Wii Goes Fit

E3, the annual get-together of all that is innovative in the world of computer games, took place last week and one of the new products introduced was Wii Fit, which builds on the capacity for exercise we’ve already identified in the original Wii, and which Nintendo is promoting by saying it “turns the living room into a fitness center for the whole family.” 

How cool is this?!!!  Here’s an in-the-flesh example of how people can interact with gaming in a whole new way and how that can support a healthy life.  It is truly wonderful to see.

So, where do we go from here?  I hope that the Wii and Wii Fit are just the beginning and that other developers and game companies begin to innovate in this space of games for health.   Here are some ideas about the direction Wii Fit can take us that spring to my mind:

• In communities where safety limits physical activity, can Wii and Wii Fit provide a viable alternative way for people to exercise?
• Could the Wii become the basis of a new type of personal health record that you could share with your health care provider? 

The Wii has been highlighted in the Changemakers mosaic (the intellectual framework) for our competition Why Games Matter: A Prescription for Improving Health and Health Care. It, and its new spin-off, Wii Fit, demonstrate the type of innovation we want to see in games for health.