Fitness Boxing

Did You Know?

• An anime television series adaptation produced by Imagineer and Story Effect premiered on October 1, 2021 on Tokyo MX.
• Fitness Boxing was delisted from digital retailers on November 30, 2023, likely due to expired music licenses.

Gameplay

The game uses the Joy-Con motion controllers to register punches and dodging maneuvers. Workouts begin and end with a full-body stretching routine. Difficulty and complexity increase gradually over time, and free exercises are always available regardless of whether the daily workout has been completed. Scoring for each exercise, excluding stretches, depends on the precision of the player's punches and maneuvers. The default coach is Lin, with five other coaches available—three female and two male—each having customizable appearances. New costumes are unlocked through achievements. Coaches demonstrate every maneuver in each exercise, serving as a visual guide for maintaining rhythm, and offer tips both during and outside of exercises. The game includes a playlist of instrumental versions of popular pop songs, such as "She Looks So Perfect" by 5 Seconds of Summer, "Bad Romance" by Lady Gaga, "Call Me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen, and "Shut Up and Dance" by Walk the Moon, among others.

Development

Fitness Boxing was first announced by Imagineer on June 14, 2018. It was developed by former Rocket Company members working for Imagineer. In late September 2018, Imagineer revealed the Japanese release date, and in early October 2018, Nintendo announced the North American and European release dates along with gameplay screenshots. The track listing and the first gameplay video were released by Imagineer in late October 2018.

Release and promotion

A demo was released on the European Nintendo eShop on November 29, 2018, and on the North American eShop on December 13, 2018. The game launched both digitally and physically on December 20, 2018 in Japan, December 21, 2018 in Europe and Australia, and January 4, 2019 in North America. On January 15, 2019, Nintendo held a promotional event at Nintendo New York featuring Instagram fitness influencer Niki Klasnic leading a group of women playing the game.

Reception

Fitness Boxing received "mixed or average" reviews on Metacritic, with a score of 66 out of 100 from 14 critics. Nintendo Life gave it an 8/10, calling it no substitute for the gym but recommending it as an energetic and entertaining workout regimen cheaper than a gym membership. Nintendo World Report rated it 7.5/10, praising multiple exercises for various skill levels but criticizing the limited number of musical tracks. Destructoid gave it a 7/10, stating that while there are hard-to-ignore faults, the experience is fun. The Reno Gazette-Journal gave it a 6 out of 10, noting it works well as a fitness app but not as a game. In Japan, from January 7 to January 13, 2019, it placed 20th on sales charts with 3,024 physical copies sold. Shortages began in Japan in February 2019. By September 2020, Imagineer announced worldwide sales of over 1 million copies.