A portion of the GameDaily review of Wii Fit Plus:
"Whether or not Wii Fit Plus will help you get in tip top condition, as Nintendo claims, remains to be seen, but this is an incredibly enjoyable video game for a budget price. Of course, if you still haven't purchased a balance board, now's a perfect time."
30 September 2009 - If you’ve ever fancied your own personal trainer to work both body and mind in the comfort of your own home, now is your chance!
Wii Fit Plus hits the shops across Europe on 30 October 2009 bringing new exercise features for both mind and body to the acclaimed Wii Fit phenomenon and making your at-home training regime even easier.
For the first time, you can customise your own yoga routines and strength-training exercises to create a continuous exercise plan to suit your individual fitness goals. You can also isolate specific areas of the body for toning or conditioning purposes or simply to relieve fatigue or improve posture. The My Routine programme saves your routines and allows you to combine up to 30 exercises in total. If you’re not feeling creative, Wii Fit Plus can create a randomised routine for you using the Yoga and Muscle exercises. For example, Lifestyle routine gives you exercise combinations to help train muscles and boost flexibility or even warm your hands and feet to ease tension. In Health routines you can work your tummy and fat burn, Youth routines help you train body and mind and work your lower body.
In addition to the weight and BMI tracking of Wii Fit, a brand new Calorie Check makes your daily progress easier to track. It estimates the amount of oxygen used by the body during physical activity and so estimates your calories burned on each activity during gameplay. Wii Fit Plus, for example, can estimate that a person with a 70kg body weight carrying out the game's Hula Hoop™ exercise for half an hour is the equivalent to 140kcal.
In addition to all the original Wii Fit features, Wii Fit Plus now brings you 50% more content, including 15 new balance games and six new strength training and yoga activities meaning you can chill, relax and ease away the stresses of daily life from those aching muscles.
With a range of fun new mini games and a new multiplayer option, there are activities for all the family to share – up to eight players can compete against one another in a variety of balance and training games. You can choose to run an obstacle course set across a series of floating platforms, throw snowballs at your mates or watch your friends flap their arms to land a hilarious chicken character as close to a series of targets as possible.
Wii Fit Plus comes packaged with the Wii Balance Board with its sensors measuring weight and detecting shifts in balance, both from side to side and front to back. A standalone version of the game will also be available if you already have the Wii Balance Board. Standing on the board during activities, allows you to follow along to the movements and control the on-screen action. Each sensor has the ability to detect even minor motion, so movements like shifting the position of your hand can be detected. And with the addition of activities like Skateboarding and Rhythm Kung Fu, players can use the Wii Balance Board accessory in a variety of new and fun ways.
A portion of the Joystiq preview of Super Monkey Ball Step and Roll:
"Perhaps masters of Wii Fit (and subsequent fitness-related knockoffs) should find no problem with Step & Roll. However, a Balance Board novice like myself was a bit overwhelmed by the sensitivity demanded by the game: it takes subtle shifts in weight to carefully control the monkeys. Instead, my exaggerated movements caused the board to jerk around, tossing the trapped simian around haphazardly through the course."
A Portion of the NWR preview of Super Monkey Ball Step and Roll:
"I found the pressure of controlling the level precisely - but without taking too long - an exciting feeling to have in a Monkey Ball game, although I do wonder if I’d have felt the same if there were no railings.
For those with Balance Boards who are interested in playing this game, I’d recommend dusting off Wii Fit and practicing the bubble game, possibly while playing Monkey Ball on your iPhone at the same time – then I think you’ll be fully trained for this version."
A portion of the Kotaku preview of Wii Fit Plus:
"Routine Setting: You can now customize a workout just for yourself either by picking out different exercises to chain together in a seamless routine that doesn't require any menu navigating once you get going (max workout time is 60 minutes). You can also tell the Wii how long you want to work out for and what kind of exercises you like (Yoga, Strength or both) and how long you want to work out for and it'll generate a routine for you."
A portion of the GameSpot preview of Super Monkey Ball Step and Roll:
"Cooperative play and balance board support seem like perfectly acceptable additions to the Super Monkey Ball series without the game getting too far away from its monkey-in-a-ball roots. That's a good thing, and we look forward to seeing how Step and Roll turns out."
A portion of the Kotaku preview of Super Monkey Ball: Step and Roll:
"Super Monkey Ball: Step and Roll has another unique feature, a two-player co-op mode that lets a second player join in the monkey balling fun using a Wii Remote to shoot at on-screen obstacles. The primary player still controls the monkey—technically, the world the monkey ball exists on—with the other taking shots at objects. It's not the deepest mechanic, but can add some frenetic fun and communication to the game."
