The "10 Minute Solution" to Fitness Now Includes a Wii [Fitness]

What’s the difference between Activision’s 10 Minute Solution fitness game for the Wii and established fitness titles like Wii Fit and EA Sports Active? About $40-80. With Wii Fit and EA Sports Active selling like reduced-calorie hotcakes, it was only a matter of time before Activision got in on the game, but what can Activision offer that the other two don’t already cover? How about a budget price? Activision Publishing and Anchor Bay Entertainment have joined forces to create 10 Minute Solution, a casual fitness title based off the popular brand of exercise DVDs, and while the branding might catch the target audience’s eyes, the $19.99 price tag could capture their hearts. After all, the fitness genre is a hop-on point for gaming, and what better way to ease soccer moms into the hobby by giving them a title that costs the same as an exercise DVD? It sure beats spending $99 on Wii Fit Plus with the Balance Board, or $60 for EA Sports Active with accessories. 10 Minute Solution will feature a series of 10 Minute routines, oddly enough, with activities falling into either cardio boxing, mixed games, and aerobics categories. Rather than playing along with an on-screen trainer, 10 Minute Solution plays like a game, and even supports the Wii Balance Board, giving gaming newcomers a cheap way to extend the life of the popular peripheral. “Our legions of 10 Minute Solution DVD users will tell you these simple 10 minute exercises work,” said Julie Cartwright, SVP Marketing at Anchor Bay Entertainment. “We are ecstatic to be partnering with Activision to do something progressive in the fitness gaming space.” And I’m sure Activision is ecstatic about partnering with you. We’ll see if the discount gambit pays off when 10 Minute Solution hits stores later this year. For those of you unfamiliar with the 10 Minute Solution series, here’s a clip from the Knockout Body DVD, in which we see a physically attractive woman exercising in a set made up to look like a house.

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The "10 Minute Solution" to Fitness Now Includes a Wii [Fitness]

Your First Look At Project Runway: The Video Game [Atari]

They’re finally here, the first screen shots of Atari’s Project Runway for the Wii, showcasing the make-up applying, rhythmic catwalk-strutting, outfit-trying on excitement you’ll be enjoying on March 2, 2010. Atari’s release calls Project Runway: The Videogame a “must have accessory for series fans,” touting Wii Balance Board support for runway walking, and appearances from Tim Gunn, Heidi Klum, Nina Garcia, and Michael Kors, plus reigning Project Runway winner Irina Shabayeva. Now that Mike Fahey has solidified his position as Kotaku’s female fashion maven, I think we know who will be reviewing this one. A baker’s dozen new screens of Project Runway: The Videogame are now ready to be judged.

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Your First Look At Project Runway: The Video Game [Atari]

Wii Fitness Shares Store With Dumbbells, Treadmills [Well Played]

