Wii Fit Benefits MLB Pitcher

Wii Fit Benefits MLB Pitcher

September 16, 2009

The Wall Street Journal has an article on the benefits San Diego Padres pitcher Heath Bell reaped from using Nintendo’s Wii Fit in the off season.

Bell was driven to work out more—not to lose weight—but to make his avatar smaller, after the game declared his character obese. The baseball player ended up losing 25 pounds and credits the game with increasing his balance. Bell is enjoying his best season to date, with his 37 saves ranking among the league leaders, though he did give up a game winning, ninth inning two-run homer last night.

Perhaps The New York Mets should look into ordering a full compliment of Wii Fit’s for their entire roster?

Posted in

Comments

Re: Wii Fit Benefits MLB Pitcher
Submitted by mdo7 - September 16, 2009 at 12:15 pm -0500

Look likes the Wii has done it again.  I've been hearing good news about the Wii over the last few months.  I've found out that the Nintendo Wii is probably the current console for excercising (I remember DDR and the PS2 and it's eyetoy were the exergaming back then) and rehab or should I say Wiihab.  I remember back at NIH, I did a presentation on how the Wii helped people with Parkinson's Disease.

I wonder how Xbox 360's Project Natal and the PS3's Motion controller will help in the future.  I wondered to myself if those can help with PD.  I hope it can become true. 

 

Re: Wii Fit Benefits MLB Pitcher
Submitted by Vake Xeacons - September 16, 2009 at 12:38 pm -0500

Well, since both MS and Sony are planning their own "balance boards" for stuff like Tony Hawks, we may be seeing more of this in the future.

The Wii balance board has had suprising good support, especially when compared to some the Wiis other accessories (cough, Wiispeak, cough). And it only seems to be gaining. Right now, the three consoles are trying to find a balance (no pun intended) between classic controller games and motion capture.

We will have to see how that support will gain (or not) with Wii Motion Plus, Project Natal, and [whatever Sony called theirs].

Re: Wii Fit Benefits MLB Pitcher
Submitted by jedidethfreak - September 16, 2009 at 12:47 pm -0500

Interesting point, since you'd think the WiiSpeak would be more popular.  However, a lot of game companies won't make online games for the Wii in the first place, so the WiiSpeak would be almost useless.

---

He was dead when I got here.

Re: Wii Fit Benefits MLB Pitcher
Submitted by killatia - September 16, 2009 at 1:28 pm -0500

Glad to hear the wii fit is helping out the guy

http://www.magicinkgaming.com/

Re: Wii Fit Benefits MLB Pitcher
Submitted by ZippyDSMlee - September 16, 2009 at 5:15 pm -0500

Mmm WII speak to teach you /strike/japanase/strike/ english...I am so there!

Until lobbying is a hanging offense I choose anarchy! Stop supporting big media and furthering the criminalization of consumers!! http://zippydsmlee.wordpress.com/

Re: Wii Fit Benefits MLB Pitcher
Submitted by Sigvatr_ - September 16, 2009 at 11:21 pm -0500

I don't have any doubts that it worked for him, but to my knowledge 90% of people I know who have bought Wii Fit have played it a couple of times before putting it away and never playing it again.

It's not really any different from gyms who entice people with deals to improve their health and get them to sign some complicated contract which forces them to pay regular fees, even if they barely ever show up. Well, I suppose you make a one off payment for Wii Fit, but the principle is the same.

It's quite obvious that Wii Fit is a huge financial success for Nintendo, but in my opinion it makes a large profit off of a combination of people's good intentions and their inherit laziness. Stories like this (which I'm not saying are wrong) will probably convince more people to go out and busy open their wallet for a copy of Wii Fit, then play if a couple of times before putting it away and never playing it again.

I think it would be really interesting to see the statistics of how often people who have bought Wii Fit "don't" use it.

Re: Wii Fit Benefits MLB Pitcher
Submitted by Mysticgamer - September 17, 2009 at 9:17 am -0500

It's same with any piece of exercise equipment.  People could have those amazing muscles and trim bodies just like the ones in the commercial if they actually used the machine longer than a week then put it in the closet.

Re: Wii Fit Benefits MLB Pitcher
Submitted by Wormdundee - September 17, 2009 at 3:50 pm -0500

And the cycle of unused exercise equipment continues. How many houses of friends and family have you been to where the ever present treadmill is sitting in a corner collecting dust?

GamePolitics ShoutBox

Posted 11/22/09 at 11:48pm
ZippyDSMlee: AE:they feeding you well? I am enjoying win7 and heading to bed...uhg I need to get up early and start back to cleaning/painting blahg >< need tog et stuff done befor thanksgiving....
Posted 11/22/09 at 11:41pm
Andrew Eisen: Just got home from an eight hour recording session at Capitol Records. A lot of fun but damn exhausting.
Posted 11/22/09 at 08:44pm
BearDogg-X: 10 N. O. Who Dat?
Posted 11/22/09 at 09:45am
ZippyDSMlee: JD:I think doc phill is still sout about the break up with his wife he dose not fill holes as much as make them bigger these day
Posted 11/22/09 at 12:06am
JDKJ: You should get Phil McCraken to help you spackle those banisters.
Posted 11/21/09 at 11:57pm
ZippyDSMlee: Oh in the pirate hunter article I need my song ieda heckled DS,JD,Beemon sic im !!!
Posted 11/21/09 at 11:56pm
ZippyDSMlee: JD:no I am tried from prepping the banisters for painting , worked on them from 12 to 4 and 6 to 8...after I got back from the store...got up early got ready...blah...been up all day..I need a nap...
Posted 11/21/09 at 11:42pm
JDKJ: No. You gonna stay up late tonight soldering?
Posted 11/21/09 at 11:41pm
ZippyDSMlee: JDKJ:Don't you mean Mctite?
Posted 11/21/09 at 11:33pm
JDKJ: @Zip: Neil, Bob, and Lik McTaint. The McTaint brothers. LOL!!!
Posted 11/21/09 at 09:44pm
Flamespeak: I still think military personell, killing other military personell, on a military complex should be handled by military courts.
Posted 11/21/09 at 09:43pm
Flamespeak: I could see this a mixture of the two charges rather than just one or the other.
Posted 11/21/09 at 09:43pm
Flamespeak: I think this was mainly a person who snapped, but evidence is showing he definitely had strong inlinations to islamic-extremism.
Posted 11/21/09 at 09:41pm
Flamespeak: People are trying to claim that Hasan's actions were not terrorism. I don't jump on the 'terror train' like others, however
Posted 11/21/09 at 09:38pm
mentor07825: Britain certainly does deserve it! And the French! God damn it, it was a hand ball!!!
Posted 11/21/09 at 09:34pm
ZippyDSMlee: mentor07825:Well Brittan dose deserve it....
Posted 11/21/09 at 09:33pm
ZippyDSMlee: Alyric:I don;t hasliburton having to pay back billoins... don;t you love it when the rich roll over the goverment without a care?
Posted 11/21/09 at 09:32pm
mentor07825: I say we nuke the whales, for the benefit of both mankind and the environment.
Posted 11/21/09 at 09:28pm
Austin_Lewis: I say we try Al Gore too. I always said he was in on the racket.
Posted 11/21/09 at 09:16pm
Alyric: The leaked information proves these organizations knowingly defrauded governments (i.e., taxpayers) out of billions of dollars. Yet there will probably never be a trial.
Login or register to post shouts