Blog Archives
Oh where, oh where can the Nintendo 3DS exergames be?
Count real steps in Nintendogs + Cats for 3DS (courtesy Nintendo)
My daughter loves her Nintendo 3DS, the handheld game console that succeeded the Nintendo DS, and I agree that it’s a nifty little gadget. Among many other features, it has a pedometer built right in, and an Activity Log on the main menu automatically records your daily steps if you go for a walk with your 3DS. The built-in pedometer means that games can also have the ability to give you bonuses for getting up and walking around. No need anymore for 3DS games to have peripheral pedometers like the Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver Pokewalker or the pedometers that came with Personal Trainer Walking or My Weight Loss Coach for DS.
So there should be more 3DS walking and activity games than you can shake a walking stick at, right? Doesn’t look that way. Even though there were several walking and general health and fitness games for the old DS console (see the list here), my active game list for 3DS remains empty. You can play any DS game on the 3DS, and it is easier to have a tiny pedometer clipped on than to carry the 3DS console in your pocket all the time, but it would still be great to have more games that take advantage of the built-in pedometer technology. Besides, you’re less likely to put your pants in the washing machine with the 3DS in the pocket.
It’s not easy to even find which 3DS games give you bonuses for walking. One that does is Nintendogs + Cats, a fun simulation game in which you adopt and pamper a virtual puppy. You can take Rover for a fake walk by just steering with your stylus, but if you take the console for a real walk with the game turned on, not only do you burn real fat and gain real fitness, you also get presents from your dog, and not the kind you have to scoop. Gifts depend on how many steps you take; according to the list at Nintendogs Wiki, they range from a dog biscuit for 10-99 steps all the way up to a gold bar for 99999+ steps.
The Street Pass feature built in to the 3DS is another feature that might encourage walking, or at least getting out of the house. With Street Pass, you leave the wireless internet detector on in the 3DS as you walk around, and if another wireless-activated 3DS is in the vicinity, your Mii avatars will “visit” each other and sometimes exchange gifts, or show off their Nintendog or Nintenkitten. We’ve walked extra loops around crowded malls just to try to collect Miis.
Do readers know of any other 3DS games that encourage walking?
The non-crippled Wii is back in stock at Amazon, at this writing
This is the Wii you want for DDR or Active Life play
My post about the “new” horizontal Wii is getting a ton of hits, probably from disappointed people who found it and a DDR or Active Life bundle under the Christmas tree, only to discover that there’s no way to plug in the mat. But there’s hope for would-be mat mashers: the old, vertical, mat-compatible-design Wii has returned to Amazon for the same price as the new Wii Lite.
If your crippled Wii came from Amazon, they have a 30-day return policy, so you may be able to box it up and exchange it for the good Wii. It no longer comes with Wii Sports, but you can buy that separately for $20, so you can relax with some bowling or tennis when you tire of hopping on arrows.
Buyer beware! New Wii won’t play DDR, Active Life or other mat games
This new Wii - note the horizontal Wii logo - has no ports for plugging in your mat
The Wii is still a hot item for the sixth holiday season running, and in the past, your biggest problem in selecting a Wii console was fighting off the pepper-spray-wielding Ebay resellers. Unlike Xbox 360 or PS3, you didn’t have to worry about different models with different features; you just snatched that white box with “Wii” in big letters and you were good to play any Wii game, or any Gamecube game for that matter.
Well, Nintendo thought you buyers just had it too easy, and set out to change that. Now there is a new Wii appearing on store shelves and at Amazon, and at first glance, it looks like the only difference is a lowered MSRP and a horizontal rather than vertical stance. And you may have read on game sites that it no longer plays Gamecube games, which is no biggie for most people.
But what many upset buyers are finding out after the fact, is that they got rid of the four Gamecube ports, which means that if you want to play DDR, Active Life Explorer (or other Active Life game) or Walk It Out using a foot mat, you’re screwed.
