Wii Fit
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Wii Fit's yoga demonstrated by comfy person
WiiFolder's Josh Thomas is back again, playing Wii Fit on camera so we can all see what we're missing. And no, he still hasn't bothered to change out of his pajamas. Blogging in jammies is fairly standard procedure, but we think that, as a rule, videoblogging requires pants. It could just be that Josh required comfy, roomy pajama pants for optimal Wii Fit stretching, we guess. It could also be that we've spent too much time talking about this dude's britches and we should start talking about Wii Fit now. Basically, in Wii Fit's yoga program, you're required to hold one of 15 poses to a pretty severe degree of precision (indicated by a dot inside a circle) for 30 seconds. It looks really damn hard. We anticipate busting our faces on the Balance Board within hours. Or getting an awesome workout.[Via GoNintendo]
GT5 Prologue scores third place in Japanese charts
You know times have changed when the top three spots in Japan's software sales chart are no longer occupied by traditional fare, but rather a miasma of Mario mini-games, a balancercise board and a glorified automotive demo. Gamasutra runs down last week's top ten, highlighting Polyphony Digital's Gran Turismo 5 Prologue which made its debut in third position with approximately 116,000 units sold. Professor Layton bully, Wii Fit, found itself parking off in second position with 124,000 units after having switched places with Mario Party DS and its 180,000 attendees. Nintendo proved the overall wii-ner, with six first-party titles accounted for in the chart -- in fact, Gran Turismo 5 Prologue was the only game not to be found on the Wii or DS. The two systems are expected to enjoy continued good fortune in the hardware sales chart due for release tomorrow.%Gallery-4884%
Another week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 12/10-12/16
It's that time of the week again when we find out how the Wii and its games sold in Japan. While we really have no need to be worried about the hardware, certain unconfirmed numbers earlier this week did raise concerns about third-party software sales. So, how did the fair Wii fare in the land of the rising sun this week? Regarding hardware sales, the Wii just barely eked out in front of the PSP to take second place with 168,000 units sold, jumping up over 50,000 units from last week. As for the software, there's some good and bad news. Check after the break to see the numbers.
Wii Warm Up: Will you get fit?
We're getting closer to "early 2008," which means it's almost time for Wii Fit. Are you squirreling money away for the fitness program and balance board, or are you waiting? Time has dulled our excitement a little; after all, we've had a few months to get used to the idea, though once it gets closer to release, we may perk up again and start bouncing on our toes (or balancing, in preparation). Are you similarly on the fence, or have you made up your mind one way or another?I personally think it may be a fun (and quiet) way to help shed that baby weight in the coming months, but since I can't see my feet at the moment, we'll have to see how things go when we get there!
Anti-skid pads for your grandparents' Balance Board
Just like at the bottom of her bathtub, she's now got some anti-slip pads she can toss down on her Balance Board. And, we know for certain that falling down while in the shower makes up over 67.629% of senior citizen mortalities* in the United States. Considering how popular the Wii is and how popular Wii Fit is (and is certain to be over here), this accessory is bound to save many lives.*We only can be expected to research information regarding video games. Everything else we'll probably make up.[Via Go Nintendo]
Make like Pel with Wii Fit soccer
Soccer is the world's most popular sport, and we can see why -- in what other sport do a line of hydrocephalitic kids take turns throwing balls, shoes, and panda heads at your dome piece? We're just happy that the soccer mini-game included in the Wii Fit bundle is faithful to the sport, panda head dodgery and all.However, we are somewhat concerned about the terrible score of the player in this video -- is this another example of game previewers being bad at their own games? Or is the balance board not as accurate as some gameplay videos make it look? We'll just have to find out when the chubbiness informer comes stateside early next year.
Fit for public display
1UP got their hands (feet?) on a copy of Wii Fit and immediately set to playing with it making some informative videos to help us understand the game. More than the fitness aspect of the game, we like the idea of a unique interface for some arcade-style challenges (unique interfaces being one of the reasons we're, you know, Wii Fanboys). The first three videos (including the one at the top of the post) show off some of the minigames that can be found inside the package, and we think the marble-rolling game looks awesome. Basically, in this game, your whole body becomes a joystick, tilting the platforms around with your awkward wobbles.The fourth video is a discussion about the game by the 1UP staffers who got up on the Bumble Board and played with it. The consensus seems to be that the minigames are both more enjoyable and more physically taxing than the pure exercise stuff, which is fine with us. Given the choice, we'd rather be playing the fun parts.
