GuyOnAWire

The day was November 1st, 2013. The top song on the Billboard Charts was “Royals” by Lorde, the biggest movie at the box office that weekend was Ender’s Game, and the top-selling video game of that month was Call of Duty: Ghosts (and yes, there was a Wii U version). And on that opening day in November, I purchased my first ever Wii Fit U “Fit Meter.” Little did I know that I would end up wearing it for the next ten years. Follow me as I chronicle my time with the device and dive into Nintendo’s history with the “Exergaming” genre via Nintendo’s many platforms.

Read more: My Decade with the Wii Fit U’s “Fit Meter” Pedometer

Going to the gym is a process. You have to buy gym clothes, find parking, change near others in various…states of clothing, hope your favorite machine or weights are free, and then spend the next hour or so sweating next to — and in front of — some of the most traditionally beautiful people you’ve ever seen. At-home fitness was a staple for decades in home video (with the Jane Fondas and Suzanne Sommers of the world), but where was the modern-day equivalent? In 2008 North America, Nintendo came up with a solution in the form of the original Wii Fit and Wii Balance Board changing the awkward workout game forever. No longer must we sweat and suffer in front of a jury of our peers, now, we could do it at home, in front of our friends and family! Just like when we would play Wii Sports and be embarrassed by how much playing Wii Bowling made our arm muscles sore. But it was with the release of Wii Fit, that I realized how much I loved the gamification of my workout routine. And my sordid love affair was only just blossoming.

“The House That Mario Built” had had my attention. Finally, a system that makes working out at home fun! I bought the entire package, hook, line, and sinker. I played the heck out of that thing, trying to top every mini-game’s scoreboard, perfecting my stance to the exact middle of the board, and desperately hoping to make my Mii not so “Obese.” The sound effect they used when your pudgy little persona blew up like a balloon and realized its obesity haunts me to this very day.

Then at the Electronic Entertainment Expo or “E3” 2009, Nintendo announced the Vitality Sensor for pending release. While not exactly a “fitness“ device, the wearable finger clasp – that resembled a pulse oxidation meter one would find in a hospital setting – was designed to read your heartrate so it could adjust the game in real-time. A horror game, for example, could amp up the intensity if they measured a lower heartbeat on the pulse ox– I mean, Vitality Sensor.

Sadly, the only other update to the peripheral since its debut was the announcement of its cancellation in 2013. They never made it publicly available and in that same announcement, the late Satoru Iwata said that the Sensor’s number of applications was limited, and it only worked with 90% of the test audience. We may never know its true purpose or which games Nintendo had planned to incorporate into the shelved device. Some might have speculated that the tech found its way into Ring Fit Adventure (more on that later).

Nintendo continued its “exergaming” genre with the release of the remakes of Pokémon Gold and Pokémon Silver (known as HeartGold and SoulSilver on the DS) in 2009. Released alongside these two games was the Pokéwalker pedometer accessory, which was inspired by the Pokémon Pikachu GS series of Tamagotchi-like devices.

This pedometer, designed after the iconic Pokéball, was revolutionary at the time. Nintendo had always made high quality products with durable builds, intelligent design, and pinpoint accuracy, and this little device was no different. For example, to increase its precision, the Pokéwalker wouldn’t start counting steps until after five consecutive steps were registered, a feature designed to prevent an accidental bump or shake from counting towards one’s step count like the FitBits and iPhones of the time would allow. Another example of Nintendo’s acuity was that the device was worn at the hip to decrease the range of errors in counting steps, unlike the aforementioned devices, which were worn on the wrist or carried in the pocket, respectively. In fact, based on an independent study conducted by Iowa State University, the Pokéwalker was one of the most accurate pedometers of its time.

When I had heard this, I even conducted my own study. I had a FitBit, my iPhone, and my Pokéwalker at my job where I regularly clocked over ten thousand steps per day, and the former two devices were both off by almost a thousand steps in different directions. The device was designed to bring along a Pokémon with you wherever you went, but I was so impressed by the accuracy of its step-counting, that I dedicated my allegiance to the Pokéwalker as a step-counter exclusively.