A portion of the Newsday preview of Wii Fit Plus:
"Coupled with the recent price cut of the Nintendo Wii ($200), the Wii Fit Plus is an affordable, healthy, and interactive game for the entire family to enjoy."
New trailer time for Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter games; this time showing off the game's Dream Events. They be the crazy sort that ditch reality and head for the respective worlds of the title's two famous mascots.
SEGA has today confirmed that its spherical simian adventure, Super Monkey Ball Step an Roll will hit store shelves in February 2010, and provided us all with these new details to boot:
Overview:
AiAi and all his friends are stepping onto the Wii Balance Board in an all-new party game for the Nintendo Wii. Super Monkey Ball Step & Roll brings back what you love about Super Monkey Ball and promises plenty of surprises around every turn. Get ready for a whole new level of monkey madness as Super Monkey Ball Step & Roll rolls into your living rooms this February!
Key Features:
• Intuitive Controls - Step onto the Wii Balance Board™ to experience Super Monkey Ball in a whole new way or use the Wii Remote™ and Nunchuk™ for a more traditional experience.
• Multiplayer - Play with a friend in Co-op mode in the single player portion of the game or compete in the mini games with up to 4 players.
• New Puzzle Levels – Navigate the monkeys across different puzzle levels from a variety of visually stunning worlds specifically designed for players of all levels.
• New Mini games - Compete in multiplayer mini games including Seesaw Ball, Monkey Bowling and Monkey Race.
A portion of the Destructoid preview of Super Monkey Ball: Step and Roll:
"While you can play the game with the Wii Remote... f*ck that. Using the Balance Board just feels right, like it's the way Monkey Ball was originally intended to be played. Shifting your weight forward moves the monkey ball full speed ahead; pulling back will cause it to slow down and eventually stop. All in all, it feels pretty good and mostly responsive, although it did seem a bit hard to turn my little monkey ball around."
The final box art for the European version of Wii Fit Plus has surfaced today. Unlike the new design of the US box, it remains much the same as the original artwork, including silhouettes in a deep green hue.
A portion of GameDaily's preview of Wii Fit Plus:
"...one of the most feature packed exercise games on the market, as well as a wallet-friendly game that makes for a wonderful gift. Of course, if someone didn't jump on the Wii Fit bandwagon, they can pick up the game and balance board combo, also releasing October 4th.
Thanks to the new exercises and activities, we're ready to give Wii Fit Plus a big thumbs up."
A portion of the Vooks preview of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games:
"M&S Winter Olympics really does seem to be offering something for everyone. It has a tonne of events to attempt and perfect, there are plenty of medals and Mii fashion accessories to and collect, and it went off like a hog in a sack during our four person multiplayer sessions. After sampling just a portion of this sporting extravaganza, we’ve got the chills – and they’re multiplyin’."
Trish explains Stratasphere for Yoga:
GD: How does your game work? You'll teach us yoga?
TS: Pretty much. We're using the balance board, and there are a couple of other peripherals that we'll use. First, you pick your level. At my yoga studio, I have three different levels: Spirit, Shape and Strength. That allows you to determine your level or choose which type of yoga is right for you.
Most people have a misconception about yoga. They think it's twisting into pretzel shapes and chanting. There's that as well, but if you find the right level and get what you need from your body, that's chi and getting the most out of it.
It's kind of like using Wii Fit, where you assess how flexible you are, where your strength's at and where your balance is. That will determine your level. Then you design a custom workout.
There are so many different styles of yoga. It's a big salad bowl of moves, and you put a bunch of them together, and one routine will be for jetlag and one will be for increased flexibility. Right now, I'm golfing, and I designed a yoga for golfers to help improve their game.
As Wii Fit Plus' October release date edges closer, Nintendo of Japan has put together a whole 5 minutes of footage to demonstrate what the exer-game has to offer. The video features all you know and love about Wii Fit, as well as a variety of the new activities and features: cycling, obstacle courses, circus skills, and snowball fighting amongst them.
Taking a leaf out of Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party's butt-based sledding, Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games utilises the Wii Balance Board for sit-down bobsleigh action. Check this (and a selection of other events) in the new trailer below:
The charming TV Geordie duo of Ant and Dec announced a huge new contract to promote Nintendo in the UK this week, so it's rather apt that we learn that one of the shows that they present is being adapted for the Wii and supports the Wii Balance Board.
