Why Wii Fit is a Hot Item

Despite the lack of hype from the gaming press, Wii Fit has already sold out of preorders. You will be hard-pressed to find yourself a copy without shelling out more money than the suggested retail price. So why has Wii Fit become such a hot item in times of recession and the lack of interest from the gaming community? Let's look at a couple of factors.

Casual Audience Loves Nintendo
While hardcore gamers aren't particularly excited with Wii Fit, the casual ones will eat it up. Nintendo has created a strong following from these non-traditional gamers by building a great reputation with easy to learn but fun to play games like Brain Age, Wii Sports and Nintendogs. Wii Fit is the latest in the line of casual offerings from Nintendo. While it may be a new franchise, Wii Fit will sell many units just because Nintendo is attached to it. It also helps that many mainstream media outlets are hyping and fluffing the Wii Fit up as the next big must have thing.

Innovative Accessory
With the aforementioned games, Wii Sports stands out the most. It was the game that sold the Nintendo Wii and its motion-sensing Wii Remote. Wii Fit is seen as a spiritual successor to Wii Sports. Instead of the Wii Remote, Wii Fit uses the Wii Balance Board. Wii Sports presents a simpler, more natural way to playing games and Wii Fit will be taking that to the next level.

Perfect Party Game
Wii Sports, by bringing a new way to interact with the television screen, was also a fun party game. When people have fun playing a game at a party, they tend to want to buy one for their own use. Word of mouth is the strongest form of selling a product and Wii Fit seems to "fit" perfectly under this category.

Diet Obsession of America
Playing Wii Sports will make gamers sweat; this is what Wii Fit main focus will be. Americans are always looking for a way to shed a couple of pounds. Despite Nintendo's admission that Wii Fit isn't actually made for physical fitness, many consumers still see it as a fun and innovative way to work out.