I spent Memorial Day weekend doing yoga, skiing, and walking across a
tightrope – all without leaving my apartment.

In fact, I did all of this in a video game – Wii Fit,
to be exact. It's a new game that helps players exercise – an
"exer-game," if you will – and it's so popular that it's already sold
out in some stores. I can see why: It's a blast.

Nintendo revolutionized gaming with the Wiimote,
a motion-sensitive controller that's accessible for neophytes, but fun
for experienced players. And it's revolutionizing gaming again with Wii Fit. The game comes with the Wii Balance Board,
a rectangular weight-sensitive device divided into quadrants that sits
on the floor. It can tell players their weight and body mass index and
use them to calculate their Wii Fit Age. Sadly, mine is 46 – nine years
older than I am in real life.

Players can set fitness goals
and track their progress since the program has an internal calendar.
There's aerobic exercise, which doesn't get much more strenuous than
jogging in place – better than nothing for coach potatoes, but not much
of a workout for anyone in decent shape. But Wii Fit also has
a virtual yoga instructor, who measures how well players perform
certain poses based on their balance on the board. For beginners, at
least, it's a good way to stretch out and relax.

The fun parts of Wii Fit
are the balance games, which use the board's weight sensitivity in
inventive ways. There's a tightrope game that tests your balance –
which, in my case, sent me falling to my virtual death repeatedly. I
did better at the skiing game, where you control your movements by
leaning forward, backward, and from side to side. I'm not exactly sure
what this has to do with fitness, but that might not be the point. The
balance board is a great way to control a skiing game – especially
compared to a traditional controller with joysticks.

To me, that's the genius of Wii Fit – not the games it has,
but the possibilities it shows. Suddenly, the medium of gaming seems to
have opportunities it didn't a few months ago. This might not be a
truly great exercise game, but it's a step in the right direction –
which means that either Nintendo or someone else will make one soon.
Same with the balance games. On Wii Fit, skiing is fun but
too simple to stay challenging. However, the controls work well enough
that someone will use them to make a great skiing game. (There's
already one such title, We Ski,
but the reviews aren't promising.) Someone else will probably make
games based on skateboarding, snowboarding, even surfing. Then I might
not have to leave the house at all.