David Campisi’s life is all about exercise and sports. As president of Sports Authority , Campisi runs the largest sports good retailer in the country. His wife, Beci Campisi, runs a garage gym based on the grueling fitness methodology of CrossFit which uses medicine balls, weights and nonstop exercise to mold “the quintessential athlete.” But when he first heard of Nintendo’s part-game, part-exercise Wii Fit and Balance Board , he knew he had to get one. More importantly, he knew that he had to start selling it in his chain of stores, among the dumbbells, the rowing machines, the treadmills and the basketballs. “When Nintendo first came out with Wii Fit I knew we could sell that product in our stores,” Campisi told Kotaku. “I paid some guy on eBay $180 for a Wii Fit because you couldn’t buy it in stores.” That was in 2008, last week, with the blessing of Nintendo, Campisi launched his campaign to sell Wii Fit and the Wii as exercise equipment in Sports Authority stores nationwide. Sports Authority kicked off the movement to blend gaming and sports good with an event at their Torrance, Calif. store. Fitness guru Jillian Michaels was on hand to lead 100 people through exercise routines on balance board with the help of the Wii in what was believe to be the largest demonstration of Wii Fit in the world. “Although individual retailers might do their own independent promotions from time to time, this is the first time Nintendo has officially partnered with a major sports retailer,” said Marc Fanklink, Nintendo of America’s director of public relations. “Wii Fit has already sold more than 8 million units in the United States, making it one of the best-selling games of this generation, surpassing even some of the industry’s most well-known franchises. Our partnership with The Sports Authority expands on the exergaming trend of Wii Fit and Wii Fit Plus . Now we’re reaching out to fitness fans in new ways, showing them that video games can be a part of their everyday fitness routines.” Instead of just dropping Wii consoles and games into their store, Campisi knew that his stores had to treat the game and it’s equipment the same as any other piece of exercise equipment. So he had the stores carrying the equipment set up special Wii Fit areas and train some of their employees to explain and demonstrate the gaming equipment. “They typically train people on weights and treadmills and now they’re showing people how to use the Wii Fit,” he said. Mike Gabriela, manager of the Sports Authority in Littleton, Colorado, said news that the retailer would be carrying the video games was a “welcome surprise.” The equipment for the Wii Experience landed in their store on a Friday and they had it up and running that Saturday morning. Gabriela says they trained employees using a Nintendo-provided video and tried out Wii Fit themselves. “It’s absolutely exercise,” he said. “You do a couple of those programs and it is very difficult.” The customers who so far seem most intrigued by the console and it’s fitness games seem to be women who do Yoga and aerobics, he said. “We sold our first (Wii) within 20 minutes of being open,” Gabriela said. While Sports Authority and Campisi seem to be putting a lot of support behind the Wii Fit, it doesn’t mean that they believe it will replace more traditional forms of exercise. “I don’t believe that,” Campisi said. “My wife would kill me if I believe that. I don’t think this is a shift away from traditional exercise, it’s just another way to get fit. “There are a lot of people who don’t want to get off their couch, but this is fun. Everyone is moving at 100 miles an hour, maybe this can get them to slow down.” The Wii Fit and the Wii’s driving concept also seem to connect with Sports Authority on another level. Where Nintendo is using the Wii to expand their audience to more casual gamers, Sports Authority has long used backyard and youth sports to connect with children at a younger age. The two coming together to expand each of their audiences seems like a good idea. Nintendo’s Franklin wasn’t willing to yet say how important the Sports Authority deal would be in helping to expand Nintendo’s reach. “That remains to be seen,” he said. “But we’re always looking for ways to get video games into the hands – or under the feet – of people who have never played them before. Nintendo has the most diverse group of fans of any video game company, and it’s important for us to reach out to where those fans are. “We’re always looking to bring the world of video games to new audiences. I’m sure there are plenty of people who visit The Sports Authority who don’t have an interest in video games. Seeing Wii and Wii Fit Plus in the same context as some of their favorite fitness products will undoubtedly pique some people’s interest and make them consider video games in a whole new light.” And for Sports Authority there’s also a very practical reason to get into the Wii Fit business. Not everyone has the room for the larger exercise equipment the retailer sells. “There are lots of people who can’t afford a treadmill and we have stores in cities like New York where people can’t fit that equipment in their lofts and apartments,” Campisi said. Though, it is still just one of many things the retailer carries, Campisi reminds. “Fitness equipment and sports equipment is what we do,” he said. “In our fitness department we carry a lot of equipment. There are many, many ways to get fit and exercise, this is just one additional opportunity. And for sporting goods its a huge opportunity it’s fun.”

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Wii Fitness Shares Store With Dumbbells, Treadmills [Well Played]

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games Review: Going Through the Motions [Review]

