In today’s Nintendo Direct, Wii Fit U was announced and detailed, before taking a detour at the very end to announce Wii Sports Club and new functionality for Wii Street U.
Much of the Direct focused on Wii Fit U and use of the Fit Meter, which is not a pedometer. It actually has a 3 axis accelerometer, so it will be able to track elevation as well as your steps. This will ensure the accuracy that it measures your calories burned, particularly when you walk up hills or go up flights of stairs.
Data on the Fit Meter is transferred via the Gamepad’s IR port, and you will be able to track a large amount of useful data. Wii Fit U will use data collected to track down if you are meeting your goals and give you activities if you miss them. It will also create Fit Meter challenges.
Now here’s where it gets interesting. There will be a free one month trial of the game available between November 1 to January 31 next year. The Fit Meter will also be available at retail on November 1 for $ 20, and if you sync the Meter to your game, it will be free for life. You will also need to already have a Balance Board. Other purchase options are a disc copy with the Fit Meter for $ 50, and a disc, the Fit Meter and the Balance Board for $ 80.
Balance Board owners have more to look forward to, as Wii Street U’s latest update add support to the peripheral. You walk in place to move forward and shift weight to change direction.
Finally, Nintendo snuck in the announcement of Wii Sports Club at the last minute. The next installment of Wii Sports Club will be completely download and use WiiMotion Plus for an enhanced gaming experience. Wii Sports Club will have online multiplayer, registering you into sports clubs by region and city. Most interestingly, the game offers a range of purchasing options. You can get a Club Pass for each game at $ 10 each, or a Day Pass to play all the games within the next 24 hours for just $ 2. Wii Sports Club will have a free trial available from when you start it up for the next 24 hours.
Of course, Wii Fit U and Wii Sports Club also boast updated HD graphics, and won’t be small downloads either. We did not hear this from them for a while, but it’s clear now Nintendo is serious about updating fitness games on the Wii U. Between all this, Rocksmith 2014 and Kinect Sports Rivals, casual games seem to want to go hardcore.
You can check out the Direct yourself below.
