Project Manager K. Thor Jensen and Content and Community Manager Naomi Clark recently discussed Nintendo's new Wii title, Wii Fit.

One of Nintendo's most controversial E3 announcements was "Wii Fit," a combination of fitness-themed minigames played with a new controller; a balance board that players stand on and interact with by shifting their weight. Thor thinks it's going to be another massive hit, while Naomi is skeptical. They discussed the matter in a friendly point / counterpoint.

Thor:
"I think, prior to the Wii's release, nobody knew exactly what to make of Nintendo's strategy. From a very gamer-centric pre-release hype (REVOLUTION, screenshots of Zelda and Red Steel and the like) to a near-180 into the "gadget" market upon release (Wii Sports, etc), the company seems to be trying to distance itself as much as it can from the traditional perspective of games. And it worked! There's Wii Tennis tournaments at hipster bars in Williamsburg. Old people are playing Wii Bowling at nursing homes. The console has achieved a level of penetration both market-wise and cultural to the point that my Mom wants one. And these people prioritize differently than gamers do - look at the success of Brain Age. The implied message of self-improvement through 'exercise' on a game system made that a mammoth hit both here and in Japan."

Naomi:
"For every amazing idea that Nintendo has that sweeps the masses into paroxysms of enjoyment and purchasing, they have one amazing idea that nobody gets that into, and two ideas that are only popular in Japan. I spent chunks of my childhood growing up there, and I have a pretty good sense of what kinds of imports do and don't work. Power Rangers? I called it when I was six! Dragonball? Check. Japanese consumers are happy to buy weird little gadgets that you promise will help them stay fit. American consumers have never managed to buy very many extra peripherals for anything; the Wiimote has made it into a ton of homes because it's part of a console, and games like DDR or Guitar Hero have their followings, especially because they're music games.

Wii Fit is continuing this very Japan-centric trend of 'lifestyle accessories' and 'lifestyle software' for the Wii and the DS that's all about strengthening their stronghold there, but I don't think it'll catch on like Wii Sports did. I have no problem believing that 80% of America will eventually be playing virtual golf, bowling and tennis. I don't think the same entertainment - living - room - sports mindset extends to push-ups, yoga, step aerobics, and a general 'fitness' theme. The coolest thing about the Wii Balance Board is its ability to tell when you're shifting your weight, and the little balancing games are much cuter than the lobotomized version of DDR they're showing, but I would be very unsurprised if it turns out to be just as difficult to predict and develop for as the Wii's gyroscopes. Early adopters will buy this in Japan, a few people will buy it here, but it's going in the Museum of Spurious Console Peripherals, not on the best-sellers list. My prediction for a Japanese import that's really going to hit it big here in the next few years: Washlet."

Thor:
"What's Washlet, a peripheral that tells if you washed your armpits? I understand that the 'lifestyle software' trend is birthed in Japan and may seem Japan-centric, but the unexpected side effect of that movement is that it's working here and it's working elsewhere. Game stores in the UK have specialized displays for the 'Touch Generation' series of titles like Brain Age and Nintendogs. If you check the Amazon software sales charts those games and their derivatives are steadily at the top of the heap. And Dance Dance Revolution (as an example of another game with a cumbersome peripheral that requires significant body motion) is known enough that TV shows riff off of it. I'm sure it will be difficult to develop for, but how many developers make new games for the DDR mat? The people who bought a Wii in the mainstream bought it for Wii Sports, they bought it for the experience, not the software library.

Nintendo isn't working from the mindset of creating a new consumer base for Zelda and Metroid - they already have that. They're working on creating a new consumer base for products like these - products that aren't games but use gamelike methodologies to serve recreational needs, sometimes with an element of self-improvement. And this market is the market that has sold out Wiis for months on end. I can see the Wii having its share of failed peripherals, most certainly - steering wheels, zapper guns and R.O.B.s litter the roadside of history. But I think this one will work specifically because they're tapping into this 'play as self-improvement' market in an easy, open, and simple way. As simple as the Wii remote is to understand, the balance board looks even more so, and that's why it's going to work."

Naomi: "Thor, you can do better than comparing this fitness-lifestyle faddishness to a genuine rhythm-action game like Dance Dance Revolution! I'm sure the developers of Wii Fit put their hearts and souls into it, especially if Satoru Iwata told them they had to get it done in three months, which he's apparently fond of doing lately. But the reason DDR was so successful is that it's a genuinely fun, kinetic game that has amazing design and strategy built into it from the level of individual songs on up. It was clearly not a gimmick from Day 1, and I don't think the same can be said about watching an avatar do push-ups while you're doing push-ups. Nintendo doesn't have to convince me that the Wii is taking off because it's easy to pick up and play, because it has activity that gets people off the couch and using their bodies, not just their geek-brains.

But I also don't believe that has much if anything to do with people's desire to exercise or self-improve. Americans don't generally like to exercise, or had you not been paying attention to some of our national health epidemics? The ones that do are also the ones who are the most likely to look at you like you're crazy if you suggest that they fork over cash to do yoga in their living rooms while standing on a plastic box that causes a 3D person to do a yoga pose too. The Wii is selling like hotcakes for the same reason that game products generally do: because it's fun, and fun in a new way; the pull-quotes about more active kinds of gaming are an extra selling point because they help convince moms that there's a benefit to getting Junior what he was begging for for Christmas.

People who really want to exercise aren't going to buy this; nerds who need to aren't going to be seduced by it in the same way that they were drawn into exercise by the addictive challenge of rhythm action games and swinging Link's sword; and I just don't see enough kid appeal here to draw the families in. If this wasn't a peripheral, and therefore a harder sell, it might be a different story. Oh, and google Washlet, already! You'll be glad you did, and so will your butt."

With that, the participants set off to settle their arguments the Gamelab way: by facing off, head to head, at a game selected by the rest of the staff. Fitting the theme of the discussion, the game was Dance Dance Revolution. Thor played with the dance mat controller while Naomi played using a standard PlayStation 2 Dual Shock controller. The contest was best two out of three songs, decided by total score.

Naomi won the first round, but Thor rallied to win the second two. Interestingly, Thor scored far more "Perfect" steps using the dance mat than Naomi, but Naomi missed fewer steps total. The foot-based controller offered more rhythmic accuracy while the standard controller boasted more precision. Will this contest serve to illuminate the advantages of the Wii Fit controller? We'll see when it's released early next year.

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By Naomi Clark, Content and Community Manager and K. Thor Jensen, Project Manager.