The Nintendo Wii it seems, puts pay to the concerns in recent years over the inactivity in children due to their interest in video games consoles. The Wii console really sets itself apart from the rest with its revolutionary motion sensitive controller, which actually requires movement in order to play the games.
The Nintendo Wii comes with the game Wii Sports, which includes tennis, baseball, bowling, golf and boxing. In tennis you will be swinging the remote as if it were a tennis racket and flicking it up to toss the ball into the air with a quick swing to serve. The other Wii Sports games work in a similar way simulating controller movements for like movements onscreen. Boxing however is the only Wii Sports game that uses the nunchuk attachment and is the most physically exhausting game of them all. In order to hit your opponent in the head or body, you will have to aim high or low with your swings.
There are three different activities with each game. In training mode, you will participate in random challenges, after which you will be assigned a fitness age, based on your performance. Sound familiar? The Nintendo DS game, Brain Training comes to mind...a physical version perhaps?
The important thing here is that gamers are becoming more physically active without even realising it - you could say it has a 'kill two birds with one stone' effect, combining video game play with physical activity. Given this 'physical' nature of the Wii, I wouldn't be suprised if parents rushed out to buy the Nintendo Wii just to get their kids off the sofa!
Another great thing about the Nintendo Wii is that it appeals not only to children and teens but to adults too, so its something the whole family can enjoy.
Could the Nintendo Wii revolutionize the way we play video games in the future? It will be interesting to see what Nintendo's competitors come up with next - this could be a tough one to beat!
Article Source: ArticleSpot.org
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Nintendo Wii + Wii Sports - Good for fitness in children?
How To Set Up Your Wii
Now that you have fought off the nasty crowds at the electronics store, and secured your Nintendo Wii system, got it home without incident and into your house, this is what you should do. Follow these steps to set up your Wii:
1) Remove the Wii from the box
2) Remove the AV cable and the AC adapter
3) Remove the stand plate, vertical stand, sensor bar and sensor-bar stand
4) Remove the Nunchuk and Wii Remote
5) Choose your location near the TV for your Wii and set it up vertically or horizontally
6) Connect the AV cable and the AC adapter to the Wii
7) Plug the AC adapter into a power outlet. Connect the AV cable to the input on your TV. Connect the yellow cable to the video input and the red and white cables to the audio inputs
8) Get out the remote control and put in the batteries
9) Turn on your Wii
10) The onscreen instructions will appear and you will be required to choose your language, location, time of day, etc.
How to set up your Wii Control
The Wii Remotes do not automatically bond with you Wii console. You will have to tell it to do so. The remote controls and arrives with your console is prebonded, but any additional Wii Remotes you purchase will have to be synchronized with your Wii in order to work smoothly with your console. There are two ways to accomplish this: the Standard Mode and the One Time Mode.
Standard Mode
To use the Standard Mode for connecting additional Wii Remotes to your Wii system permanently follows these steps:
1) Press the power button on your Wii console to turn it on
2) Remove the cover for the batteries on the back of the Wii Remote
3) Press the Sync button inside the cover
4) Open the door located over the SD card slot and on the Wii console
5) Press the Sync button inside that compartment
6) When the LEDs on the remote stop blinking, your synchronization is complete
One Time Mode
The One Time Mode does just that and allows your Wii Remote to work with a Wii other than the current synchronized remote. This is handy when you are at a friend's house. Follow these steps:
1) Press the Home button on the Wii Remote that is already synchronized with the Wii Remote that you intend to use
2) Select the Wii Remote Settings option
3) Select the Reconnect Option
4) Simultaneously press 1 and 2 buttons on the remote that you want to sync to the Wii console
5) When the lights stop blinking and your remote vibrates your remote has temporarily synchronized with that particular Wii console
6) The attachment of the remote should be shown on the screen as well
Article Source: ArticleSpot.org
Nintendo Wii Brings The Gym To You With Wii Fit
Nintendo has announced a new fitness game Wii Fit which is a full on exercise product set to give you more of a workout than Wii Sports, while still retaining all the fun of gaming. Wii Fit will help to keep you physically fit via a dedicated peripheral, a wireless balance board which comes with the game. There are over 40 different activities, including hula hooping, ski jumping and heading soccer balls.
The hula hooping consists of, as you'd expect, gyrating your hips with a virtual hoop onscreen and then as the game progresses, characters will throw more hoops for you to catch and rotate as many times as you can until the time runs out.
The skiing game gives you two chances to make the longest jump you can whilst keeping your balance when landing. Players can increase speed by leaning forward, the more you lean the faster you'll go, and upon reaching the jump, you stand up straight ensuring your weight is evenly balanced for a good landing.
For the football game, you will need to balance on the board moving from side to side whilst balls are fired at you to hit back on to the field and avoiding other objects that are thrown at you at the same time.
Training falls into 4 categories: Aerobics, muscle conditioning, yoga and balance games. Players can assign their height to a profile to measure body mass index and Wii fitness age as well as monitor progress and record performance statistics.
The calorie busting fun could appeal to couch potato kids as well a non gamers, perhaps using the Nintendo Wii as a slimming tool which would be a move into the lifestyle category rather than gaming, covering the market from another angle.
Nintendo hasn't given a release date yet for Wii Fit, although its thought to hit the highstreet in early 2008.
Article Source: ArticleSpot.org