Wii Fit by Nintendo Brings Fitness to Everyone

By Roy | Published: February 25, 2008

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“Yea, I would love to exercise, but I just don’t have the time.” I hear it all the time, especially from my friends who play video games probably more than I do. I cannot say that I blame them. Their jobs are stressful, and the last thing anyone wants to do after a long day in the office, is lift some weights or go for a brisk jog. So what do they want to do? Play video games of course, and allow their minds to become completely engrossed in something fun.

Thanks to Nintendo’s Wii Fit, it is now possible to have that same feeling while exercising. Wii Fit is comprised of two parts; a game, and a pad accessory which the player stands on. The pad is made of two pressure sensitive panels, which can tell which way the player is leaning.

Each game will require the player to perform some physical feat, while the pad reads the motions to make sure they are correct. There are a variety of games including:

 

  • Tightrope walking
  • Yoga
  • Jogging
  • Ski Jumping
  • Hula-hooping
  • Aerobics
  • Push-ups
  • Soccer-goal-keeping

I was happy to see that Wii Fit gives you another use for the Mii’s you can create with the system. I put so much time into making myself, but Wii sports doesn’t provide a whole lot to do with your avatars.
Here in Japan, Wii Fit is intensely popular, in the first week of it’s release it sold over 250,000 copies. With such stunning success, it goes without saying the West can expect to see Wii Fit in the near future.

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Shin Megami Tensei: Persona FES Countdown Over — Follow Up

By Roy | Published: February 24, 2008

So I realized the countdown was intended for American readers.  Obviously being from the future doesn’t count, I have to wait until 8pm tonight (6am for those of you on the East Coast in America) to see the news.  Expect a follow up on this follow up later…

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Shin Megami Tensei: Persona FES Countdown Over

By Roy | Published: February 24, 2008

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So my alarm goes off last night at 5:59 AM, and I jump out of my futon. My roommate is looking around in a daze as I turn on my computer, which is incredibly bright in the pitch darkness. Luckily I suspended my computer so I would be able to quickly get to Atlus’s mysterious countdown timer. Twenty seconds left, I made it! I watch with great anticipation as the timer comes to an end:

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and then…

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“Yes I know the time and date thank you, now get on with it…” Only there was no getting on with it. This is still what is being displayed on the countdown page, as well as Atlus’s homepage. Why do I feel like I was just told to buy more Ovaltine? Oh well, I guess this is what I get for being so impatient. I will continue to check the page until something actually appears.

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New Mint Green Sony PSP

By Sarah | Published: February 23, 2008

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I saw this in Umeda yesterday, and I have to admit I had a sudden urge to take my first-gen clunky white PSP and give it to the next homeless person I see. A mint green PSP? Can you find a color that’s any more relaxing? A little more poking around and I found this Deep Red version that seemed to escape my attention when it came out. Hard to tell whether these colors will make it to America, which seems to avoid consoles with colors outside of the gray spectrum.

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Etrian Odyssey 2 (Sekai Ju No Meikyuu 2) for Nintento DS

By Roy | Published: February 23, 2008

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Anyone whose main language is English will most likely come to know this game as Etrian Odysses 2. If you are one of the few who played the original, known in Japanese as Sekai Ju no Meikyuu (??????), then you a unique breed of gamer. Anyway, the sequel was just released over here in Japan for Nintendo DS, and it looks like it has received a few additions. I stumbled upon this brief YouTube clip, and while it may not reveal much, I figured I would share it.

Fundamentally the first and second are not much different. You will still be crawling through dungeons, making maps, and working on your characters. The top screen is what your character sees, you tell him/her which way to go, and draw a map at the bottom of the screen with the stylus.
The character design is the same, and all the job classes from the previous title remain, in addition to 3 new classes:

I must admit, I am a fan of the addition of the pet class. I have a soft spot for fighting along side wild animals. The other two classes are interesting too. It will be nice to have another class that is effective in the back row (gunner). The Doctor appears to be a new type of mage. Unfortunately for skills, I have not been able to find anything new. As for a US release, we will have to wait and see. The changes may be too small for Atlus to bother bringing it over, but I will keep my eyes open for any new info.

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