At least for another year or so until I lost the device and didn’t want to buy a new copy of Pokémon HeartGold or SoulSilver to get one. So, for a while, I was without a Nintendo-made pedometer, and any news of a sequel to Nintendo’s fitness flagship, Wii Fit, were but a distant dream. That was, until E3 2012, when Nintendo finally released a trailer for a follow-up called Wii Fit U. There were new games! New features! And it looked like one could use their old Wii Fit Board! I mean, after you pulled it out of your closet or from under your bed, dusted it off, and changed its long-dead batteries. But then one of the actors in the trailer had it. The thing I had been missing for over a year now. The woman pulled a white and green disc off her waistband and held it up to the Wii U Gamepad’s IR Sensor and logged her “run from the morning.” That pedometer was an updated version of the Pokéwalker! I couldn’t believe it. An E3 announcement that wasn’t a mainline game like Super Smash Bros., Mario, or Zelda, got me excited, and it was due to an “exergaming” experience. And as the woman in the trailer watched the man continue a “few more rounds” on Wii Fit U, I awaited word of its release date…

But it was early 2013, and no news had arrived, so I would have to wait to get back into “Wii Fit-ness,” and find another game to keep active. Luckily, Nintendo once again found a way to continue holding my money hostage when I learned of the 3DS’ StreetPass games in 2013. You kept your 3DS system in standby mode and carried it around with you to collect friends to play with in the included (and paid DLC) games. And the 3DS had a built-in pedometer so it too could count steps. A little too bulky to carry around all day, but wow, what a concept! I absolutely loved walking as a leisure activity, and StreetPass struck a resonant chord within me. I did it all; I walked around my small town of Bangor, Maine, foolishly hoping others had a 3DS, I brought the system with me to every gaming convention I could attend, and even visited our local Best Buy almost daily to collect new friends to assist in battling my way through games like Mii Force or Monster Manor to name but a few. The feeling of getting that green LED to light up on the side of the handheld system was everything for a period of time. But the question remained: How long until the release of Wii Fit U?

Finally, on September 18^th, 2013, Nintendo held a Wii Fit U Direct and announced the release date of the new fitness game. Well, the free trial version, anyway. On November 1st, 2013, the game would release digitally as a free trial which players could try free for thirty-one days and indeed use their old balance boards (if they had them), and the new Fit Meter accessory would also be available in stores so we could start logging our steps outside of the game. But they had an intriguing offer. If you already had a Wii U and a Wii Balance Board (which I did), then all one had to do was just buy a Fit Meter for $19.99, sync it to your digital free trial, and the game would be yours to keep. SOLD! If you preferred the complete package (with a physical disc), then that would release on January 10th, 2014. But that didn’t pertain to me. This game was mine ASAP.

I hurried over from the set of our school’s short film production of The Tale of the Three Brothers and went to my local Bull Moose store to once again buy the “entire package” on Day One.

During my initial run with the Pokéwalker, I had heard of the recommendation to reach a daily milestone of ten thousand steps, which apparently, began after a Japanese company, Yamasa Clock, released the world’s first modern-day step counter, the “Manpo-kei,” in 1965, which translates to “ten-thousand step meter.” Since the Japanese people were averaging between three and five thousand steps a day, they thought to double that and make a nice round number of 10,000.

Many outlets and studies all recommend walking as much as possible, and that was always my goal. I stubbornly took the stairs instead of an elevator, I parked my car as far away from the store as possible to squeeze in a few extra steps, and the Fit Meter only made me want to increase these habits. Just a thousand more! I was hellbent on making those ten thousand steps. Even if it meant me running in place to break the five-digit threshold. Downstairs neighbors be damned. And as an amateur statistician, I never cheated by shaking the Fit Meter with my hands, but running in place was okay in my book, because that was basically the entirety of Wii Fit’s cardio section.

After the Fit Meter’s “popularity” came and went, I continued to wear it on every pair of pants, shorts, sweatpants, and underwear I owned. Anything with a waistband. Even in my sleep. The Fit Meter was also designed to wear in bed so it could measure how much one tossed and turned at night. Plus, I wanted to count any and all steps, including those to the bathroom. I’d wear it all the time. The only exception is that I took it off to shower or swim — except for one time, where I forgot it was on my waistband and jumped in the river in my hometown of Soldier Pond. I tried the old rice method to dry it out, but it was beyond repair. I lost so many stored steps that day… It was tragic. To make matters worse, I was visiting family in Northern Maine, so I couldn’t immediately swap it out for another. I had to wait a whole day to get to the nearest Best Buy in Bangor to replace it. I learned my lesson though and purchased extras to have on hand in case this ever happened again. So, I suppose there were a few days that I wasn’t wearing the pedometer, either in the off chance that I forgot it before leaving the house or if I damaged the Fit Meter.

All in all, I’ve been through four Wii Fit Meters in my decade with the device. I’ve saved it countless times from the washer, in another person’s car, and from under the torture racks that are known as “movie theater seats” (you try outing your hand from under that thing).

