Monday, 26 October 2009

• UK Department of Health OK's Wii Fit Plus

   
  

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  Wii Fit has been a major seller in Japan, the United States, and Europe, but some have thought the potential for Nintendo's motion capture technologies as means for a serious exercise program were dubious. According to BBC News, though, with the release of Wii Fit Plus, the United Kingdom's Department of Health is on board with the concept of video games as a way to fight a sedentary lifestyle, and the game is the first computer or video game to receive a seal of approval from the Department.
  
  As a result, promotions of the game and advertisements will tie in with Change4Life, an initiative of the National Health Service designed to promote healthier eating and snacking as well as a minimum of 60 minutes of exercise for kids daily. In the BBC article, a spokeswoman for the Department of Health was quoted thusly, "Active video games, where kids need to jump up and down or dance about as part of the game, are a great way to get kids moving more. Little bits of activity like this throughout the day can easily add up to the 60 active minutes kids need."
  
  What would seem to make Wii Fit Plus the game to endorse rather than its previous incarnation would be the greater number of exercises and balance mini-games to choose from and the game's adoption of set routines to target specific problematic areas of the body. In addition, the inclusion of a calorie counter with nutritional information on certain foods and calculated calorie-burning goals necessarily addresses the need to diet along with the exercise.
  
  In short, Wii Fit Plus is more focused than its predecessor, and yet still offers enough customizability and wacky fun to engage kids as well as body-conscious teens and younger adults. I mean, what gym do you know that will allow you to don a chicken suit and fly from target to target? Wii Fit Plus: kid-tested, government-run-health-organization-approved.
  
  What do you make of Wii Fit Plus being approved by the UK government? Does news like this make you more enthusiastic about playing or purchasing the game?
  
  

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