All American coin and currency has been fiat since the gold and silver standards were eliminated -- shortly before I was born, in the latter case. The US cent composition was changed because the metal value in the old ones exceeded the face of the coin -- as had previously been the case with the quarter, half dollar, and silver dollar. Given the price of nickel metal, I'm surprised the US nickel hasn't had the same treatment yet.
This, however, has nothing to do with the weights of the coins as a standard. Having alternatives to a new nickel is helpful because many of us in today's world don't carry change (I have cash on my person only in relation to purchasing lottery tickets, for instance, and I've had the same old worn change in my pocket for months). Not to mention a few milligrams of wear on a new coin is rather hard to see...