There’s something to be said for a game that has Bowser performing a triple Salchow in figure skating or Dr. Eggman sweeping the ice in curling. I’m just not sure what that something is, though. Exciting? Surreal? Blasphemous? Whatever the case, such sights are possible in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, a title that’s notable for a couple reasons: It again pairs two of the most iconic characters in video games (and their supporting casts), and its juxtaposition of the words “Olympic” and “winter” seems strangely off-putting (why not Mario & Sonic at the Winter Olympic Games, hmm?). Regardless, the premise, which builds on 2007’s Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, remains simple: Take ten characters from Mario’s world and ten from Sonic’s and let them compete in two dozen or so events from the Winter Games. Players can take part in a Festival mode–-either alone or with up to three others—that walks you through two “weeks” of events (two or three per “day”), or they can compete in stand-alone single-player or group matches. And now, the judges’ scores. Loved Dream Events: While progressing through Festival mode, every so often you’ll have to participate in a Dream Event, which takes one of the main events, puts an arcade spin on it and transports it to a Mario- or Sonic-themed environment. In Dream Ski Jump, for example, you glide on skis through the Good Egg Galaxy from Super Mario Galaxy, collecting goodies for points along the way. They’re nice diversions, especially when you nail a triple axel while leaping a Goomba, as in Dream Figure Skating. I found many of the dream events to be preferable to their reality-based counterparts. More than Mini-Games: Though some events got annoyingly repetitive, there were a few worth the extra play-throughs. Hockey, with its one-minute halves (they’re called “periods,” but there are only two of them) was face-paced and fun, as you control the four-on-four action by pressing the A button to pass and flicking the Remote forward to shoot or body-check. Another was curling, which was surprisingly intricate and made for a decent primer on a sport I knew little about. Balance Board: Unlike the previous Mario & Sonic title, which was released before Wii Fit came out, this game supports the Wii Balance Board. I included it here simply because it makes the sledding events more enjoyable, allowing you to sit to steer. (Hey, when they’re appropriate, I’m a sucker for alternative control schemes.) However, the Balance Board is not without its drawbacks. It’s compatible only with a handful of events, and it’s debatable whether it makes those sports – skiing, snowboarding – more enjoyable. Moreover, anyone with a Balance Board should also have Wii Fit, which also includes ski slalom and ski jump games. Finally, the Balance Board is not supported in Festival mode; it’s a separate option, alongside Single Match, Festival and Training. Hated Rival Challenges: In Festival mode, after about every other day, a rival will challenge you in one of the events, which you must win in order to advance to the next day. Some rivals are ridiculously easy; others are more difficult. (Of the latter category, I seem to recall jotting something down in my notes … oh, yes, here it is: KING BOO – GIANT SLALOM – DIE! DIE! DIE! This was in reference to how, in order to beat King Boo, you must ski a nearly flawless giant slalom race while surviving the multiple times that the grinning bastard bumps you on the way down the course, including the many instances when he would knock me off balance a few feet before the finish line, causing me to lose and igniting an overwhelming desire to rip that flailing red tongue out of his ghostly freakin’ throat. See also: BIG BULLET BILL – SKELETON RACE – MUST … NOT … PUNCH … TV.) But back to the point: Overall, the challenges seemed little more than an artificial way to extend the Festival mode by making you repeat something over and over again until you get it just perfect. Movin’ and Shakin’: While the controls for some events seemed intuitive (or, like skiing or snowboarding, were already familiar from similar games), others were less so. In the speed skating 1000-meter short track, for instance, you must shake the Wii Remote on the straightaways and tilt it around the curves. But your time on the straightaways or curves lasts maybe a second or two, so your motions end up a jumbled mess. Furthermore, some of the motions just aren’t that responsive. In the ski cross or snowboard cross events, for example, when approaching jumps, you’re supposed to jerk the Remote and Nunchuk upward to make your character jump. It worked maybe a quarter of the time for me (and, making me feel doubly dumb, I kept whipping myself in the forehead with the Nunchuk cord). Length: You can sail through single-player Festival mode in as little time as a few hours (or more if, like me, King Boo or Big Bullet Bill trip you up). In order to unlock all the Dream events, you’ll have to play through Festival mode, but, after doing so, I’m not sure there’s much incentive to keep repeating it. Aside from the novelty of seeing Mario, Sonic or their acquaintances competing in winter sports, there’s just not a whole lot to Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games. The various iterations of skiing, snowboarding and speed skating events make the game seem too repetitive, and the few noteworthy sports – hockey, curling – don’t justify the full cost of the game. The game does provide a “shopping” area where you can use in-game cash to buy music from the game or outfits for your Mii, but, again, are you going to get the game just for that? You could probably rent this one and get what you need. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games was developed and published by Sega for the Nintendo Wii and DS on October 13. Retails for $49.99 USD. A copy of the game was given to us by the publisher for reviewing purposes. Completed Festival mode and tested the game with the Balance Board on the Wii. Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ .

