JP
Attention potential Wii Fit owners: if you’re over 300lbs, you need to find a new exercise game. Nintendo has just announced that the little white thing you stand on has a maximum weight limit, and 300lbs is the cut-off.
I suppose that every device who’s sole purpose is to be stood on has to have a weight limit, it just seems ironic when the device is being marketed as a fitness device.
Honestly, even if you’re not over 300lbs, the Wii Fit seems like one of those products that sounds like a good idea until you get it home. Then again everyone thought the Wii itself would lose its luster after a couple of months.
Wii Balance Board Has 300lb Limit [via kotaku]
30 Responses to “Wii Fit – Not for the obese”
Kelly October 12, 2007
how sad, but almost everything that being step on or carrying things (such as elevator) has weight limit
-4Ultraorange October 12, 2007
hmm leme think this over, yeah a capacity sounds about right. I don’t see the irony maybe if it was lower like 125 then that would be irony but not 300, if you’re over 300 you should stick to DDR and burn it off with cardio then get that yoga on.
-22marc April 17, 2008
Well I am sorry but this is sad. To market this as being a item to help people with fitness and send it over here where obese people make up like 30% of the population should have had more thought. I am not quiet 400 lbs and was looking forward to this to assist in other changes I have made in my life. I love to workout and play the Wii as often as possible and get a good sweat going in boxing. I was hoping they would come out with something that would take it further. It is to bad cause they have really lost a very large market on the 300lb weight capacity.
+35funnyguy April 26, 2008
LOL you said LARGE market with the over 300lb weight capacity!!
Quit it or you’ll make me laugh until i cry.
-36Mr. 300 May 19, 2008
I look at it as no different than home elliptical runners and treadmills that have 280-300 lbs weight range.
Perhaps Wii developers can look at this as an opportunity to create a special board for people over 300 lbs, just like there are “heavy duty” pieces of exercise equipment.
It may cost a little more (so to XXL shirts), but the opportunity is there.
+23wii4me May 21, 2008
Nintendo released a plus size wii fit, but only slightly. The American version has a weight limit of 330 lbs. If you weigh more than that, I wouldn’t suggest a video game as a route to weight loss anyway… :)
-13Bubba*itch May 26, 2008
[quote comment="41648"]Nintendo released a plus size wii fit, but only slightly. The American version has a weight limit of 330 lbs. If you weigh more than that, I wouldn’t suggest a video game as a route to weight loss anyway… :)[/quote]
And because YOU are an expect on what to recommend for weight loss why?? If it works for people then whatever, Nintendo will probably release another one with a higher weight limit so they can make even more money. . .
-14Darstan May 28, 2008
I am by no means a obese but I am almost 7 foot and for me being around 300 pounds is a pretty good weight but every time I go to purchase/ride in/walk on/sleep on/etc something I have to consider height and weight restrictions.
I wish the “average” sized people (atleast the ones so quick to judge and belittle) could know how it feels when things you would like to do or own are unavailable to you because of reasons beyond your control. I’m tired of having to buy or not buy certain items because they are designed for the “average” sized person.
Is it to much to ask that something be designed with us larger then average people in mind. I don’t want a version for people that are larger and have it cost twice the price that is taking advantage of our lack of options. Because in most cases the production cost difference is nominal.
What is really depressing is people get all upset when companies discriminating against people based on race, sex, or age but no one seems to care when companies discriminate against or take advantage of people based on size. Instead they belittle and insult the above average individual and make it like it is their fault that they are the way they are even if it might not be the case.
+22Hashmed May 28, 2008
It is understandable that there are a few people at the 300 pound range that would be considered healthy, but most of these people are a minority and should not complain when some electronic video game device would get crushed by their weight. After all, it would not be beneficial for Nintendo to invest thousands of dollars to create a more “fit” device for larger people, primarily due to the reason that they wouldn’t sell too many, if any at all. I mean, imagine a larger person (300+) walking into Software Etc and throwing a tantrum because they’ll break their Wii Fit Pad. Hate to break it to you folks, but if you want it that bad that you’re willing to complain and bicker about wanting a bigger and better Wii Fit, why don’t you take that energy and go jog a couple of miles a day. Perhaps you could use it as an incentive.
“When I get under 300 lbs, I can get one!”
Obesity is one of the biggest sources of death in America, thus, we should not cater to these people as much, but instead give them incentive to become more healthy.
-hashmed
-28Jessica May 31, 2008
[quote comment="41891"]
What is really depressing is people get all upset when companies discriminating against people based on race, sex, or age but no one seems to care when companies discriminate against or take advantage of people based on size.
