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Are Wii Fit? Nintendo Helps Make a Dent

Interactive system great for busy parents, and earns trainer's respect

By Jim O'Neill, Newser User

Posted May 15, 2008 1:32 PM CDT

(Newser) – Nintendo’s Wii Fit system can turn a couch potato into a workout warrior—or at least make that potato a bit less lumpy, Seth Schiesel writes in the New York Times. The system, launching in North America next week, could be THE next big home fitness trend, pushing that treadmill out to the curb and banishing the Thighmaster forever.

Wii Fit offers interactive yoga, running, and strength training, guiding users through exercises, tracking progress, and rating performance. “You can definitely get a workout," an exercise physiologist said after two days with Fit, which sells for $90 (plus $250 for the Wii console, if you can find one). “This makes exercise fun and I think it will help to motivate a lot of lazy folks.”

[Images (4)]

[Videos (1)]

Nintendo demonstrated how "Everyone is a Gamer" with new applications for its hot Wii home video game system. (AP Photo)

Nintendo demonstrated how "Everyone is a Gamer" with new applications for its hot Wii home video game system and Nintendo DS hand-held system. (AP Photo)

A model demonstrates Nintendo Co.'s new game "Wii Fit." (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye, File)

Nintendo game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, left, introduces the new pressure sensitive Wii Balance Board for the active-play Wii Fit. (AP Photo/Stefano Paltera)

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Wii Fit : Pushup and Skiing Gameplay:This is the new Wii Fit game in this video it will show you Pushups and Skiing In The New Game Enjoy (ProEndurance)

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Are Wii Fit? Nintendo Helps Make a Dent