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Tae Bo inventor appearing in Wii exercise game
Billy Blanks, former action star and Tae Bo exercise video baron, will star in a new Japanese Wii exercise game. Billy's Boot Camp: Wii de Enjoy Diet! will feature Billy working out alongside your Miis, and will support the Balance Board in addition to multiple Wiimotes. It's not entirely random to have Blanks appearing in a Japanese release: 1UP notes that the fitness trainer lives in Osaka now and appears frequently on Japanese television. If your life has a Blanks-shaped hole in it that can only be filled by this game, take heart: Ubisoft localized the last game in this series, Shape Boxing: Wii de Enjoy Diet, with a Gold's Gym license. There's hope for Billy.
Get juiced for Ubisoft's 'Gold's Gym: Cardio Workout' on the Wii
YES! CARDIO BOXING ON THE WII! FROM UBISOFT AND GOLD'S GYM, YEAAAHHHH! AWESOME! Sorry, we were just doing our best to get your heart rate up. Consider it a free cardio workout from Joystiq, because Joystiq Cares™ about your health!Ubisoft announced a partnership with Gold's Gym to market the new Wii exercise game Gold's Gym: Cardio Workout, due out March 31. The Balance Board-compatible game includes "cardio boxing, running, sit-ups and other activities" as well as calorie and weight tracking. The new game will include a coupon for one week at Gold's Gym, and in turn, Gold's locations will feature advertising for the game.Wii nerds (like us) may remember developer Rocket Company's Japanese release Shape Boxing Wii de Enjoy Diet, which featured cardio boxing-based exercises and a few wacky minigames. Screenshots of Cardio Boxing (via Amazon) reveal it to be a localized version of that game. We have yet to determine whether the bear-punching minigame is still present. We can only hope.%Gallery-45866%
Punch your way to fitness in Shape Boxing Wii de Enjoy Diet
Despite its toony appearance, Shape Boxing Wii de Enjoy Diet regards itself more seriously than the boxing in Wii Sports. There are no Miis to be found here, more technical details (such as different boxing stances) are taken into consideration across the title's 28 lessons, and the game will dole out nutritional advice in a bid to get/keep you toned. Less seriously, you can punch bears, which we don't recall seeing in Rocky IV. Anyway, the overall vibe seems to be self-improvement.This releases in Japan on October 30th, and will use the Balance Board in some way. We're betting it could actually improve your fitness, based on the fact that we were wheezing, crimson-faced wrecks after one and a half minutes of Wii Sports boxing.%Gallery-31258%[Via Siliconera]
Wii Exercise now a complement to Wii Fit
Rocket Company's Wii Exercise was risible when it was clearly an attempt to compete with Wii Fit with no Balance Board and no Nintendo name on the front. One alteration to the game design has changed the game from ridiculous to, well, actually pretty smart (maybe): it uses the Balance Board.In addition to the boxing and aerobics activities previously announced, Wii Exercise will make use of the board for exercises like squats, sit ups, and push ups. Now, there must be more to it, or more exercises available or something, because Wii Fit does those. If it just uses the Wii Fit peripheral (which 100% of the people who would have the Balance Board would already have) for exercises that Wii Fit does, that's dumb. But if it includes additional Balance Board training, supporting the Balance Board means that Wii Exercise is no longer a competitor to Wii Fit.
Curling for the DS
Finally, something to play in the middle of the night when insomnia makes everything a little wiggly around the edges! At least, that's when we watch curling at the Olympics -- but maybe that's only because that's the only time it's aired in the U.S.All jibes aside, curling is a very serious game with a huge worldwide following, and since it is so intense on the strategy side (rather than on the heart-pumping-action side of things), it'll likely fit the DS like a glove.Curling DS will hit the ice in Japan this November. If the game is in any way a hit, we wouldn't be at all surprised to see it released on the Wii as well.
