By any measure the Nintendo Wii was the runaway success story of 2007. In the
run-up to Christmas, queues formed outside shops as parents fought to get
their hands on one and Nintendo brought in extra machines from Europe to
cope with demand.
Now the company is hoping to cash in on the phenomenal success by launching an
accessory that it claims makes games even more enjoyable. The Wii Fit costs
£70 and is launched next month, but we have managed to get a device flown
over from Japan for an exclusive test (see below). It uses a
pressure-sensitive balance board (about twice the size of bathroom scales),
which the user can stand on and control game play by changing position and
redistributing his or her weight. It automatically and wirelessly connects
to the Wii console, and is sensitive to the slightest movements. One minute
you may be attempting yoga poses such as the “sun salutation”, the next you
might be slaloming down a virtual mountain or trying simultaneously to keep
up three digital hula hoops. It even turns itself off.
Video games have had a bad press of late. Lumped with a junk food diet and
lack of exercise they are seen as contributors to the nation’s growing
obesity problem, not to mention the claim that some of the ultraviolent
games encourage violence in the players.
Instead of slumping on the sofa, Wii players have to stand up and use wireless
controllers to simulate sports such as bowling and tennis. A recent study by
Liverpool John Moores University found that teenagers playing Wii games
burnt over 50% more calories than when playing sedentary games. Add that up
over a 12-hour gaming week and they’ll be burning nearly 2,000 extra
calories.
The Wii Fit takes this further: it can sense how you’re standing and moving by
measuring your balance point – and the better you do, the more exercises and
games you will unlock. The supplied mini-games involving ski jumps, football
headers and tightrope walking are great fun, albeit basic, and provide a
muscular workout. “Traditionally, exercise has been seen as a solitary and
boring activity,” says Robert Saunders, a Nintendo spokesman. “Wii Fit can
change that. You get direct and instant feedback, and a lot more
interactivity than with exercise DVDs.”
However, the games giant is keen to distance itself from any health claims.
“We’re not saying that it will help you to shed tens of pounds or provide
the solution to any health problems you might have,” says Saunders. And even
the university research, which was funded by Nintendo, concluded that simply
playing the Wii was not strenuous enough to count towards the government’s
recommended amount of exercise for children of one hour every day.
Just as games makers are starting to bring sport into the living room, other
companies are trying to computerise the playground. Progressive Sports
Technologies, a spin-off company from Loughborough University, has developed
the world’s first digital climbing frame, the i.play. The solar-powered
i.play features interactive buttons, dials and knobs, together with an
electronic scoreboard. When children wander past, a motion-activated voice
calls them over to play energetic games that develop their speed, dexterity
and stamina. Like a games console, the i.play offers multiple levels of
difficulty, and children can track their scores on its built-in screen or
view them in online leagues.
“Stealth exercise is at the heart of i.play technology,” says Professor Mike
Caine, the co-inventor of i.play. “If you make play equipment interesting
enough, children will push the boundaries of their abilities in the same way
they do with computer gaming, as they are so focused on improving their
score. This distracts children from the discomfort of high-intensity
exercise, making them more likely to exercise for longer or harder, which in
turn maximises the health benefits.”
Its effect in the playground has been dramatic, according to Gary Smith, head
teacher of Market Field special needs school near Colchester, the first
school to install an i.play. “It creates a totally different dynamic. It
gets the kids doing things without them realising it: moving, stretching and
bending. It also teaches them cooperative play. We’ve got year 11 pupils
helping the younger ones to use it – it’s totally self-supervising.”
At £24,000 a pop, the i.play would buy an awful lot of rounders bats and
footballs, admits Smith. “It is a costly piece of equipment but I believe
that special needs children should have the best. And because of its
competitive element, the i.play has longevity as well as novelty. I don’t
think it replaces traditional playground activities and I wouldn’t want it
to.”
But the continuing digitisation of fitness seems inevitable. Nintendo Wiis are
selling out, i.plays are appearing in schools and high-tech interactive gym
equipment is starting to find its way into homes.
Trixter Europe recently launched an exercise bike that means keen spinners
might never want to venture onto crowded, fume-choked real streets again.
The X-Dream (£7,000 from Harrods) combines a static mountain bike chassis with
a 17in monitor showing realistic bike races. You can tackle
computer-generated trails over mountains, through forests or just along
wonderfully car-free roads. The courses get steadily more challenging and
you can link together up to six X-Dreams for the ultimate cycling showdown.
Bend me, shape me, any way you want me
I’m dubious. Very dubious. The sleek white Nintendo Wii Fit balance board in
front of my TV screen looks a little intimidating. I’m not a computer-game
girl and virtual yoga seems an odd concept. And as a yoga teacher, it might
even be good enough to put me out of a job.
At least the Wii Fit is easy to use. Children, technophobes and drunken
students will find it startlingly straightforward (yes, even I managed it
without a hitch). A bendy virtual yoga teacher (male or female, take your
pick) explains each posture (or asana) in detail to a background of tinkly
Zen music. Most postures involve standing on the board with one or both
feet, or occasionally placing your hands on it.
The program starts with a series of beginner postures. Practising these
unlocks increasingly advanced exercises, so a total novice can’t attempt a
shoulderstand and end up groaning on the floor. Nearly all of the first
postures are suitable for beginners, although a couple would be better
placed further along in the program. The postures include standing balances,
where Wii technology comes into its own. In “tree” balance, a circle on the
screen shows how your weight is distributed; the more you wobble, the more
erratic the pattern. Focusing on the screen holds your gaze and allows you
to concentrate on the task in hand – both fundamental aspects of yoga.
In a standing forward bend, the board showed which leg held more body weight
(a significant imbalance can lead to back problems and other aches) and
helped me remain stable as my head moved towards my shins. This was
excellent for improving general body awareness and correcting postural
imbalance. However, in “downward-facing dog”, with my feet on the ground and
hands on the Wii board, I felt very unstable, fearful of my hands slipping
forward and unable to look at the screen without straining my neck. Earning
a score for every posture isn’t exactly a yogic concept. Yoga is not a
sport; it encourages students to work in an uncompetitive way and be
physically and mentally content with wherever they are.
As a beginner’s guide, or to attract new people to yoga, I can’t knock it. Wii
Fit yoga is a well thought-out, safe program with detailed instructions that
encourage body awareness. But all the stopping and starting affected the
flow of sequences, which is an important part of many yoga styles, and the
lack of variety felt tedious. It also failed to offer an overall yoga class
– there are no warm-ups, few dynamic movements working with the breath and
no final relaxation. Yoga needs only floor space and some stretchy trousers,
so Wii yoga just overcomplicates a simple system that has worked fine by
itself for the past 2,000 years.
Janine Thomas