I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! Players take on the role of a celeb as they camp deep in the Australian jungle, testing their bravery and wit in completing challenges (and surviving the food), all in the hope of surviving the weekly public vote to boot one of them out.
Product Features:
Dreamcatcher has released a set of new screenshots of Yoga for Wii, which arrives in stores this November. We're feeling stiff just looking at them...
Former WWE wrestler-turned-yoga guru, Trish Stratus, has helped reveal the first details of Stratusphere for the Nintendo Wii, which will support the Wii Balance Board.
In Stratusphere, Trish will guide players through a variety of yoga routines set upon a relaxing backdrop for a true zen-like experience.
“We wanted to present yoga as a real workout and not only as a method of relaxing. Combining Trish Stratus as a personal coach, coupled with her yoga experience, players will have to work through challenging routines to get results! Isn’t that what working out is all about?” concludes Frima’s CEO, Steve Couture.
Produced entirely in Frima’s Studios, with collaboration from Roundhouse Interactive’s President Michael Montanaro, the game will feature several video segments and take approximately six months of development.
No publisher has yet been chosen, but Stratusphere for the Wii is planned for release in the second quarter of 2010. Plenty of time to limber up.
You have to give it to EA, they put a lot of promotional work into making EA Sports Active a success and an exer-game capable enough of backing up its claims. Here, some of those who took part in the game's 30 Day Challenge share their success stories.
Punch-Out!! has to be one of our favourite Wii Balance Board-supported games, taking into consideration the controls, gloriously fluid art style... and the fact that we like punching people in the chops.
And it seems that we aren't the only ones, as Nintendo has received countless requests for a sequel, which they now say they are 'seriously' considering. Said Kensuke Tanabe, Punch-Out!! Wii producer:
“The more requests for a sequel we receive, the more we have to seriously consider it. Personally, I would like to consider making a different type of game than what we have created so far that utilizes the characters of Punch-Out in a new way.”
As soon as we hear anything, we'll let you know.
Wii Fit Plus jogs onto Japanese shores on October 1st, and so begins what is likely to be a raft of television advertising for the exer-gaming sequel. Here's the first spot:
As summer ebbs away and we approach the autumn and winter months, so we might expect Wii Balance Board-supported titles that better match the colder weather.
The latest is Mountain Sports from Activision, which, we uncover today, supports the Wii Balance Board.
Product Description
Challenge on White Mountain! Become the ultimate winter sports champion at six cool outdoor activities: skiing, snowboarding, tobagganing, bobsledding, curling and biathlon. With gameplay incorporating the Wii Balance Board, master the required skills in each activity to become the champion of the annual Winter Sports Festival.
Product Features
* Features 6 full length sports which amounts to a more satisfying and longer gameplay experience
* Features the Wii Balance Board! 5 out of the 6 activities are centered around the use and physicality of the Wii Balance Board!
* Realistic, extreme and addicting gameplay!
Mountain Sports is set for release on October 27th.
Being based in the UK, Major League Baseball isn't our forte, but when the Wall St Journal shouts about pitcher Heath Bell using Wii Fit to train, it's got to be something worth bringing up.
Heath Bell, pitcher for the San Diego Padres, says exercising with Wii Fit has really helped improve his on-field perfomance - he began playing after the game dubbed him obese and he wanted to shrink the size of his on-screen Mii.
Bell lost a whole 25lbs in 5 months and told the WSJ: ""My balance is so much better than it used to be," he says. "It shows on the mound."
Majesco Entertainment Company (NASDAQ: COOL), an innovative provider of video games for the mass market, and executive producer Interactive Game Group (I2G), today announced that Jillian Michaels Fitness Ultimatum 2010 for Wii™ has gone gold. Building on the success of her first Wii title that sold over 600,000 copies, Jillian Michaels Fitness Ultimatum 2010 brings back America's toughest trainer and health and wellness expert to the interactive world where she motivates players to pursue a healthy, active lifestyle via the game's new one-on-one training feature. Jillian Michaels' Fitness Ultimatum 2010 for Wii™ is scheduled to release October 6th. In addition, Jillian Michaels' Fitness Ultimatum 2010 for Nintendo DS™, Michaels' first portable title and the perfect game for maintaining a workout routine on-the-go, is scheduled to arrive in stores October 20th.
"Jillian's 2010 game is packed with new features and enhancements to help players get the most out of their at home workout," said Jesse Sutton, Chief Executive Officer, Majesco. "Fitness Ultimatum 2010 is the only game designed and endorsed by Jillian which means that players are getting the best possible training from a proven fitness expert who knows how to get results."
