# X-Box vs. Wii for fitness **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [February 7, 2011, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-box-vs-wii-for-fitness/570466 "2011-02-07T00:41:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![sleestak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@sleestak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleestak)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-box-vs-wii-for-fitness/570466/1 "2011-02-07T00:41:27Z")
I am looking at getting my girlfriend either a Wii or an X-Box with some fitness games. She wants a Wii but I would rather get an X-Box so that I can use it for games that aren’t on the Wii. I’ll do a Wii if that has the best/more titles for fitness games. Anyone have both? Know which games are good? Slee ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-box-vs-wii-for-fitness/570466/2 "2011-02-07T03:28:04Z")
We have wii and kinect and I can tell you 100% that the kinect is far superior to the Wii. It truly tracks whole body movements where the Wii is easily cheatEd by just moving the remote instead of your whole body. And Wii sux. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-box-vs-wii-for-fitness/570466/3 "2011-02-07T05:18:53Z")
A thing against Wii Active, specifically: if you break the flimsy resistance band and use other, sturdier ones with handles, the Wii has some big problems recognizing it. Both systems aren’t ultra sharp with their movement tracking, but I’d say the Kinect is sharper so far. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-box-vs-wii-for-fitness/570466/4 "2011-02-07T07:56:07Z")
> [@Cubsfan](#): > > We have wii and kinect and I can tell you 100% that the kinect is far superior to the Wii. It truly tracks whole body movements where the Wii is easily cheatEd by just moving the remote instead of your whole body. > > And Wii sux. Yup, because games are a complete non-factor. To address the OP: It depends. Wii Fit can provide a decent low-moderate intensity workout, and excels in keeping you coming back on a daily basis, thanks to its various progress charts (including tracking your weight loss, which games on Xbox cannot do), however, the fitness games for Xbox’s Kinnect are mostly of higher intensity, and thus you’ll likely see results quicker. ---
**Author:** ![VanillaGorilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f9ae1b/32.png) [@VanillaGorilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VanillaGorilla)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-box-vs-wii-for-fitness/570466/5 "2011-02-07T08:07:44Z")
> [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](#): > > A thing against Wii Active, specifically: if you break the flimsy resistance band and use other, sturdier ones with handles, the Wii has some big problems recognizing it. > > Both systems aren’t ultra sharp with their movement tracking, but I’d say the Kinect is sharper so far. Really? I just tried the Kinect yesterday, and found it to be VERY unresponsive and slow, way worse than the Wii remotes. Maybe there was something wrong with that partiular Kinect unit though..? ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-box-vs-wii-for-fitness/570466/6 "2011-02-07T13:52:10Z")
I’ve played both. The Kinect wins hands down. Even the non-fitness games give you a workout. ---
**Author:** ![This\_Just\_In\_2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@This\_Just\_In\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/This_Just_In_2)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-box-vs-wii-for-fitness/570466/7 "2011-02-07T15:35:25Z")
Another vote for the Kinect here. Its not even close - the Kinect is so much better. We have Your Shape - want to have a great workout and enjoy it too? Not to mention working out to the dance videos. And if you’re not in awesome shape you can work up a good sweat just playing Reflex Ridge on the game that the Kinect comes with. Some of the initial games released were not as responsive or accurate with the motion tracking as others. I’d personally only vouch for the awesome responsiveness of: Adventures, Kinect Sports, Kinectimals, Your Shape, Dance Central ---
**Author:** ![Airk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@Airk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airk)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-box-vs-wii-for-fitness/570466/8 "2011-02-07T17:58:33Z")
Just get the Xbox. At worst, it’s essentially equivalent for fitness (Though many people here who know better than I do seem to think it’s better) and you’ll be able to play the games you want on it. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-box-vs-wii-for-fitness/570466/9 "2011-02-07T18:45:14Z")
> [@Airk](#): > > Just get the Xbox. At worst, it’s essentially equivalent for fitness (Though many people here who know better than I do seem to think it’s better) and you’ll be able to play the games you want on it. But that’s not taking into account the games the girlfriend may want to play, which I’m guessing would be on Wii, since that’s the system she wants to get. ---
**Author:** ![Airk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@Airk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airk)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-box-vs-wii-for-fitness/570466/10 "2011-02-07T19:59:14Z")
> [@Red\_Barchetta](#): > > But that’s not taking into account the games the girlfriend may want to play, which I’m guessing would be on Wii, since that’s the system she wants to get. Reading the original post, I didn’t take away the idea that the girlfriend wanted to play games. I got “My girlfriend wants a game system for fitness”. Your interpretation may be correct, but it’s not clear from the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2011, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-box-vs-wii-for-fitness/570466/11 "2011-02-08T03:40:11Z")
> [@VanillaGorilla](#): > > Really? I just tried the Kinect yesterday, and found it to be VERY unresponsive and slow, way worse than the Wii remotes. Maybe there was something wrong with that partiular Kinect unit though..? Possibly. It’s also the first generation of these silly motion controls, too. ---
**Author:** ![sleestak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@sleestak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleestak)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2011, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-box-vs-wii-for-fitness/570466/12 "2011-02-09T03:55:22Z")
> [@Airk](#): > > Reading the original post, I didn’t take away the idea that the girlfriend wanted to play games. I got “My girlfriend wants a game system for fitness”. > > Your interpretation may be correct, but it’s not clear from the OP. Yep, she wants it for fitness. Looks like the X-Box is the way to go. Thanks all Slee ---
**Author:** ![Airk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@Airk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airk)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2011, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-box-vs-wii-for-fitness/570466/13 "2011-02-09T14:56:03Z")
And, well, let’s be frank. Any annoyance she’s going to have about it not being a Wii will be obliterated the first time she plays the copy of Dance Central that you ARE GOING TO GET HER, right? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Scuba\_Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Scuba\_Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scuba_Ben)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2011, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-box-vs-wii-for-fitness/570466/14 "2011-02-09T19:52:47Z")
Wii owner here. As I understand it, the XBox needs more space than the Wii does. A Wii can be used in tight quarters, but the XBox Kinect requires plenty of room for the sensor to read the player’s movements. Big difference in functionality: The Wii Fit balance board measures balance (go figure) and weight. I don’t see how the Kinect can read that. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-box-vs-wii-for-fitness/570466/15 "2011-02-10T22:34:32Z")
I would expect that the Kinect could read balance based on the wobble of the person, (depending on it’s sensitivity). We have Wii Fit, and when it checks our balance, it just looks at how far our center of weight is off of the center of the board. It complains about differences that could just be standing to one side by a quarter inch or so.