[/quote]
C’mon – this isn’t even close to the same thing. It’s not discrimination, but the darn thing will break if too much weight is put on it. Just like a bed, or a table, or any other product out there not made out of titanium. 300 pounds is a pretty high weight limit, so I’d say Nintendo is NOT discriminating.
Race, sex and age does not cause items to break or malfunction. Weight, unfortunately, does.
Might I also add that being tall does not make you inherently heavy.
-23scionboy June 6, 2008
the wii fit game is like the extra large condom, everybody wants to be able to use it, but few will be able too
-4deeann June 9, 2008
[quote comment="41891"]I am by no means a obese but I am almost 7 foot and for me being around 300 pounds is a pretty good weight but every time I go to purchase/ride in/walk on/sleep on/etc something I have to consider height and weight restrictions.
[/quote]
Actually, being 7 foot tall and 300 pounds would give you a BMI of 29.9 – which almost obese. Obesity is defined as having a BMI of 30.0 or higher.
Someone who is 5′4″ and 180 pounds is OBESE.
Someone who is 6′ and 225 is OBESE.
I disagree with people who say this wouldn’t be a good way for obese people to lose weight. They need to start slowly with an exercise program. Running an hour a day isn’t going to work for these people.
It should be about having fun.
+10Mark June 11, 2008
I weigh 308 lbs. When I bought my wii fit three weeks ago, I weighed over 320 lbs. At this rate, in less than a month I will be under 300 lbs for the first time in over ten years. All because of the wii fit. Great product.
And I’m so sick of the pathetically immature comments like “if you’re over 300 lbs, I wouldn’t suggest a video game as a route to lose weight anyway”. Seriously. Go fuck yourself.
+55Em June 30, 2008
I would have thought that wii fit would be an excellent way for obese people to loose weight. It’s something that can be done in the privacy of your own home away from people who want to ridicule and it seems that some of the exercises are a good light way of introducing exercise without it being high impact. I hope that for those the board is unsuitable for that a plus size one is made.
+21MRF July 5, 2008
Hi All,
Just a little note about the weight limitations of the wii fit. I read a pre-release review which stated that the machine and gameplay only goes up to 300 Lbs, (now might be 330?), the actual unit itself can withstand a weight of 650 Lbs. So it would just be a matter of recoding the software. No redesign of the hardware is needed.
Hey, but when a “plus sized” wii fit comes out, can we call it Wii Fat?
Later,
-7MRF
bnb July 15, 2008
Actually the Japaneese version and American versions are the same. The 300 pound weight limit has to do with Japaneese laws. The board has a 330-pound limit regardless of nationality. Do a little research.
+6ttt July 23, 2008
[quote comment="41897"]
Obesity is one of the biggest sources of death in America, thus, we should not cater to these people as much, but instead give them incentive to become more healthy.
-hashmed[/quote]
Hashmed, you completely contradicted yourself. Don’t you think a fun video game would give an incentive to become healthy?
+13MiloJaggerson July 25, 2008
Hey,
I’m 6′5″ and 322#. I just got Wii Fit this last Sunday, and it tells me I am too heavy. My home scale shows I weigh 320# and the doctor’s scale read 322#. What I want to know is why won’t the Wii Fit board accept my weight? It’s all well and good that the Balance Board will support upwards of 600# plus, but if it will not register above three hundred pounds that is completely false and misleading advertising.
Before anyone thinks to get self-righteous and smugly suggest that “fat fatties” should look elsewhere for their fitness needs in some freakishly queer desire to defend the powers-that-be at Nintendo, let’s deal with the problem at hand — Their product does not deliver on its stated ability to handle a maximum of 330# (per Wii Balance Board Operations Manual, page 2 and the top of the packing box). I have lost 20# in the last four weeks, so don’t tell me to go loose some weight before I use the product. I have been loosing weight and plan to loose another eight stones (120 lbs) in the next year regardless of the Wii’s ability to handle my manly frame. My point is that I am currently under the maximum weight limit and it will not register me.
I will admit that the other members of my family enjoy the board and software, and it is fun to watch them enjoy the exercises and games. I even find myself weaving back and forth in my seat as they play the skiing slalom. It is just that this circumstance is completely frustrating!
Now that I am done with my rant, I am going to use Yourself! Fitness on the XBox. You can use it regardless of your weight — Cheers!
+6Sam July 29, 2008
Hey –
BMI is grossly inaccurate. It does not take into account – at all – muscle mass.
I am 5′5″ and 180 lbs. This month, I biked 400 miles – in a week. This September, I am going to be riding 100 miles in a day.