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Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games Review: Going Through the Motions [Review]

Frankenreview: Wii Fit Plus [Round Up]

Everybody back on the balance board! Wii fit is back and packed with so much additional content that Nintendo had to add a Plus to the end of the title. Wii Fit Plus is an enhanced version of the game that saw people who normally wouldn’t be caught dead in a video game store flocking to them in droves. Along with all of the original game’s content, Plus adds 15 new balance board activities, strength training and yoga, a calorie counter, workout planning, and the ability to make profiles for your pets. Add in streamlined navigation and Nintendo has a recipe for further success on their hands. Right, assembled video game critics? GayGamer Basically, your mileage with Wii Fit Plus will vary depending on how you reacted to the first. If you already have and enjoy Wii Fit, this is kind of a no-brainer, as the additional games are well worth the $20 price tag for just the disc. If you tried Wii Fit, but found it lacking as an exercise program, you might want to check this one out as it is a little more focused, and you’ve already got the Balance Board. On the other hand, if you never bought Wii Fit, well, this is the game that will now come bundled with the Balance Board, so you don’t even have to worry about the first game. Oh, and it should go without saying that if you really hated Wii Fit, Wii Fit Plus is probably not going to change your mind. GamePro The body test has been modified to include one standard fitness test, and another that taxes your brain alongside your bulk, so that your Wii Fit Age represents your mind and body, instead of just the latter. There are three additional yoga and strength exercises each, and all of them are among the most strenuous activities in the game. Can you make your body into a V shape while sitting on the balance board or lay your body completely flat two feet above the ground while supporting your body with only one foot? Wii Fit Plus will test your body a lot more than the original did. IGN One of my favorite enhancements in Plus is its calorie counter. Every action in the game has been assigned a metabolic equivalent of task (or METS) number. A lot of the mini-games feature METS ratings of 2, which isn’t much — about the same as going for the easiest walk you’ve ever taken, but some, like push-ups, rate higher. In Plus, calories are counted by multiplying your weight times your METS. And after every exercise, whether yoga, aerobics or strength, and after every balance board game, you’ll see the calories you’ve burned, which is both encouraging and discouraging; the former because you can visualize some scientific representation of your workouts and discouraging because the calories don’t usually come off in triple or double digits, but single. GameDaily Not only will you receive the previous balance games, but also 15 new Training Plus activities designed to put some fun into working out. Rhythm Kung-Fu, one of our favorites, incorporates the remote, nunchuk and balance board, as players punch and kick with the beat. Meanwhile, Obstacle Course plays like Super Mario Bros., with gamers jumping over logs and dodging objects, except they physically perform those actions with the balance board. We’re also fans of Bird’s-Eye Bull’s-Eye, a game where players flap their arms to control a Mii dressed as a bird, the goal to land on targets and score the most points. 1UP Wii Fit Plus is a better product, but keep in mind that it’s not a sequel. Like the second edition of a book, it looks and feels exactly the same as before, but the additions effectively make the previous version obsolete. And it’s $20 by itself, which helps even more if you still have a Balance Board lying around. Still, things have changed in the year since the first Wii Fit, with multiple exercise games that just keep coming, and are more targeted at people who want nothing but to lose weight. Games like EA Sports Active are made by Americans and likely with Americans in mind, whereas Wii Fit Plus tries to go for a culturally-neutral — though still Japanese-leaning — approach, where traditional ideas of exercise seemingly clash with the practical (not that flapping away like a chicken to land on targets isn’t appealing). In short, there still isn’t much more focus or guidance in Wii Fit Plus, but the ease of use and greater number of enjoyable, not so “exercisey” games within, make it worth it. Kotaku Nintendo has been very careful to call Wii Fit a fitness “tool” not a fitness “solution” for obvious legal reasons. Neither Wii Fit nor its successor, Wii Fit Plus, will magically make you thinner or more easily able to resist tasty food. However, there’s a lot to be said for a game that makes the very idea of fitness fun. It takes your mind off the anxieties about health we have in this country and reshapes your expectations of your body to something more positive than “Will I fit in my skinny jeans tonight?” With the multiplayer element and new games that Wii Fit Plus adds to the experience, I have to say, I’ve been converted from a skeptic to a believer. A believer with a 14 pound cat and a high score on the Obstacle Course. If the Wii Fits…

