.....AND STEP ON IT!!!!

You might see this title and think: "Well wow, that came out of nowhere", and yes, you're right, it did. So, I will just cut to the chase. today's lesson is on the Nintendo Fit Meter. 

The back-side of the Nintendo Fit Meter, where the clip is shown.

Nintendo Fit Meter packing, depicting the front of the device.

I bought this device on Saturday, May 31st, so I've had it for about two weeks, and already I've seen results. Thus far, my best day has been Thursday, June 5th, in which I walked 5,679 steps, and burned close to 1,000 calories (988, to be exact). It's definitely been a worthwhile investment, especially considering I only paid $20, and downloaded the game initially as a free trial. 

It's also an impressive device, especially if you consider what it evolved from, which would be a device called the "Pok'e Walker" (also developed by Nintendo), which allows you to take a Pokemon from Heart Gold or Soul Silver and transfer it to said device, and take it with you wherever you go. 

Pok'eWalker Device, as shown above. This is strictly for comparison.

But anyway, that's beside the point. The way this thing works is pretty impressive. Not only will it take into account for how many steps you take in a day, but it will also account for the number of calories burned, as well as altitude, and I know what you're thinking, but what's even cooler than that, is there is even a feature called "Fit Meter Challenge" that will allow you to transfer all of your data into a measurable amount of data for the distance of several famous landmarks, such as the Statue of Liberty, and the Eiffel Tower in the Altitude Challenge as well as several well known cities or regions, such as Tokyo, Japan or Sydney, Australia. 

The Walking Challenge screen allows you to virtually "travel" through various well-known cities throughout the world using the data from your Fit meter.

An example of this would be walking through New York City, which, is the current course that I am using my credits on.

This represents the altitude challenge. Since I am doing the New York Walking Challenge, my credits are automatically applied to the Statue Of Liberty.

This is the Altitude version of the Walking Challenge Map. See the caption of the previous picture for more information.

Along with the obvious Fit Meter features, there are other new features in Wii Fit U, such as the Gym Community, as well as newer exercises. The Balance Test feature has also been updated to work with the Wii U Game Pad, and even has tests that utilize its controller, like the "Dual Balance Test", where not only you have to align yourself in the correct position, but you also have to rotate the Wii U Game Pad accordingly, which, quite frankly, is easier said than done. It also claims that one of the two tests that it gives you is "for your mind", and sometimes that is true. For example, there's a test where it will show a couple of items for a few seconds and then ask you what the last one was, and if you get the answer wrong, it will draw a cut-off line, which will increase with each inclusive incorrect answer until you run out, kind of like the card game Guillotine.

Another new feature to Wii Fit U is "Multiplayer Mode, which, will allow you to play all of the Balance Games with multiple people in a "turn-based" fashion, a'la "Super Monkey Ball". This is kind of nice if you have friends over and you want to issue a friendly "challenge" to mix things up at a party in case the fun turns south.

Wii Fit U user selection screen. 

User menu, with Fit Meter Data and Fit Meter Challenge shown.

(6/12/2014-Update) Another thing: I read somewhere that you can shake the Fit Meter to trick it into thinking you've logged more steps than you actually have. Well, on June 12, 2014, I forgot to take it with me, so when I realized this, I tried to use the activity log (it's non-existent in this version*) and to compensate for my lost steps, I decided to try the experiment. Well, as it turns out, this experiment has merit, as I tried it after I got home today, and it worked. It'll definitely come in handy from time to time.

*(6/13/2014-Update) Turns out, that the activity log IS available in Wii Fit U and I was looking in the wrong spot. Needless to say, I added an extra 7 hours of credit time to today's Fit Credits-I know that's cheating, but I don't care) and I won't worry about yesterday anymore.

Anyway, just like the Wii U itself, my bottom line is "Don't knock it until you've tried it". $20 is not that much of a gamble for something that can make fitness fun, and overall, it's a vast improvement over it's 7th-generation predecessor (although I can't speak from experience about Wii Fit Plus).