Nintendo shifts Wii Fit 'launch' to tomorrow

by Alexander Sliwinski { May 20th 2008 at 11:30AM }

Nintendo informed GameTap late yesterday that Wii Fit's official launch has been moved to tomorrow, May 21. Although there may be some exceptions, Nintendo told the site that Wii Fit was only available at the Nintendo World Store in New York for its much hyped May 19 launch.

Some members on staff who pre-ordered Wii Fit from their local brick and mortar store were told their units may arrive today. We're also checking with Amazon.com to find out if its copies have been sent out. Another piece of Nintendo hardware with an apparent supply chain issue? We're shocked.

Tags: BreakingNews, nintendo, release, wii-fit

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Zertoss @ May 20th 2008 11:42AM

I thought I saw a couple dozen in stock at Circuit City in Pearland, TX on Sunday. I didn't pay much attention to them, so I guess it could've been 'display only' or something.

DangerMouse @ May 20th 2008 11:42AM

WTF? I have to wait another day before i can start burning off the pounds? BULLSHIT!

baby sea tuna @ May 20th 2008 1:46PM

"Do a couple of laps and come back tomorrow, fatty!"

-NWS Employee

Huey2k2 @ May 20th 2008 11:46AM

I really don't understand the appeal of this "game", but congrats to Nintendo for tricking the average person into paying $90 plus the price of a Wii for something they could easily do for basically free without one.

Huey2k2 @ May 20th 2008 11:47AM

*waits to get voted down by Nintendo fanboys*

jsn @ May 20th 2008 11:58AM

It's just a gimmick, like the console itself. Just like the Wii you'll have lots of people rush to get it one, but once the newness of the gimmick wears off they realize that the experience is actually pretty hollow.

Huey2k2 @ May 20th 2008 12:03PM

Honestly as a man who has owned a Wii for about a year, I have to agree.

It's a shame too, because I used to love Nintendo, I have an NES, SNES, N64, GB, GBC, GBA, and a DS. And this is the first time I've ever regretted buying a Nintendo product.

I understand that Nintendo wants to bring gaming to a new audience or whatnot, but what ever happened to giving something to the guys who have been there since the beginning, the "hardcore" audience.

I have 3 games for my Wii beyond Wii Sports, Twilight Princess, Metroid Prime 3, and RE4. Beyond those games I can't think of anything else on the system that interests me, "casual" games just bore me, they have no depth, nothing to keep them interesting for more than 15 minutes.

I miss the old Nintendo :(

jsn @ May 20th 2008 12:10PM

They're in the business of making money. Despite all the massive hardware sales numbers, none of the Wii's titles have done any better than the best GC titles sales-wise. Which shows you the true ability of the console to move games once the hype/gimmick wears off. If it weren't for the hype/gimmick factor luring in people who wouldn't normally buy games (and who don't by many after that initial purchase), it would be the gamecube all over again.

Cesaria (MKW:2621-2994-1376) @ May 20th 2008 12:13PM

"It's just a gimmick, like the console itself. Just like the Wii you'll have lots of people rush to get it one, but once the newness of the gimmick wears off they realize that the experience is actually pretty hollow."

Don't you ever get tired saying that? Your fingers must hurt from typing it out so much. Oh wait, you've probably got it saved on a notepad so you can copy and paste it for easier access.

jsn @ May 20th 2008 12:17PM

I've got macros for my macros!

Jody Anthony (cookingrebels.com) @ May 20th 2008 12:23PM

as a man that has owned a wii since launch, i played metroid prime 3 for 9 hours this past weekend.

Huey2k2 @ May 20th 2008 12:27PM

"as a man that has owned a wii since launch, i played metroid prime 3 for 9 hours this past weekend."

Apparently you didn't infact read my entire post. Because MP3 is one of the games I said I have and I enjoyed, along with TP and RE4. My only point was that for "hardcore" gamers on the Wii, it's slim pickings, and as someone who doesn't find "casual" games interesting I sincerely regret buying my Wii.

SoulBlade @ May 20th 2008 12:34PM

then clearly the Wii isn't meant for "hardcore" gamers at this point - that hasn't been stated enough for you guys at this point in its life cycle?

Just return the thing if you don't like it or regret it. Then you can play the games on the system you want. Or do you own it so you can bring up that fact while you troll it?

