Nintendo Wii U Review

It’s been pretty much a madhouse around here. Thing 1 has friends sleeping over almost every weekend, we had a brood over for Thanksgiving weekend with more to come. Just in time for the onslaught I had the opportunity to take Nintendo Wii U and activity trackers for a test drive. Timing is everything.

We already had Wii Fit  but let the record show, other than going downstairs to show off my dance skillz and embarrass the heck out of my kids, I’ve stayed away from the Wii of late. The Wii U has an activity tracking feature. You probably know I love me some activity tracking so I was all over that.

At first glance the tracking unit appeared big (compared to my Fitbit One) and protrusive. It was recommended to be worn at the waist. I worried I’d lose it, but here it is  a couple months later and I haven’t…knock wood.  It also doesn’t light up the way the Fitbit does, but I’m nit picking. Doesn’t really matter.

Here’s how it compares to my Fitbit One. The tracker shows time, steps taken, temperature, feet climbed, miles and calories burned. I wear it throughout the day and it syncs wirelessly to the Wii U when I do a workout. There are all kinds of cool challenges you can do with/against someone else if you have more than one tracker. I am currently climbing out of the Grand Canyon…should be out any day now…

Here’s data synced from a hilly(ish) run. I love that it shows elevation. The various colors show incline an decline. Pretty darn cool no?

Activity trackers aside, there is a treasure trove of cool fitness things you can do with Wii U. For starters there’s a daily body test which entails weight, BMI and some balance and coordination challenges. When I started my “Wii age” was a dismal 58 but in a few short weeks I am a slamming 29.

Since we’re having a somewhat more harsh winter this year so far, it’s been challenging to get to the gym or out for a run. I can’t tell you how great it is to be able to go downstairs to the Wii U and fire up a fresh workout every day. Choose from aerobics, dance, strength, yoga, you name it, it’s there; at a variety of skill levels too. I hadn’t done a step workout in ages until just the other day.

In a nutshell, I can’t say enough good about the Wii U’s fitness features, and I haven’t even scratched the surface of all it has to offer. While I am not much of a gamer, the Caveman, our kids and their friends think this thing is the bomb dot com for fun and games. If you’re looking for a last minute Christmas gift the entire family will love, this is it!

I received the Wii U and activity trackers free of charge for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own.