Nintendo has announced Wii Fit Plus. The new fitness software is planned for release this fall in two versions: bundled with the Wii Balance Board and as a stand-alone. Apparently, the new Wii Fit “moves in an added direction” beyond the original, letting users “create a specific workout program that’s perfect” for them. Six new strength and yoga activities can be tailored to your own tastes, depending on what goals you have. There’s also a revamped interface focused on creating seamless routines of 20, 30, 40 minutes.

Plus will also introduce 15 new minigames, like juggling, skateboarding and a game called “perfect 10″ were players move their hips to select numbers that add up to 10. It was dubbed, “Brain Age for your backside,”.

You knew it had to happen. They actually intend to make us do serious exercise with this Wii-Fit thing. A patent-pending peripheral called “riiflex” will turn your Wiimotes into dumbells thanks to some 2lb and 5lb cases. The design is pretty interesting. These even feature a trigger port for access to all the Wiimote’s buttons.

They are available for preorder deposit. While the price is still undecided, they estimate that these weights will cost you around $30 per unit. I’m sure they are already planning a way to include the nunchuk. One question. Do serious weight-lifting meatheads even use the Wii?

Wii-Fit can be a lot of hard work I suppose. It’s all about exercise after all. Your feet probably could do with a massage during that workout. These silicone covers were specially designed to cover the Wii Fit Balance Board, and it also doubles as an anti-slip mat(Clever BS) for those of you who sweat so profusely that you often slip on your own stinky excretions.

Amazon is carrying this thing for $9.99. All I can think about is how this thing deserves it’s own late-night info-mercial right next to the Sham-wow. I’m calling BS on all it’s claims and I dare you to spend $9.99 and prove me wrong. This is just a $10 piece of silicone.

Some DIYers from the Cowtown Computer Congress used some servos and an Arduino processor to connect a wooden Labyrinth game to a Wii Fit. Why? Is there ever a reason? It just had to be done. Simple as that. Basically it makes the game more difficult.

It’s an inexpensive project at just $60 total (That does not include the Wii Fit), and it seems like a simple process. It also looks like a lot of fun. What could be better then taking a simple game and adding a high tech way of playing it? Check out a video below.

I’m sure you have all gotten nice and slim using the Wii Fit, which is good, because much like a Thanksgiving turkey in September, Nintendo now has a plan to fatten you up. Probably so you’ll be more inclined to buy Wii Fit 2 and work it all off again. Beginning this spring, Nintendo will intro the Food Delivery Channel in Japan, just like how TiVo users can order Pizza Hut.

Wii users will be able to place orders from Demae-can.com where they can buy sushi, hamburgers and all kinds of stuff fit for a dinner in front of the Wii. It goes further then just food ordering though. You order the food and then if you like, your Wii will set the mood music. It can even pick a meal and have it sent to you randomly.

With both Wii fit and Wii Sports being hits, expectations are high for EA Sports Active. EA Sports Active is a family game but specifically targets women who want to stay fit while having fun. The title will be the first in a new line of EA SPORTS fitness and sports products in development. The game targets both the upper and lower body plus some cardio.

It’s meant for two players and will give you motivation with real-time feedback on your workout. Stuff like calories burned. You can of course modify the intensity levels to suit your own skills. EA Sports Active comes with two leg straps that hold the Wii’s Nunchuk controller to track lower body movement and a resistance band for upper body strength training exercises. The game will be available in Spring 2009 for about $59.99.

Here’s an interesting way to kill an afternoon. Apparently a couple of guys hooked up two Wii Fit balance boards to LEGO Mindstorms…something, and made them move in sync with leaning and jumping motions. While I don’t think this game is going to get you fit, it’s a clever hack. Maybe Nintendo can change the Lego things into battle bots and market the whole deal as some sort of Ultimate robot fighter game for the those who don’t mind obesity all that much. Hacking Wii-Fit isn’t new, but this one puts a whole new spin on things.

Anybody else getting tired of hearing the same old thing from the big N regarding shortages? The company just issued a statement regarding shortages of Wii Fit and it’s a familiar tune: Regarding Wii shortages in November of 2007 they said: “The demand for Wii hardware globally has been unprecedented and higher than Nintendo could ever have anticipated.” Fast Forward to NOW, regarding Wii Fit shortages: “Nintendo had a substantial supply nationwide for launch, though some stores saw spot shortages due to unprecedented demand for this unique product.”

Correct me if I’m wrong, but if you have a huge demand for the core product, wouldn’t the demand for a fitness accessory be nearly as huge? And shouldn’t you have planned for it rather then having to pay PR people to explain that there is a Huge demand? Nobody is taking you seriously.

Surely Nintendo didn’t think they would be the only Balance Board dealer in town. Njoy will introduce its own version of the Wii Fit accessory on September 12th. It’s a bit more-expensive at $130. But hey, their model has a built-in LCD display, set just forward enough to see it past your huge gut. Presumably it displays weight etc.

A group of German students have somehow managed to use the Wii Balance Board from Wii-Fit to navigate their way around Google Earth. Specifically to surf Google Earth. Talk about a creative way to use a Wii accessory.

It’s really not all that impressive, and these guys are no Silver Surfer, but I guess it’s the first step in being able to fly or surf around the world virtually. And when that day comes, it will be sweet to do this in a nerd hero costume, while playing theme music. Video below.

If you’re anxious to get rid of some of that excess flab, you may be in for a disappointment. First Nintendo had a launch date of today, but it turns out that this was only applicable to the Nintendo World Store launch in New York. The rest of the out-of-shape in the country still have to wait until May 21 to get their hands on the Wii Fit.

Thing is, if you didn’t preorder a unit, you might not be getting on May 21st. Gamestop’s online store has them temporarily-out-of-stock, and Amazon stopped online preorders awhile ago, with 2.5 units being sold every minute. Your best bet is to get to your local video game retailer bright and early on Wednesday, since things are not looking good.

Beginning today, the Wii Fit (the accessory that’s bound to have a Richard Simmons Sweatin’ To The Oldies game in the future) is finally available to some large mammals in the U.S., starting with residents of New York City. It is currently only available at the Nintendo World store in Rockefeller Center right now. The rest of the country will have to wait until Wednesday to work off their double cheeseburgers with the $90 Wii item.

It obviously won’t replace visits to the gym, but once it is widely available, it will be interesting to see if it has any effect at all on our nations obesity problem. My guess is, most people will tire of it quickly and go back to getting their exercise in a line waiting for their fries.

Obviously the Wii Fit will be one of the best sellers for Nintendo this summer, and the concept of fun exercise is very appealing to large mammals. It’s appealing to Atari too. Atari is releasing their own version of a fitness game called Family Trainer. In Atari’s version, you don’t use a step-on board like Wii Fit, the Family Trainer uses a floor mat similar to the DDR pad.(Is this thing going to slide and hurt people?)

Family Trainer features several virtual outdoor challenges like river rafting, log jumping, etc. Atari has plans to release Family Trainer in Europe this September. No information on pricing, but expect it to be comparable to Wii Fit.

We all hate buying batteries and if you’ve bought Wii Fit, chances are you and your enormous love handles are going to go through many batteries. Luckily for you, Nyko has a solution in the form of their new Energy Pak for the balance board.

The Pak installs on the bottom of the board, making it easy to plug in and recharge without having to take the device out or turn the board over. Because God forbid you burn the 1 or 2 calories it would take to turn the board over. You can get yours starting May 19th for $19.99. Now get to work tubby.