Don't worry - just because it's crushing the competition in sales doesn't mean it's better. Your systems still have the games you want, so they're winners in your eyes right? Why care about the masses? Most hardcore gamers are pretty elitist anyway

Huey2k2 @ May 20th 2008 12:42PM

I bought the Wii based on Nintendo's track record. I expected that as a fan of Nintendo products my entire life that they would continue offering a solid lineup of "hardcore" games for people like me. Obviously since they are trying to appeal to a wider audience I expected that there would be a good portion of "casual" games too. But I never expected that they would more or less abandon their "hardcore" audience all together.

And I could care less if Nintendo is crushing the competition in sales, as long as there IS competition I am happy. What I think is funny about this entire thing is that I do not consider myself a "hardcore" gamer, I just like games where when I play I can be engaged in the story and the atmosphere of it all.

Just because I have more than 15 or so minutes to sit down and play a game when I want to doesn't mean I am "hardcore".

SoulBlade @ May 20th 2008 12:58PM

Their track record for those types of games really ends at Zelda and Metroid. The other majors (Mario, MKart, Smash) don't really have much of a story - it's really all about the gameplay. So it's really the third parties who can really keep you happy w/ Nintendo systems at this point, and if the Cube was any indication, you probably shouldn't have bought a Wii.

I don't consider myself hardcore at all (glad to be separated from that crowd at this point to be honest) but I can play a lot of those games for more than 15 minutes and have a good time. If I'm lookin for a story, then I fire up something else that I haven't already beaten.

You might be inclined to fire it up for Mad World or The Conduit. Have you checked out No More Heroes? If you missed out on Okami, you could grab that one as well.

DangerMouse @ May 20th 2008 1:18PM

I agree. I thought the eyetoy was pretty damn neat, but it only got used 3 or 4 times. I think of that when i think of most add-ons, they're fun and interesting but at the end of the day, they're still gimmicks.

samfish @ May 20th 2008 1:21PM

"but what ever happened to giving something to the guys who have been there since the beginning, the "hardcore" audience."

Huh?! Nintendo has been going crazy with the hardcore fanservice this gen.
Super Mario Galaxy which was a nostalgia trip in-and-of itself, realistic Zelda, BRAWL, Mario Kart going back to the basics (even though it's kinda half baked) and Kid Icarus is supposedly coming back. As a Nintendo fan, I've never been more pleased with their output.

Now, if by "hardcore audience" you mean the people who during the N64 and GC days called Nintendo "kiddy" and said they were to mature, etc, for their games and generally refused to buy them, then...well...fuck those guys. They left Nintendo first and made no bones about it.
What reason is there for Nintendo give "those people" anything?

Prof_Chaos @ May 20th 2008 1:49PM

"Now, if by "hardcore audience" you mean the people who during the N64 and GC days called Nintendo "kiddy" and said they were to mature, etc, for their games and generally refused to buy them, then...well...fuck those guys."

Hear Hear.

I'm so sick of this argument. Get over it, the casual market is a bigger audience. But if getting more casual players to buy consoles pushes more players towards story-driven, more epic games then I say "Fuck yeah". The more people buying games the more money in the industry. Maybe then dev's will be more willing to develop riskier games. Not just another platformer, racing game, FPS, but something new. Break a paradigm or two. Nintendo made the console with a vision. They've front-loaded it with some pretty decent software. It's time for 3rd-party to come to bat with something more than a port.

As an aside, there's no reason that a product as versatile as a game console can't satisfy more than one market. I've had a Wii since day one, and I play at least 4-10 hours a week on it. Maybe not "Hardcore" but I enjoy it. Why oh why is it a personal affront to you if someone buys a game you don't like, or even a million someones. Go buy something else.

Fatass of Haikuness @ May 20th 2008 1:57PM

But Chaos, their argument is that with the success of Casual gaming, Hardcore gaming will die off.

You know, even though we've recieved absolute shitloads of highest-rated-games in the last few years... hell a few came from Ninty themselves.

Prof_Chaos @ May 20th 2008 2:39PM

"their argument is that with the success of Casual gaming, Hardcore gaming will die off."

My point is that this a stupid argument. This isn't diluting a market it's expanding it. There are people all over who had stopped playing video games or never have that are now paying them. Who gives a shit what their playing. A housewife may never play a Halo or Bioshock, but she may turn to a SMG, or a Katamari, or Okami once being exposed through Wii Sports or Wii Fit. This can only be good for the industry.