BMI tells me that I am overweight. Yet, I can probably outrun, outswim, and outbike most ‘normal weight’ people.
BMI is a toy to play with. Fat calibration, water immersion measurements and other ways to measure %body fat are much, much more accurate.
+9JFargo August 20, 2008
The 300 weight limit (or 330 for the plus-sized one I’m hearing about) is a little disappointing, so I’m glad I lost weight before buying this.
I just wanted to mention that the Wii Fit is actually pretty fun and effective, even after using it daily for 2 weeks. I was concerned that it would quickly lose its luster, as you say here, but it hasn’t yet.
+5Smober October 28, 2008
For all you fatties like me who got the Fit as a gift, or who didn’t see the limit (or were a bit too hopeful) and still want to use it you CAN. It’s just tedious.
For every weigh-in (the body test at the very beginning, and at the beginning of each mini-game), you’ll need either a lighter body-double, or you’ll need to use only partial weight. I sit on the couch behind the board with my feet on it and my elbows on my knees leaning forwards. In the original weigh-in, it told me I was fidgetting a whole lot, and kept resetting, but it eventually got it, and the weigh-ins before the games are just confirmations, so it doesn’t do that (but it will say your weight has changed and pop up with an extra crap menu most of the time).
The Fit may not be equivalent to a day at the gym, but for all the people ragging on fat people telling them to go do something else, the Fit is a GOOD START (and besides, for a fat person it’s more work, so it could very well be the equivalent of a skinny person’s day at the gym). I know I work hard doing it, and while the activities aren’t as easy for truly unfit people, they’re not SUPPOSED to be easy. If they’re hard, they’re working. They’re not too hard to outweigh the fun, and it’s exercise in the privacy of your own home without people pointing and laughing at the giant jiggly jogger (who’s probably destroying their knees anyway) or the fatso in their bathing suit at the pool, so that’s an extra “bonus”.
+14MACFan01 December 11, 2008
Ok people, lets get real here… how far should we go for mobidly obese in this country? 330lbs is alot of weight, and if you are over that then sorry, there are just some things that you are going to be limited in doing. This is a small plastic device, much like a household scale, and most household scales don’t go above 300lbs! I am not some skinny toothpick myself (although quite far from 300lbs), but if I ever got over 300lbs I would have much larger concerns than not being able to use a video game!!! For heavens sake people, I know it sounds a bit crass to say, hey if your fat then go out and go to the gym instead of sitting at your computer and complaining about your Wii fit being too flimsy for your exorbidant weight, but there is some truth in that. How far are we going to go in this country? How complacent and indugent to we need to be before we all become aemorpheous blobs rolling around on motorized carts, dying early of preventable diseases caused by our lazy and glutonous lifestyles, wondering what happened to all the healthy people? For the cost of a Nintendo Wii and a Wii Fit Board you can buy a treadmill or eliptical trainer(which is easy on the joints), perhaps that would be a better investment as you are not really going to get a fantastic workout with your Wii (as someone who has tried a Wii fit can attest). Being larger than 330lbs (barring being hugely tall) is just massively unhealthy, putting you at a frightening risk for serious conditions like heart disease, high collestorol, diabetes, and in the case of women, breast cancer. True everyone has to start somewhere, and working out at home can be more comfortable and easy than going to a gym, but buying some home gym equipment would be a much better plan then getting a nintendo wii folks…
-23HavenQ December 17, 2008
I well aware that I am overweight, however I am also exceptionally healthy considering this. I am very active, but also enjoy video games and LOVE my Wii. When I saw the Wii Fit, I was very excited about getting one. Considering the weight restrictions I am not able to create a user profile, but I did have an opportunity to try the Wii Fit using a lighter persons Wii Fit profile.
I came to terms a long time ago, that the world is not built for people of all sizes and shapes. This in mind … Hashmed does have a point, even if it was a bit more mean-spirited. Having been able to try to the Wii Fit and enjoying it, does give me the more incentive to get below the weight limit, so that I can use it.
Although, the video game industry does make a great deal of money and is always looking to make more. And considering that a good majority of video gamers tend to be a bit bigger around the middle, and that DDR proved to be a very popular weight lose tool for many video gamers, Nintendo may find benefit in changing the parameters to accept a higher weight.
NeutralAE January 2, 2009
I think it is sad that the Wii has the weight limit, but as someone who is over the weight limit, I can’t complain too much. I hope Nintendo makes one with a larger weight limit, but until then I’ll work on losing 20 pounds so I can use it. Good incentive.
