Wii Fit Ski Jump : How to get a 400m jump
Whilst in Keswick this week, we decided to work out how the ski jump on the Wii Fit decides how far you go. It’s clear that the faster you are going, the further you go and the straighter you are whilst the air, the further you go. But it was unclear as to what the best tactic was for after takeoff, so we investigated.
We used beer bottles, wine bottles and eventually tins of paint to provide the weight as shown here:
After using just the beer bottles we found that the balance board was so sensitive to movements that the skiier jumped all by himself once he hit the “extend” area (the red bit at the bottom of the run up). This was fixed by using more weight (hence the tins of paint eventually).
The thing we discovered is that it’s best to hold your weight in the exact same spot after takeoff – don’t deviate at all. The location of this spot to hold doesn’t matter, as long as it’s on the central line. So you can be right at the top, right at the bottom, or anywhere in between – just make sure it’s on the line.
We also found that the Wii detects when you push down on the board to tell it when to jump. This knowledge can help when doing the jump for real because you don’t actually have to extend, you just need to push down.
Having done all these tests we were getting consistent 198 – 202m jumps, like so:
I’ve also uploaded a video of one of the test runs:
Anyway, there you go, that’s the Wii Fit Ski Jump exposed!
Typical male – how does it work?? plus the Engineering degree would have had a large part to play!!! Where’s the fun gone? I know it was in solving the problem of how it works
Glad you had a productive time in Keswick as I assume you would have seen a fair amount of rain.
Hope the work goes well.
Comment by Richard — September 13, 2008 @ 4:50 pm
I’ve found a cheat. If you select a player that is heavier than whwt you weigh, select the heavier player but yoy set it at the start, then get off and let them get on. You do not even have to jump, jsut get a good speed and it does it for you. We were hitting 395′s without even trying!
Comment by Ski Jumper — February 5, 2009 @ 12:34 am
I enjoyed this info but I still prefer to try to do it myself without the cheating… I didn’t realize you had to keep the red ball centered after you jumped. That info helped me score a 370. Thanks. Good luck to all.
Comment by goober — July 5, 2009 @ 10:21 pm
Hahah I really enjoyed reading this
thxs 
Comment by lewis — July 10, 2009 @ 5:35 pm
Excellent. Using your engineering brain then! I like it, and suspect anyone seaching for this is either a fellow engineer or should be one! Tidy CV you have(!)
Comment by Herman — January 13, 2010 @ 9:34 pm
You can do it easy enough without cheating. Try wearing thongs (this makes it easier to keep your weight balanced and still). Then instead of standing directly in the centre of your wii pad, move forward so your toes are just hanging off the front. Its in this position you can basically stand straight up and it will be easier to keep your weight right on the dot for the best speed down the slope and also allow you to give the smallest shunt for the pad to detect you are ready to jump as you move back to straight legs and have minimal movement. Straight legs will also help you keep balance as your in the air as you keep the dot on the red line with minimal movement there too. With this you’ll be jumping consistently in the 190′s. I’ve only had 2 hours on the ski jump at the most and this is where I’m at. Best jump is at 197mtrs atm but 200+ here I come
.
Comment by Wessy — August 22, 2010 @ 12:17 am
Thongs eh, must be fun ski jumping at your place
My guess is you have a somewhat Australasian upbringing and you mean sandals! In the UK thongs are worn underneath young ladies jeans…..
Comment by Paul — February 26, 2011 @ 8:37 pm
I love this game and l tried wearing thongs but it doesn’t help
but my boyfriend had a nice view 
Comment by Jessica franze — January 30, 2012 @ 9:47 pm
This is such a fun game and these cheats help! Thank you!
Comment by M.P Quint — January 31, 2012 @ 1:06 am