Fatass of Sarcasmness @ May 20th 2008 2:39PM

"They're in the business of making money. Despite all the massive hardware sales numbers, none of the Wii's titles have done any better than the best GC titles sales-wise."

Uh, maybe that's because the system's been out less than half the period that the Gamecube had been out.

Also, I suggest you check the data again - while third parties aren't doing that well on the Wii, they're sure as hell doing better than they were on the Gamecube, and the first party offerings (talking about the 'core' ones here, you know, Zelda, Galaxy, Corruption, Brawl, etc) are selling as well, or better, than their GC predecessors.

Bloody.Treason @ May 20th 2008 11:48AM

I work at Toys R Us, and we've just been bullshitting people telling them that the game has yet to come in, even though we have over 250 units in the back. Apparently that's easier than telling people the game's release date was changed....

Jesse Patnaude @ May 20th 2008 11:54AM

I live in Rhode Island and our local Wal-Mart has had Wii Fit in stock for over 3 weeks and has been receiving shipments in 4 out of 7 days every week.

Bloody.Treason @ May 20th 2008 12:00PM

Same here. The amount they've been shipping is ridiculous isn't it?

Sam @ May 20th 2008 12:02PM

My Amazon copy shipped out yesterday. I have two day shipping so it'll be here tomorrow, but if you got next-day then I guess you'd get it early.

filpaul @ May 20th 2008 4:39PM

I got my overnight from Amazon, but it'll take two days. UPS got the package at 8pm on the 19th, and it'll be here on the 21st.

Mr.ESC @ May 20th 2008 12:29PM

My Wii is back from repair :D

Too bad I don't care about Wii fit.It should include a SSX game or something then I might buy it.

Joe H @ May 20th 2008 1:24PM

When have games ever been really sold until the Wednesday of the week? This isn't really a delay so much as Nintendo clarifying for all the casual users who aren't used to this sort of thing.

Gamergirl @ May 20th 2008 1:41PM

I work at Game Stop and through our emails about a month ago Nintendo let us know that the street date for Wii Fit was 5/21, I honestly thought everyone knew this.

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ May 20th 2008 1:42PM

"Now, if by "hardcore audience" you mean the people who during the N64 and GC days called Nintendo "kiddy" and said they were to mature, etc, for their games and generally refused to buy them, then...well...fuck those guys. They left Nintendo first and made no bones about it.
What reason is there for Nintendo give "those people" anything?"

This. You're absolutley right Samfish. It's funny that the group of people whining about Nintendo deserting them are the same group that deserted them during the nintendo era.

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ May 20th 2008 1:43PM

gar I meant gamecube era.

Fatass of Haikuness @ May 20th 2008 1:54PM

I am not buying this game.

With that said, I'm going to completely ignore the reviews (that state that Wii Fit does contribute greatly to both fitness plans and self awareness) and call it a shitty gimmick 'cuz I'm not it's target audience.

Am I hardcore yet?

samfish @ May 20th 2008 2:03PM

No. You didn't whine about how Nintendo abandoned you; nor did you use the word 'waggle' in a derogative way.

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ May 20th 2008 2:16PM

Wow... I actually almost raged.

That is some damn fine good sarcasm pal.

Fatass of Sarcasmness @ May 20th 2008 2:37PM

I'm not being sarcastic. Nintendo is contributing greatly to the death of the Core gaming experience here! I mean, how many blockbuster, AAA, rating-list-topping games have we had since the Wii came out? This glorified scale shit has got to go. Speaking of, I'd better not invest in television anymore, shits just a glorified Lite-Brite

Liz @ May 20th 2008 2:01PM

Walmart shipped mine a few days ago. UPS says it will deliver tomorrow. Woot.

John McPoop @ May 20th 2008 2:48PM

Anyone who would argue the Wii is not geared towards the extremely young and extremely old crowds is fooling themselves. Nintendo seems to know their base very well and is marketing towards that particular crowd.

I say about the Wii

Universal Truth Is Not Measured In Mass Appeal

Fatass of Sarcasmness @ May 20th 2008 2:51PM

Anyone who dares argue with my opinion is wrong, is what you've been sounding like for a while now - nice to hear you finally come out and basically say it.

I'm out of college, own all three systems (and many systems from generations before it), and still don't see where the hell you're coming at.

Wait, you're right, it is geared towards that audience - and just about everyone in-between. As corny as that sounds, I wouldn't call it inaccurate.