It seems a lot of people here are going off about discrimination about large people. Why?? It not like Nintendo is discriminating. You can only put so much weight on that plastic thing before it stands the chance of being broken. I go through the frustrations of being oveweight and having a hard time finding clothes and other things, but i realize that it’s a result of my overeating and I can’t really complain too much. Honestly, the main thing that motivates me to lose weight is health and the thing that comes in a close second is to be able to find things that fit, including the Wii fit.
-1Max January 6, 2009
To all the people saying “300lbs is loads – it’s only plastic and it will break” – take a look back at the previous comments. The board will handle up to 650lbs – it’s the SOFTWARE that limits use to under 300lbs. Got that? Good – we can put that one to bed then.
I’m over 300 lbs, and I can tell you that simply “going for a jog” isn’t a sensible option for many obese people like me. Put simply, I’m not fit enough to jog far enough to get much benefit – remember that jogging is pretty much the highest impact exercise form there is, and jogging far when you’re over 300lbs is VERY difficult. Imagine being desperately unfit and starting to jog – difficult right? Now imagine doing it with a couple of kids strapped to your back. Get the picture?
That said, there are plenty of lower impact exercises that I can do. But that’s not really the point of this discussion, is it? I can go to the gym, and I buy exercise machines, I can attempt to run around the park. All these things are monotonous and humiliating, and that makes it very easy to find excuses not to do it. Or – to put it another way – while there are obviously greater incentives for a fat person to exercise than a think person, there are also a lot more disincentives too. The fact that I’m over 300lbs is a clue to how strong my will power is when it comes to this – and yet you expect me to show more will-power than anyone else when it comes to regular exercise? With my self-esteem? ;)
The Wii Fit is perfect for injecting a lot of fun into healthy activity, moving exercise out of the “tedious chores” box and into the “fun things to do” one. That’s the whole point of this system. By effectively excluding people over 300lbs from using it, Nintendo are ruling out the group of people who could, potentially, benefit the most from their Wii Fit. And all for the sake of a software change.
THAT’S why it’s a shame that the Wii Fit can’t help people over 300lbs.
+12Nickie January 14, 2009
Well I need to put in my 2 cents. The people that are complaining about fat people bitching… Atleast we are trying to do something to get healthy. It seems funny to me
+3that skinny people bitch about fatties and yet put down our efforts to get fit. Any fitness is good, and sense skinny people are SO concerned re: fat people maybe support our efforts. PS love the name Wii Fat would totally buy it. ;)
oregonchick January 15, 2009
I’ve been reading this and I’m just disappointed by the total lack of common sense, not to mention the lack of compassion, in this discussion.
Tell me: if you were 300+ lbs., would you HONESTLY not be humiliated to be at the gym among the (judgmental) rest of the folks on this board? For someone who is morbidly obese and only marginally mobile, not only is it difficult to gather the courage to show up at a gym, it’s not easy to fit in the exercise equipment there, either. And when you’re tremendously overweight, you’re not going to be capable of participating in a cardio-type class, nor are you going to have the range of motion to do “easier” workouts like yoga. So what is left – sweating in a sauna? Jogging and even walking can have a serious impact on joints and bones when you’re at that weight, too, so it’s not like there are a lot of available options.
Someone recommended investing the $400 or so to buy fitness equipment instead. Great in theory, but how much home equipment in that price range is actually able to support that kind of weight? Very, very little.
You know what WOULD really help the morbidly obese? Being able to do something fun and nonthreatening to increase their stamina and overall fitness, as they ease into a healthier lifestyle. It seems like the Wii Fit, which has a board that could hold over 600 pounds, would be a GREAT first step for someone who wants to take control of their health and improve themselves.
Instead, they find out that Nintendo’s software won’t permit them to participate, and the world is full of people who think that because they are fat, they don’t even deserve to be considered potential customers until after they drop the weight. Kind of defeats the purpose of the equipment, doesn’t it?
+13JustAQuickComment January 19, 2009
Looks like:
– Japanese and American wiifit balance boards are the same, but some Japanese law makes 300 more marketable than 330 (both do 150 kilos, about 330 lbs)
– the boards can take an estimated 660 lbs structurally, but their sensors (not software?) can only register 330 lbs; this allows for increased force due to movement. The sensor limit is likely from retooling existing cheap scale tech.
– there are probably as many overweight folks who have a hard time finding motivation and proper activities to help them lose weight as there are jerks what want to make fun of them for same; in fact, those who fling the insults can be as much of the problem as those that don’t do the exercising. The two are related, see? We are all part of each others’ problems.
Cheers.
+7