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Frankenreview: Wii Fit Plus [Round Up]

Atari To Release Project Runway Game, Make It Work [Game Announce]

Fashionable reality show Project Runway will be fitted for a video game release next spring, courtesy of publisher Atari, with the first licensed title planned for a Wii release. Variety reports today that the Project Runway game will likely feature the likenesses and involvement of co-hosts Tim Gunn and Heidi Klum. In addition to fulfilling our dream of a low-polygon count Klum barking at us in a video game, the Wii version is reported to feature Wii Remote and Balance Board support, the latter for walking one’s chosen model down the runway. Atari’s deal with the Weinstein Company reportedly includes the option to release a series of games, so brace yourselves appropriately. ‘Runway’ poised for videogame makeover [Variety]

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Atari To Release Project Runway Game, Make It Work [Game Announce]

Atari To Release Project Runway Game, Make It Work [Game Announce]

Fashionable reality show Project Runway will be fitted for a video game release next spring, courtesy of publisher Atari, with the first licensed title planned for a Wii release. Variety reports today that the Project Runway game will likely feature the likenesses and involvement of co-hosts Tim Gunn and Heidi Klum. In addition to fulfilling our dream of a low-polygon count Klum barking at us in a video game, the Wii version is reported to feature Wii Remote and Balance Board support, the latter for walking one’s chosen model down the runway. Atari’s deal with the Weinstein Company reportedly includes the option to release a series of games, so brace yourselves appropriately. ‘Runway’ poised for videogame makeover [Variety]

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Atari To Release Project Runway Game, Make It Work [Game Announce]

Wii Fit On Public Transit — Not A Good Idea [Swag Report]

I picked up a copy of Wii Fit Plus from Nintendo today for review purposes — and then had the traumatic task of getting the Balance Board pack home on public transit. I was standing on the Powell Street station platform when I noticed a man staring at the box. The thing’s as big as a suitcase, so I assumed he was just trying to figure out what it was. But then, he gets on the same BART train car as me and spends the whole ride back to MacArthur station staring. Finally, as I’m getting off the BART, he blurts out, “You know that thing won’t make you lose weight, right?” Jeez. Next time I have a Nintendo appointment, I’ll just drive. Stay tuned to find out how fat my cat is with Plus’s new weigh-your-pet-and/or-baby feature!

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Wii Fit On Public Transit — Not A Good Idea [Swag Report]

Super Monkey Ball: Step And Roll Sweaty Feet On [Tgs09]

Sega’s Super Monkey Ball franchise hasn’t evolved much since its debut in 2001. And, with the exception of support for the Wii Balance Board, not much has changed in Super Monkey Ball: Step And Roll . We got a chance to go hands-on and feet-on with the Wii game at Tokyo Game Show to see just what differentiates it from its predecessors. It can be controlled with only a Wii Remote like previous Wii entry Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz but can also be steered by shifting your weight, feet planted firmly on the Balance Board. That, as you might suspect, is not nearly as easy or precise as previous control schemes. But that doesn’t mean the Balance Board controlled Super Monkey Ball isn’t fun. It may be frustrating fun—at least at first—but the tried and true monkey ball tilting mechanics remain intact. The goal is still to get your monkey of choice to the finish line, picking up bananas along the way. And fortunately, the earlier levels that we played seemed to be designed with the less accurate control scheme in mind. During our play through of the first dozen levels, the grooves carved into the platforms—one of them shaped like a Dreamcast swirl—helped to guide our monkey and the railings bordering each platform saved MeeMee, AiAi, GonGon and Baby from many deaths. But if previous Super Monkey Ball titles are any indication, the difficulty will ramp up. Hopefully, so will our balance board skills. 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. Out of obligation, we assume, Super Monkey Ball: Step and Roll comes with a batch of new multiplayer mini-games, only a handful of which we got to test out. Like mini-games tend to be, they’re light and fluffy fun, but may not be the main attraction. Super Monkey Ball: Step and Roll is slated for an early 2010 release on the Wii. Plenty of time for Nintendo to sell a few more million Wii Fit Balance Boards and make the game a success.

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Super Monkey Ball: Step And Roll Sweaty Feet On [Tgs09]