I was just picking up some games at Gamestop for the buy 2 get 1 free sale going on this week, and they had just put up all the promo boxes and display material for WiiFit. They were handing out DVD's to all the customers in the store, and they put one in my bag.

I was shopping at Target later in the afternoon and I saw the same promo DVD again, in the electronics section.

Just got home and was putting away my new gaming goodness (finally picked up the awesome Gamecube version of Metal Gear Solid : Twin Snakes), and decided to throw in the DVD of Wii Fit. There was nothing on the DVD I had not already seen, however, the marketing message of this package is brilliant. Warning: if you hate the big blue ocean strategy, stop here.  

The DVD has 2 tracks, one for WiiFit, the other is called "What is Wii?" They both are 5 minute commercials aimed at current non-gamers, and enlarging the gaming market.

The WiiFit ad, well......... the best way to describe it is a lot like a late night infommercial. It has a female host who talks about wanting to work out, and how to get a good workout from home while avoiding the sweaty equipment, long lines, and monthly gym fees. It says WiiFit brings a new type of home fitness to your home, with a virtual personal trainer included. The first feature is the balance board, and covers in detail how it is the center of your new fitness program. It shows creating a new fitness profile, using Mii's, BMI, and starts off with the fitness features of the package rather than the games. The first features were a variety of strength excercises, followed by yoga, and balance. It shows WiiFit's ability to know if you are doing the excercise right, and then goes into aerobics and how the balance board is also an aerobic step, good for cardio. After that it shows the running "game" which you can use if it's raining outside (note: it never says WiiFit replaces other excercise). Finally it goes to the games with skiiing, the marble game, bouncing soccerballs off your head, etc.

I think any housewife who is either busy or just too self conscious to go to the gym would have this as the next household purchase after watching. Very well done, and targeting a whole new market. It shows women, men, and children working/playing by themselves and in groups. 

"What is Wii?" looks like an older spot, and has footage from SMG, the Weather Channel, the Photo Channel, making Mii's, Wii Tennis, surfing the net, the News Channel, the Virtual Console (showing a menu of classic Mario titles) the shooting game from WiiPlay, a rowing game from Mario Party 8, Wii Bowling, and shows groups of adults playing games while mentioning "the Ultimate Party Machine." Interesting thing to me as M$ and Sony battle for control as your home entertainment console, this ad mentions everything from weather to news and photos mixed in equally with the games shown. I never felt the Wii was trying to market the entertainment console aspect, just a new way to play games.     

Then it shows the wiimote and explains how the motion control makes games easy to control. It covers wiimaote basics from the enclosed speaker to the few easy buttons. Then it shows the nunchuck and shows how games like metroid offer more control Metroid and how the nunchuck connects and is used with the WiiMote. It then shows Wii Sports Boxing, and groups of people playing Wii Sports.

Then it goes into the low price, backwards compatability with all past Gamecube games, and closes with Wii: expanding the gaming universe. All of the footage was either screenshots or the Nintendo staple of 'shot from the TV with groups of families, and friends laughing and smiling while playing.

The target audience of this disc is those of us who aren't already playing games and let me tell you, it will work for that audience. If this is handed out to people who see WiiFit on Oprah, it will move mountains of Wii's.

If you are "hardcore" and hate the Blue Ocean strategy, this DVD is everything you hate in ten minutes of video. But you can see how well it is going to work. If you can't tell after watching this cheesy infommercial, then you think the Wii is going to crash & burn now that GTA was released. Trust me, WiiFit is going to be big, bigger than any of us could have imagined after last years E3.

Will Wii Fit sell more than GTAIV? I have no idea, but it is possible that it could move just as many consoles as GTAIV, Halo, Brawl, MGS & SMG combined. Hopefully we can get some of those people to try other games as well, and truly expand the market, not just sell a fitness program. 

Strong statement at the end.

The rest of the post is fine, but you had to add in that last sentence.

This thread will focus on that, not Wii Fit, or the Blue Ocean strategy, sadly.

And so it begins... The casual gamers have won...

...Should I say it... must... not...


...I BLAME WIIFIT!!!!

i'm feeling deja vue all over again, maybe i'm wrong.

 Isn't something about that scuba diving game with the awesome soundtrack? 

You've misunderstood Mr. Stoppable.

I personally am fine with it, I was saying that his statement at the end would make people focus on the "moving consoles" statement, and the Blue Ocean Strategy, rather than Wii Fit exploding the argument.

P.S.  I know what "Blue Ocean" is; first, it's a book, but it's the strategy of creating a market, and demand, by being in an industry that isn't created yet, or something like that, IIRC.

 I dunno... my prediction remains 'outselling the pokemans', which means a minimum of 15M sales, although in my head I was comparing it to red/blue/green, so 31 million.

I'm going with 30% of Wii's userbase once things settle down.

Do you think it will be 30% of the userbase at the end of the consoles life? That would be a really large number.... and would be at 13 to 15 mil Wii fits sold by the end of 2008.