Technology
The technology involved in the Wii Fit is the Wii games console and the balance board required for the Wii Fit game.
It is replacing traditional games consoles which just have ordinary controllers and less interactive games. The balance board is incredibly complex and can measure a user’s weight, centre of gravity (used for exercises) and calculate their body mass index (when told height). It can essentially tell if a player is completing the exercises properly. However, even though it is so complex, the game still focuses on slow and controlled movement – indicating that this is all the Wii Fit can handle/analyse.
The technology is incredibly significant because the balance board has allowed Wii Fit to create a revolutionary game, which can be enjoyed by all ages and lifestyles.
Media Content
The only media content involved is the video game itself
The Game
The game is an example of a new phenomenon called ‘Exergaming’ – as it provides a mixture of exercise and gaming (on consoles). It is played whilst standing or leaning on the Wii balance board and in total has over 40 different activities to do. These are split into 4 sections; Aerobic exercise, Muscle Conditioning, Yoga Poses and Balance Games. I think this is really great because it provides activities for the entire family – e.g. Yoga for mothers, and balance games (such as hula hoop, skiing and tight-tope walking) can be enjoyed by children or the family all together. These activities are all focused on slow and controlled movements (this is probably due to the balance board’s capability to track movements just from the shifting weight in a player’s legs). The Wii console has a homescreen, on which there are lots of different ‘channels’, with a Wii Fit it adds a channel. This channel records your fitness levels (and other players such as family members) so you can keep track and so that you can compare with others. Much like ‘brain training’, the Wii Fit tracks a player’s ‘Fitness Age’ – encouraging you to aim to improve it over time, and this increases loyalty to the game. This concept of ages also brings loyalty to the brand, because it allows you to try and improve yourself and tracks your progress for you – something very appealing. The game can also be multi-player – not at the same time, but it can track the fitness of different characters (which you can create with the Mii channel – detailed below), this increases the appeal of families, as they can take turns and try to beat each others scores.
Audiences
The Wii Fit is essentially targeted at families with ‘a way to help get families exercising together’ being in its ‘mission statement’, although in the promotional video it depicts many people from all backgrounds, ages and lifestyles using the technology. There are families, young and childless couples, teenagers and older users.
The technology involved in the Wii Fit is the Wii games console and the balance board required for the Wii Fit game.
It is replacing traditional games consoles which just have ordinary controllers and less interactive games. The balance board is incredibly complex and can measure a user’s weight, centre of gravity (used for exercises) and calculate their body mass index (when told height). It can essentially tell if a player is completing the exercises properly. However, even though it is so complex, the game still focuses on slow and controlled movement – indicating that this is all the Wii Fit can handle/analyse.
The technology is incredibly significant because the balance board has allowed Wii Fit to create a revolutionary game, which can be enjoyed by all ages and lifestyles.
Media Content
The only media content involved is the video game itself
The Game
The game is an example of a new phenomenon called ‘Exergaming’ – as it provides a mixture of exercise and gaming (on consoles). It is played whilst standing or leaning on the Wii balance board and in total has over 40 different activities to do. These are split into 4 sections; Aerobic exercise, Muscle Conditioning, Yoga Poses and Balance Games. I think this is really great because it provides activities for the entire family – e.g. Yoga for mothers, and balance games (such as hula hoop, skiing and tight-tope walking) can be enjoyed by children or the family all together. These activities are all focused on slow and controlled movements (this is probably due to the balance board’s capability to track movements just from the shifting weight in a player’s legs). The Wii console has a homescreen, on which there are lots of different ‘channels’, with a Wii Fit it adds a channel. This channel records your fitness levels (and other players such as family members) so you can keep track and so that you can compare with others. Much like ‘brain training’, the Wii Fit tracks a player’s ‘Fitness Age’ – encouraging you to aim to improve it over time, and this increases loyalty to the game. This concept of ages also brings loyalty to the brand, because it allows you to try and improve yourself and tracks your progress for you – something very appealing. The game can also be multi-player – not at the same time, but it can track the fitness of different characters (which you can create with the Mii channel – detailed below), this increases the appeal of families, as they can take turns and try to beat each others scores.
Audiences
The Wii Fit is essentially targeted at families with ‘a way to help get families exercising together’ being in its ‘mission statement’, although in the promotional video it depicts many people from all backgrounds, ages and lifestyles using the technology. There are families, young and childless couples, teenagers and older users.
Audiences are using it as a new way to exercise and to keep fit, and it is almost like having a personal trainer – you can choose exercises you want to do and it tracks your fitness level for you. It provides the benefits that that they don’t have to go to gym or even leave their house, but they can still keep fit. It, like many other new technologies, means that they can work their lives around their exercise/chosen media consumption. It also offers quite a novel and exciting experience, and as well as all the serious fitness it has the more fun games – like hula hoop and skiing – possibly targeted at families with younger members.
Institutions
Wii Fit has brought great benefits for Nintendo, it has greatly increased their audience because it doesn’t have a specific target audience – anyone can enjoy and use it. The entire Wii range – particularly Wii Fit – has given them an amazing, new, modern image, so in a way it is helping them to market their institution, but in a ‘below-the-belt’, reputation style.
The only other benefits it brings them is that it is another game, and it exhibits this game, so it increases their profits – within one month it had sold over 1 million copies.
Key Concepts
Key concepts demonstrated by the Wii Fit are interactivity, personalisation, non-linear, vertical integration, diversification and Analogue v. Digital
Interactivity
The Wii Fit is an incredible example of interactivity with video games, because instead of just playing sports like football etc you actually exercise yourself. You therefore are interacting with the game because it stores your fitness levels and results and you play against others are compare.
Personalisation
Personalisation is a great feature within a video game because it gets the player really involved – very similar to interactivity. You get to choose the activities you do and it also analyses and stores your fitness level for you, as opposed to a lot of other games where it is irrelevant who is actually playing. I think you can also design the character you play with, with the Mii channel (described below).
Non-Linear
A lot of video games are incredibly linear in their content as you often follow a storyline, but the layout of games like Wii Fit (and a lot of other Nintendo games, e.g. Nintendogs) mean that you choose the activities you want to do and in what order.
Vertical Integration
On a Nintendo Wii there is a feature called the homescreen, which has lots of different channels, some defaults are; photos – where you can upload and edit photos, and Mii – where you create caricatures. The Nintendo Wii has a channel which monitors your fitness level (and other players) and allows you to compare it to other players as well. This is vertical integration because it encourages loyalty to the brand as it encourages you to get more channels because you enjoy them etc.
Diversification
This console offers diversification because it offers a new experience within a household - increasing the new technologies that they have. It is also an indicator of a diversified household because it is quite expensive, implying that the family also has other similiar games and gadgets.
This console offers diversification because it offers a new experience within a household - increasing the new technologies that they have. It is also an indicator of a diversified household because it is quite expensive, implying that the family also has other similiar games and gadgets.
Analogue v. Digital
This is an example of analogue v. digital with respect to exercise and sport. Traditionally sport is done outside, or in a gym. Where as with the Wii Fit you can do it indoors, in your living room, digitally – and the information is stored digitally in your Wii.
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