Miyamoto: "Wii Fit is a video game"

Author: Joe Martin
Published: 18th April 2008

Wii Fit may offer some fun ways to get fit, but we definitely wouldn't call it a game.

Our office copy of Nintendo's Wii Fit plopped into the office early yesterday, but it wasn't until that evening that I managed to get it back to my flat for some alone time with the new Nintendo balance board. One thing though was immediately obvious; Wii Fit is definitely not a video game.

The 'game' uses a new Nintendo peripheral, the balance board, to detect movements in weight and force as the player stands on it, allowing the Nintendo Wii a whole host of new abilities - just think of the potential for a Tony Hawks game!

For the launch title though, Nintendo has gone for something a little tamer than Pro Skater, but with more of a mass appeal - a fitness program. The program guides players through fitness exercises and yoga positions after measuring height, age, weight and BMI - and if that doesn't sound like much of a fun game then you'd be right because, while the program definitely has it's place, it lacks enough explosions for us to qualify it as a game though.

Shigeru Miyamoto, Nintendo boss-man, though disagrees. In an interview with MTV, the current Lord of The Living Room said he definitely would describe Wii Fit as a game.

"Well, yes, in my mind, I would say it is a video game," said Miyamoto.

Us though? We think it's definitely more of a simulation than a game, but you can catch our full thoughts in a few days in a full review. Until then, why not head to the forums and figure out why nobody else has done something like this with consoles before?