Jillian Michaels' Fitness Ultimatum 2010 for Wii
In Jillian Michaels' Fitness Ultimatum 2010, players land on a tropical island packed with new features and energetic workout modes that fully utilize the motion capabilities of the Wii Remote™ and the Wii Balance Board™ accessory. Under Jillian Michaels' expert guidance, players engage in intense one-on-one workouts featuring all-new cardio and strength training exercises and superset routines. The all new "Fitness Resolutions" mode allows players to plan and track custom training routines for up to six months. In all modes, players get one-on-one time with a 3D avatar of Jillian Michaels as they follow her pace and technique. Lastly, motion tracking improvements enable more accurate and precise exercise movements ensuring no wasted repetitions.
The Wii version is due in store October 6th with a SRP of $39.99. The Nintendo DS version is set to arrive in store October 20th with a SRP of $29.99.
Here is the debut trailer for Jillian Michaels' Fitness Ultimatum 2010 for the Nintendo Wii. The fitness guru returns, this time whisking players off to the tropics to face her flab-fighting challenges.
Wii Fit™ Plus
Format: Wii
Launch Date: 10/04/09
ESRB: E (Everyone): Mild Cartoon Violence
Game Type: Fitness Training
Players: 1-8 alternating
Developer: Nintendo
Website: www.nintendo.com
Game Information
Wii Fit™ attracted millions of new players to the world of video games. Now Wii Fit Plus offers a range of new features and enhancements to help players reinvigorate their workouts, along with exercises and balance games designed to keep them fun. Players will find a new dimension to the Wii Fit experience as they easily set their own customized workout routines or choose 20-, 30- or 40-minute workouts based on how much time they have available.
Users will also be able to choose from specialized workout routines that focus on an individual's personal fitness goals or certain target areas. And with the addition of activities like Skateboarding and Rhythm Kung Fu, players will be using the Wii Balance Board™ accessory in a variety of new and fun ways.
Wii Fit Plus features:
FEATURES:
* Workouts combine the original Wii Fit activities and selections from 15 new balance games and six new strength training and yoga activities.
* Users can input the amount of time they want to spend on their workouts or select an area for personal improvement, and Wii Fit Plus will suggest a number of diverse activities for them.
* For the first time, users can mix and match which strength and yoga activities they prefer on a given day. The seamless exercise flows make it easier than ever for users to maintain their daily workout routines.
* Users might be asked to run an obstacle course across a series of platforms, zoom across a beach on a Segway® x2 Personal Transporter or flap their arms to help their hilarious chicken-suited characters aim for targets.
* The range of games and customization options will make players want to play every day. They'll be having so much fun that their workouts will seem to fly by in no time at all.
* Players also can see estimates of calories burned and can even activate a feature that lets them weigh their dogs or cats.
* Wii Fit Plus comes packaged with the Wii Balance Board accessory. For people who already own Wii Fit, the Wii Fit Plus disc will be available for purchase separately.
Zany Family Fun all with the charm of Playmobil - Playmobil: Circus Wii
You and your family are going to become Playmobil performers in the funniest, most wacky circus around. Practice your acts to make sure they’re perfect before you perform them in the center ring for the whole crowd.
Perform well enough you’ll unlock more acts in
Encore mode. Play with friends and family in 2 exciting multiplayer modes: Co-op and Versus.
Roll up, Roll Up to the greatest show on Earth..!”
From the success of the Circus Playmobil play sets, for the first time on Wii. On your own or with the whole family, create the most fabulous of Circus shows and become a sensational circus star!
Tightrope walkers, magicians, acrobats, animal trainers are bringing the Circus to town!
It's time for the whole family to show off their talents. Can you balance and walk the tightrope or perform amazing magic feats or spin, spring and tumble as an acrobat and lots more besides!
Get out your Wii Balance Board…..Do you have the dexterity, reflexes and good balance to be that star of the show!
Absolutely hilarious - make a cow go on the trampoline, make monkeys dance the cancan...
High quality 3D graphics which bring the whole Playmobil world to life.
PLATFORM: Wii
PUBLISHER: Game Mill
GENRE(S): Sports
PLAYERS: 2
ESRB: E (Everyone)
RELEASE: Q4/2009
Grab your gear and head for the open water!
For the first time EVER on the Nintendo Wii(TM), experience the most popular Water Sports! The Wii Balance Board(TM) puts you in the action with multiple levels of difficulty so anyone from 6 to 96 can join the fun.