Long after the fatigue of Wii Fit U set in, amidst the dominance of FitBit, and through the dawn of the Apple Watch, I continued to keep my Wii Fit Meter firmly affixed to my hip bone as my sole step record-keeper. When I remembered, I’d log my steps with the device and find out which trail or mountain I wanted to chip away at. The game gave you trails and mountains across the world to have your Mii virtually traverse. When you completed each one, you unlocked a specific shirt for your troubles. Despite my multitude of steps, it took many years to unlock all of the mountains since I rarely climbed real ones. But would the Wii Fit series continue?

Soon, I began to fear that there wouldn’t be a suitable follow-up, and I’d have to lug around my Wii U forever just to log my steps. There just wasn’t much else in the “Exergaming” genre lately. Sure, I played the Just Dance series, but it wasn’t the same. And yes, my stat-focused mind did feel guilty double-dipping the overlapping calories/steps counted from each device. I’m not a monster. Aside from Wii Fit Trainer being announced for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS, Nintendo’s fitness games were seemingly at their end…

Then in 2019, they announced Ring Fit Adventure. I was skeptical at first. “Another fitness game, Nintendo? Will you support it with software updates and DLC?” Aside from the black and silver circle affixed to my belt (the better Fit Meter color variant), I was done with Nintendo’s foray into fitness fun. The game looked silly, and I really didn’t want to play an RPG. Then the COVID-19 pandemic came our way, and everyone and their mothers snatched up any available copy of that game. Soon, it became the most demanded video game on the market, aside from Animal Crossing: New Horizons. People needed an outlet for their physical exertion, and Nintendo had handed it to them on a silver platter (although a year too early). I had missed my window to buy the newest Nintendo fitness phenomenon. To make-up for it, my roommates and I did YouTube Yoga in 30-day increments, but it wasn’t enough. I needed more. The gamification of fitness was always the best way for me to get my exercise. Finally, after what felt like two years, I got my copy of Ring Fit Adventure in September of 2020.

And it sat on my shelf for almost an actual two years. I had done the very thing I scoffed at in the beginning of this article. I was going to the gym on a somewhat regular pace. Ugh, I know. But I hated the gym and all it represented. Then, in August of 2022, as my now-wife and I were preparing our final wedding plans for the day in November, I realized I needed to get into a somewhat less rotund shape. And there was only one thing that could mold me now: A Japanese-branded Pilates ring with an attached Joy-Con with built-in IR sensor to measure your heartrate– Oh, so thaaaat’s what they did with their Vitality Sensor’s technology! (The “some” who speculated was me. I was that “some.”)

I blew through the story mode of Ring Fit Adventure. I was loving it! I sweat! I felt sore again! I was embarrassed to play in front of my partner! Just like the very first days on the third floor of an old apartment building in 2008, I was working out with Nintendo – officially – for the first time in almost seven years. And it was everything I could have imagined it to be. Me and that annoying Ring destroyed every monster that Dragaux threw our way!

But then I was nearing the end of World 46, double that of the initial World count. I didn’t want it to end. So, logically, I stopped playing.

Cut to six months later. The WGA’s Strike for fair wages stopped me from working, and I was left with nothing to do but to get back into shape (honeymoon, Thanksgiving, and Christmas were one hell of a mega combo). I decided to restart my journey by revisiting all the worlds in order from one to forty-six until I reached two-hundred and fifty calories daily. The first few worlds zipped by. I had to run, fight, kayak, fly, and ring press my way through several levels to make that first two-fifty. Then every day since got harder and harder. After some more Red Light, Green Light with the game, I’m still plugging my way through the worlds. But I know that inevitable end is in sight. If not today, then a week, or month from now. And I need more.

Side Note: Nintendo, please make a sequel to Ring Fit Adventure, I have some UI and quality-of-life issues to offer if you’re willing to listen. Oh, and please include future DLC, thanks.

But this isn’t about that game! This article is about the continued success of a pedometer that started by carrying a Pokémon around with me as I ran all over a hospital, running food trays to hungry patients, during my period where I gardened with an old couple every summer in Maine, through a divorce, moving out west to LA, the passing of my father (I was walking when I heard the news), and now, into my amazing marriage. Yes, it was even on my belt under my tuxedo on my wedding day. The Fit Meter was with me through it all. And I still aim to achieve that glorious 10k every day.

Nintendo has always built their hardware with the utmost durability, but the thing we seem to forget is that they also leave a lasting impression on the gamers who love their products. Even if that adoration is from a 30-something-year-old yammering on about how a fourteen-year-old pedometer is still one of his favorites of their creations.

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Jamie Gagnon is a writer, director, and Script Coordinator from Los Angeles who makes short horror films in his spare time for the horror film collective: Just Scare Me. You can find them here.