College Times

Media Credit: Ryan Ruiz

Lunging forward, twisted at the waist with arms outstretched, Aaron Spurlock takes a long, deep breath and holds the Warrior pose.

He looks like a yoga expert, statuesquely frozen in a mind and body-balancing “Asana,” or yoga position.

The truth is, Spurlock has never taken a yoga class in his life. He’s playing Wii Fit, the newest video game craze for Nintendo’s interactive Wii, and experts say users like him could be well on their way to a healthier lifestyle.

The game is the latest in Nintendo’s venture into games that are challenging for more than just a gamer’s thumbs. Using the Wii System’s Wii remote and motion-sensing technology, earlier games within the Wii Sports series allow the gamer to emulate real-life athletic motions: for baseball, the user swings the controller like a bat; for bowling, the user swings his/her arm as if he/she is really at the lanes.

Wii Fit takes the concept a step further. Utilizing the Wii Balance Board, an ultra-sensitive plank that can measure a user’s center of balance and even the slightest movement, gamers partake in true full-body oriented activities, including yoga poses, targeted muscle workouts, aerobic exercises and balance games.

INTERNATIONAL CRAZE

Wii Fit has already proved popular in Japan, where it has sold 2 million units since its release last year. Design of the hardware and software was overseen by Shigeru Miyamoto, the famous Nintendo game designer behind many of the company’s biggest hits, such as the Mario franchise.

Game companies have a long and mostly unsuccessful history of trying to tie physical activity to video games. The idea goes back at least 25 years, to the heyday of the Atari 2600 game console, which had a similar-in-spirit device called the Joyboard. In more recent years, some games designed for the PlayStation 2 used a special camera to try to “watch” users’ movements as they did aerobics programs with the system.

One device on the way, from a company called iToys, aims to motivate kids to move their bodies more in the real world by offering rewards in the virtual world. As they play and move, a pedometer records points that can be redeemed in a virtual world when the device is plugged into a computer. The device, called ME2, is scheduled for release late this summer.

Ben Sawyer, a co-director of Games for Health, a regular conference where software developers discuss and show off game technology that improves health and health care, said there’s a lot to like about Wii Fit.

He said he’d like to see school districts eventually adopt the system, in the same way that some school districts have successfully incorporated the popular Dance Dance Revolution games into exercise and weight-loss programs.

That’s a long way off for Wii Fit, he observed. After all, even if price weren’t an issue, Wiis are still notoriously hard to find. “The biggest strike against it is that there aren’t enough Wiis,” he said. “People still can’t get one.”

Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of sales and marketing, said other game developers were already working on games and software that incorporate the Balance Board. She said the company was still trying to meet demand for the Wii, but she would not say when the device would be in ample supply.

IT’S A START

For Spurlock, who found the game, schilling out the $90 for the balance board and software was a no-brainer.

“I’m big into video games, and I’ve known about it for quite some time.” Spurlock says. “I gained a little bit of weight ever since my girlfriend moved out with me. So I figured, I love playing video games, so I might as well lose a little bit of weight while doing that.”

Spurlock says he usually plays the game for about an hour at a time, despite not having much of a background in fitness.

“I skateboard and I play Dance, Dance Revolution a lot. Other than that, I’ve never really went to the gym or anything like that.”

Michelle Jung, interim director of ASU Campus Recreation’s Fitness and Wellness Program, says that the game can provide a “moderate workout,” and would be the most beneficial to someone with little or no fitness background such as Spurlock.

Jung was quick to try out Wii Fit as soon as she heard about its reported health benefits.

“We always try to keep up with the new trends,” Jung said. “Anytime there’s a new fitness trend, I either try to go try it out in a new class, and I go to different gyms to try out new equipment.”

“I was actually impressed by it,” Jung says. “I guess I was a little bit skeptical about it, initially, from just hearing about it … but, I think for somebody who doesn’t normally work out, I think it’s a nice tool to get started being active.”

Jung says she was especially impressed with the game’s capabilities as a goal-setting device for workouts. Wii Fit is programmed to keep track of statistics such as body mass index and weight loss of individual users over time, and provides health tips on areas of potential improvement.

MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKERS

The visuals that accompany the statistic tracking, including an animated version of the user, provide a little extra incentive to get in shape, according to Spurlock.

“Especially when you see your little Mii character on there, and he’s overweight, and he gets really fat; Definitely a good motivator.”

For people that are more traditionally active, Jung said, the game might not have the same physical impact as it would for novices.

“The thing that’s nice is that there are fun games, regardless of what fitness level you are, but I think they would have to come up with more challenging stuff to continue keeping the attention of people who have more of a physical-fitness background.”

And while it is conceivable that some people might potentially overuse Wii Fit, risking extreme fatigue and possible injury, Jung says she doesn’t see video games taking over old-fashioned dumb-bells and treadmills anytime soon.

“The only people that would probably only rely on it as a source of exercise are the people who are probably not going to join a gym anyway,” Jung says. “For me, just because I tried it and I like it doesn’t mean that I’m going to stop doing all the other exercise.”

Spurlock also seems to be taking a realistic approach using the Wii as a tool in the quest for a fitter self.

“You’re not gonna get a six-pack from playing this game, but you’re probably gonna shed some pounds.”

Mike Musgrove of the Los Angeles Times-Washington Post news service contributed to this story.

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