WakeBoard, WindSurf, KiteSurf, and more around the world in exotic locations!
Single Player, Multiplayer, and Co-operative modes.
* Kite Surfing
* Wind Surfing
* Wake Boarding
* Wave Runner Racing
A portion of the Aussie-Nintendo review of Academy of Champions:
"A portion of an Aussie-Nintendo review...
Academy of Champions is definitely aimed at a younger audience. It's great fun; anyone could get into it, but kids will likely get the most out of the experience thanks to the lengthy story mode. It's... it's just so nice to see what could have easily been a cheap throw-away title on the Wii have actual, genuine effort put into it. Kudos, Ubisoft Vancouver. I'm biting my knuckle whilst typing this."
Buy now from Amazon.com
Majesco Entertainment Company
(NASDAQ: COOL), an innovative provider of video games for the mass market,
today announced that Go Play City Sports for Wii(TM) is available at retailers
nationwide. The third title in Majesco's Go Play line of interactive,
family-friendly titles, Go Play City Sports recreates the experience of
growing up playing sports in the city.
Players take to the streets with six classic city-based games: Stickball,
Street Hockey, Kickball, Shootout Soccer, Handball and Jump Rope. Authenticity
is brought to the game via courts made out of manhole covers, fire hydrants
and parked cars. With Wii Balance Board(TM) compatibility, players get active,
showing their skills to gain respect as the best athlete in the city. Go Play
City Sports also boasts team-based and head-to-head multiplayer options, as
well as custom character creation and a fully explorable single player
environment.
Developed by Digital Embryo, Go Play City Sports is rated E for Everyone and
is in store now for the suggested retail price of $29.99. To watch the
gameplay trailers and find out more about Majesco's Go Play line of games,
please visit the official site at www.goplaymajescogames.com.
As Wii Fit Plus' release date nears, so an updated box art for the game has surfaced. Not the most inspiring of artwork, but does the job...
Wii Fit Plus (Game Only) from Amazon.com
Wii Fit Plus with Wii Balance Board from Amazon.com
As previously speculated, Avatar for the Nintendo Wii will support the Wii Balance Board.
Speaking to GameSpot, the game's producer Noel Kechichian said:
"We really took a different path than the next-gen [version]. For us the priority was first to use all of the interactivity that was given to us on the Wii," explains Kechichian. "Our two objectives were to create this unique feeling of being a hunter in the environment and to push the graphics of the Wii as much as possible. But at the same time we really wanted to emphasise the social side of being on the Nintendo Wii."
And how the Balance Board works in Co-op mode:
"In co-op, the first player controls the Banshee, and the second player is responsible for shooting. Kechichian and another Ubisoft staffer demonstrated this, and using the balance board looked pretty straightforward. Left and right movements steer your beast, leaning forward on your toes accelerates, and leaning back on your heels slows the Banshee down. To shoot, you use the Wii Remote to aim and fire your bow and arrow at enemies."
James Cameron's Avatar: The Game will be released for the Nintendo Wii on December 18 in Europe and on November 24 in North America.
Buy Avatar: The Game now from Amazon.com
Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games Trailer Video:
After months of teasing us with a placeholder listing, Amazon.com has made Wii Fit Plus available for pre-order on its website.
The Wii Fit follow-up is available in two guises - one as a standalone game ($19.99) and the other as the game and and the Wii Balance Board ($99.99).
Click the following links to pre-order:
Wii Fit Plus (Game Only) from Amazon.com
Wii Fit Plus with Wii Balance Board from Amazon.com
From the horse's mouth:
"We make our business decisions independent of actions taken by other companies. We see our main competition as the entire spectrum of entertainment options that people have available. Wii Fit has been a top-selling game ever since it launched and we hope people will respond with similar enthusiasm for Wii Fit Plus. ...It also adds an array of new features, including the ability to customize workouts, and count calories. Overall, there are 15 entirely new fitness activities, such as skateboarding and a Segway course." - Nintendo of America's vice president of corporate affairs, Denise Kaigler.
...Or they might have just cut the price of the original bundle by $10 and kept the Wii Fit Plus deal at $89...
Nintendo of America head honcho Reggie Fils-Aime has announced that Wii Fit Plus will jog onto US store shelves on October 4th.
The follow-up to Wii Fit includes 15 new balance games, six new strength training activities, as well as a host of fresh spine-busting yoga stretches.
The standalone game will cost just $19.99, while Wii Fit Plus with a Wii Balance Board will cost $99.99.
Let us know if you're enthused about today's news in the comments section below.