Wii Fit step, step, steps its way atop Japanese charts
Brawn has finally triumphed over its nerdy nemesis brain, with Nintendo's balancercise board bullying Professor Layton away from the top spot in the Japanese software sales chart. In its second week, Wii Fit sold 150,000 units at retail, making for a grand total of approximately 411,000. Less easy to calculate: the amount of damage Japanese exergamers have incurred while knocking things over in their teeny tiny apartments. Another notable entry in last week's chart is Hironobu Sakaguchi's post-Final Fantasy Xbox 360 epic, Lost Odyssey. It debuted in seventh position with 55,000, a number pointed out by Gamasutra to be over 25,000 less than Blue Dragon's opening week last year. Though the JRPG still fared much better than most Xbox 360 games (what with it actually breaking into the top ten), even Assassin's Creed managed a modest 41,000 units during its first week.
Nintendo dominates Japan, makes money doing it
The Japanese sales numbers for the week ending 12/9 are in (via Famitsu), and there are some pretty notable things to point out regarding Wii sales: Wii Fit unsurprisingly takes the top spot, after impressively debuting at #2 in last week's charts Wii hardware sales continue to rise, as the system pushed 110,000 units for the week Super Mario Galaxy hit the 500,000 mark in Japan, showing that the game has legs All of these are good developments for Nintendo, we reckon, and keep in mind that we haven't even mentioned DS sales. The nitty gritty of the numbers and charts are listed, for your viewing pleasure, after the break.
Wii Fit gameplay makes us sweat just watching it
Josh from WiiFolder.com took the time show us his large HDTV some Wii Fit games in action, and we have to say, the game looks promising.A few of the games definitely won't help you drop those love handles (at least we don't think so, but since we got A's in gym class so you can pretty much count that as an expert opinion). Nonetheless, they still look fun, and we're glad we won't have to go to the zoo anymore to get our "kicking Panda heads" fix.
Professor Layton spoils Wii Fit debut
Even the allure of a balancing beam sim couldn't keep Japanese gamers from gobbling up another helping of brain benders carefully wrapped in an adorable adventure starring Professor Layton. Layton Kyouju to Akuma no Hako (call it 'Professor Layton and Pandora's Box'), the second installment in Level 5's self-published trilogy for DS, topped weekly Japanese software sales, selling an estimated 294,000 units in the face of Wii Fit -- not that Nintendo's latest outside-the-box concept didn't attract strong sales. Reports of long lines and retail sellouts have been confirmed by Wii Fit sales figures: an estimated 261,000 units, supporting a combined weight of nearly 40,000 tons. Just below the top two earners, Namco Bandai's strategy game SD Gundam G Generation Spirits accounted for an estimated 252,000 copies in its first week proving PS2 still has legs, while Square Enix's Dragon Quest IV remake for DS continued another impressive week of sales with an estimated 135,000 units sold. The Xbox 360 version of Assassin's Creed even made an impression, moving a modest 41,000 units to become the eighth best-selling title of the week. Next week: Lost Odyssey takes a crack at the charts.
Wii Fit jogs to the top of Japanese sales charts in first week
We were waiting for Japanese sales numbers to be released to see how Wii Fit debuted, and they have finally come. Famitsu is reporting that Wii Fit ended the week at the #2 spot (behind Professor Layton 2 for the DS) in software sales, with 254,000 copies sold. Keep in mind also that since Wii Fit was released later in the week, these numbers only account for two days of the game being available (most games on the Japanese charts account for four days of sales). It's also interesting to note that in two days, Wii Fit has already sold more than Super Mario Galaxy sold in its first week. Furthermore, Wii hardware sales jumped up this week, as the console pushed 71,000 units. That's approximately a 30% increase from last week's sales, and a 97% increase from two weeks ago when the Wii sold 36,000 units. Although software clearly played a big part in this growth, it seems likely that Nintendo also made sure to ship more Wiis to Japan with the release of Wii Fit. [Via NeoGAF]
Japanese release of Wii Fit met by loooong queues
We may still lack solid numerical data when it comes to Japanese sales of Wii Fit, but all the early signs have been pointing to Nintendo scoring another major non-game hit.The scene to the right, for example, shows a queue of soon-to-be Wii Fit owners, patiently lining up in Akihibara. As the pictures after the jump and at the link below illustrate, this is far from a one-off; Wii Fit is shaping up to be big, in a way that poor old Super Mario Galaxy wasn't.Barring shortages of the Balance Board, or another miraculous performance from Dragon Quest IV (not that that should be completely ruled out), expect Wii Fit to be hogging top spot in Japan next week.
