sorting using the Wii Remote and Balance Board controller. These games make Wii Fit worthwhile to individuals who are looking for a more difficult and interesting experience as opposed to the conventional games. Even more, a few mini-games try to make the exercise interesting by introducing rhythm. For example, Rhythm Kung Fu integrates steps that are timed on the Balance Board together with Nunchuk and Wii Remote punches. These games successfully, temporarily, distract a user from the mild workout provided; however, the selection of repetitive, slow rhythms could bore fans who love games that involve faster paced rhythmic movements. Some of the additional games made to work with the Balance Board or Nunchuks controllers require dexterity and strategy in order for them to remain interesting as opposed to being excuses for exercising. In addition, some of the games are not original. Snowball Fight, for example, requires players to shift their body on the board in order to lean around barriers and use the Wii Remote to aim shots, which is similar to other games such as Nacmo’s Time Crisis. For the first few weeks, the games will definitely make your workouts seem entertaining. They are very engaging to the point that one hardly notices sweating. Besides the interesting nature of the games at first, one is left to question whether they will be as captivating in a span of six months to a year. Wii Fit has games that are designed well and are interesting to play, which is evident by the number of people who have purchased it, but the limited number of levels and repetitive challenges restrict long-term appeal. As long as you have a level surface for placing the board, Wii Fit has done a marvelous job giving the games great presentation and excellent control. However, they have left them to languish due to the lack of depth and variety and accuracy. On carpeted surfaces, for example, the board may record the individuals’ weight and scan differently each time causing confusion when trying to log into the game. The concept of the game is brilliant; however, the fitness model needs to be more engaging and original so individuals are more apt to use it for a longer period of time. Wii Fit could benefit from adding features that are more modern-day and are common in game playing such as robust multi-player games, high score charts and tables, more achievement levels and in doing so game designers would extend the fun and entertainment value of this product. Lack of higher level features make Wii Fit seem more like a demonstration on what it could be opposed to a fully-developed game. Wii Fit, Wii Fit Plus and Wii Balance Board still have a place in every home, as long as you understand the constraints of the games and system. Anything that gets individuals up and moving, even for a short period of time, and has positive health benefits, is worthwhile.