Is the Wii Fit Good for Video Games?

Generally, when we think of good aerobic activity, the kind that experts agree leads to a healthier lifestyle, we don't think of video games. However, with the recent release of the Wii Fit (for the, ahem- Wii), everything we know may be wrong.

First of all, let me make it clear that you wont ever (EVER) get as good of a workout from a video game as you would in a gym with motivated people all around you. That's not to say that the Wii Fit isn't a good idea, it's just not designed to give you a great workout. The Wii Fit is designed to sell, and to do that, it needs to be fun. The game (yes, it's a game) is certainly fun on many levels, getting 80% reviews on average from gamerankings.com.

The problem I see with the Wii Fit is that it is trying to combine two things into one that really shouldn't be mixed, in my opinion. It is trying to combine video games, a typically un-aerobic activity that is certainly fun, with exercise, a healthy activity that isn't generally fun.

Right when it was released, I was thinking that the video game reviewers would bash it as being cheesy and not fun at all. I also thought health experts would criticize it as being a terrible workout, and really a cop-out.

Man, was I ever wrong. Game reviewers generally liked the Wii Fit, and health experts, while not recommending it as an awesome workout, definitely accepted it as a decent attempt.

The point I am really trying to make here is that if you play video games a lot, and are thinking of starting to exercise, don't get the Wii Fit. You will find yourself 'cheating' a lot at the games, and you won't get more than a halfway-decent workout. You would be much more successful if you strapped on some running shoes and went for a jog. No, I know its not going to be fun, that's my point! At the same time, people who exercise a lot and have never played a video game, skip the Wii Fit. You will definitely have a bad opinion of video games if the Wii Fit is the first one you play.