Nintendo's Wii Fit unboxed
Our bosom buddies over at Engadget Japanese got ahold of Nintendo's new Wii Fit and ran through the unboxing ritual for our sake -- they're all too busy burning the carbs to bother with such nonsense otherwise. Nothing much to see in the box, but we're sure you'd rather get started on some yoga than play with a bunch of doodads anyways. %Gallery-11268%
Wii Fit stretches its legs today in Japan
While American gamers still have some more time to wait before making themselves into contorted, balance-challenged fools, Japanese Wii owners can now pick up a copy of Wii Fit and stretch their way to reportedly fitter lifestyles (although deviance has been proven to work).The game's official street date isn't until tomorrow, but that isn't stopping a handful of prominent online retailers from already accepting orders (that surely won't arrive until after tomorrow). U.S. gamers who don't feel like dealing with the hassle of importing will have to wait until early 2008 for their copy of Wii Fit. [Via Engadget, Wii News]Read - Buy at Play-AsiaRead - Buy at Amazon JapanRead - Buy at Success-HK
Japan preorders 300,000 Wii Fit, printing of money to surely follow
As we type, the world's crazy time differences mean that Wii Fit has been available in Japan for, ooh, a few hours at least. How will it fare? We don't know for sure, and as our closest friend isn't a De Lorean-owning, wavy-haired scientist, the best we can offer is a guess. That said, the 300,000 preorders reportedly taken by Japanese retailers prior to the game's release tell us that Nintendo has probably just conjured up another mass appeal mega-hit. If all of those preorders are honored, that would also make Wii Fit a bigger opening week success than a certain other title, but we won't dwell on that, as it's proven a touchy subject recently. Check back with us next week for the full lowdown on precisely how many Japanese people are precariously poised on their Balance Boards. [Via The Tanooki]
Wii Fit hits Japan today, America's still fat
Doesn't Nintendo know we've got a bit of a weight problem going on over here Stateside? The company just released its highly-anticipated Wii Fit in Japan today, which will most likely sell like gangbusters, while simultaneously symbolizing the death of the hardcore gamer in Nintendo land to a small portion of the faithful not completely won over by Miyamoto's latest charming contraption. Unfortunately, the Wii Fit won't be crossing any oceans until early next year. Nintendo's official Japan street date for Wii Fit was December 1st, but it seems that at least a few online shops are disregarding that pesky fact.[Via Wii News]Read - Buy at Play-AsiaRead - Buy at Amazon JapanRead - Buy at Success-HK
Reggie on TV listings channel, development costs and shortages
Speaking at the Dow Jones Consumer Technology Innovations Conference, Reggie Fils-Aime talked about some upcoming Wii-related topics, including things other than how great Wii Fit will be. He discussed Japan's new TV Program Schedule Channel briefly, but only to mention that there are no plans for a U.S. release of such a service. Then, to answer the question proposed in the CNet article's title "Will the Wii be a set-top box?": no. Look to something like the Xbox 360, with which you can already purchase TV shows and movies, for something like that. The TV Program Schedule Channel is a neat convenience designed to get people messing with the Wiimote. Reggie mentioned that future channels "... may look like games. They may not look like games." Other topics included Wii and DS development costs, which are obviously lower in comparison to other systems', meaning that a game can sell fewer copies and still make a profit. For Nintendo, of course, who is aiming at the biggest mass-market audience they can, this doesn't necessarily mean experimentation, but ridiculous profits. He also went on to talk about shortages, calling them "missed opportunities".He also talked about how great Wii Fit will be.[Via NeoGAF]
Everybody's Nintendo Channel videos
We might not be able to try out Everybody's Nintendo Channel just yet -- not while it's only available to Japanese Wiis -- but we can live vicariously through Chris Kohler's video walkthrough with his Japanese console. The Wired blogger takes us through the streaming movies, showing off the picture-in-picture feature with which you can keep a video playing while browsing through other trailers and commercials.Chris then goes on to detail the several different ways you can look up information and suggestions on "every game coming out for any Nintendo system in Japan." Of course, there's also a demonstration on the new channel's most anticipated feature -- downloading game demos to your Nintendo DS. The clip cuts off abruptly just after the Tamagotchi code makes it to his handheld, but are you really that anxious to see how Tamagotchi Connection: Corner Shop 3 plays? WiiFolder also has some direct-screen footage if you're interested in seeing the channel downloaded and hearing its music. Check it out past the break!
Friday Video: Wii Fit in demos
GameTrailers has a ridiculous number of Wii Fit trailers and demos up right now. While they're all in Japanese, the videos still offer a great (if sedate) look at the fitness trainer and its different uses. We've put one up here in our weekly video spotlight, but if you have the urge to watch more, you'll have to head over there. We're not kidding when we say there's a lot.%Gallery-4745%