Original Wii console: note the vertical Wii logo (this console can be either vertical or horizontal) and the Gamecube ports on the left
These mat games may be last century tech, but they’re still around – a new Active Life game, Magical Carnival, was just released. And the newest Wii DDR game, DanceDanceRevolution II, is being hailed as a return to classic DDR with no hands, gimmicks or balance board, and doubles play for the first time on Wii. Yet the new console won’t let you plug in even one mat, let alone two!
There are wireless third-party DDR mats, but they’re pricy and haven’t gotten good reviews. My beef is that a “Wii game” should play on a Wii, not only certain models of Wii. Nintendo really dropped the ball with this decontented box, and does a disservice to consumers by not making it clear that you can’t use the controllers that came with the DDR or Active Life bundle.
Pass up this no-bargain console, and look for the older Wii models (which are getting harder to find, and more expensive) or buy one used. Otherwise you’ll have to miss out on some great active games.
Sequel to Zumba Fitness game has been announced, for Wii and more
Zumba – both the game and the fitness franchise it was based on – is a smash hit everywhere, so it’s no surprise that a sequel is coming. Game maker Majesco has announced that Zumba Fitness 2 is coming this holiday for the Wii, and “another to-be-announced platform in early 2012″.
That could be Kinect, that could be PS3 Move, or it could even be Nintendo 3DS: put the console in your pocket and rack up coins by shaking it for all you’re worth! Some gamers are wildly speculating that it could even be the “Wii 2″ that is supposed to be exhibited this summer and put on the market next year.
Otherwise, it sounds like the same game with new music and stages. As with DDR and Just Dance, why mess with a successful formula?
Featuring more than 30 hot new music tracks, electrifying choreography, a huge variety of new dance styles and brand new arenas, Zumba® Fitness 2 invites players to dance their way into shape with a fun and proven program. The successor to the best-selling original, Zumba® Fitness 2 gets players moving with world renowned Zumba® creator, Beto, and celebrity instructors Tanya Beardsley and Gina Grant as they guide you through each exhilarating routine ranging in style from Merengue and Samba to Indian and Latin Pop. The all-new progress tracker adds up calories burned, grades dance styles, and displays trophies, stats and overall rank. Playing in Single Song, Full Class or Zumba Party modes, players will have a blast with this unique dance fitness experience that shapes, tones and transforms their bodies while leaving them with an endorphin high.
Additional Zumba® Fitness 2 Features:
- Shake it in Style – From fan favorites like Salsa and Reggaeton to all new styles like Bellydance, Axe, Latin Pop and Pasodoble, players can choose from more than 20 dance styles.
- Customize Your Experience – Select from more than 30 tracks in Single Song mode, take a class designed by Beto, Gina Grant or Tanya Beardsley, or craft your own playlist in Zumba Class mode. Invite your friends to join the fun in Zumba Party mode that supports up to 4 players. You can even take it slow in Learn the Steps tutorial mode before you dive into the choreography.
- Location, Location, Location - Dance it up in five new, dynamic environments from a Miami Yacht to a Los Angeles nightclub.
- Superstar Instructors - Dance and interact with top Zumba instructors Beto, Tanya Beardsley and Gina Grant. You can even customize each instructor’s outfit with the hottest ZumbawearTM styles.
(Via Majesco)
Hello, cheaper Wii; goodbye sports
Wii, classic exergaming edition
Nintendo has announced that starting May 15 (a week from this Sunday) a new Wii bundle will hit shelves, priced at $150, $50 less than the current bundle. This bundle will still contain a Remote Plus (that has a built-in Motion Plus attachment) and a nunchuk, but instead of the Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort games, a copy of the popular racing game Mario Kart will be thrown in. Also for the first time, Wii Sports will be available separately for $20. (Sports Resort is already available separately for $40.)
That’s kind of the end of an era; practically all Wii owners can remember firing up that little white box for the first time, designing a Mii, pretending to bowl or box or whack a golf ball and thinking “Whoa, this really works!” Then, chagrined that your “fitness age” is about 20 years older, you spend the next 2-3 hours showing that Wii who’s boss, then you get up the next morning and can’t even put on your shirt…Ah, memories of the ’00s.
