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Fitness video games are reshaping medium
Publishers are working up a sweat in hopes of enticing ‘Wii Fit’ customers
By Derrik J. Lang
The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES - At first glance, the rack of video games seems out of place next to the row of elliptical machines at The Sports Authority in Burbank, Calif. The nation's largest sports retailer partnered with Nintendo last month to sell the popular Wii console and games. It's another sign of the times: Video games aren't just for shooting aliens anymore.
"I actually came here looking for soccer equipment for my sons for Christmas, but this caught my eye," said Celia Fernandez while browsing the sports- and fitness-themed Wii games at The Sports Authority. "We bought a Wii last year but don't use it as much anymore, so I was thinking we might get them a new Wii game to go with their new soccer equipment."
Launched by Nintendo last year, the fitness game "Wii Fit" and the accompanying Wii Balance Board have bench-pressed the gaming world. Thanks to the Wii's motion-controller and the scalelike balance board, exercise games — or exergames, as they're known — have become a fully formed gaming genre, attracting scads of users who don't normally play with joysticks.
"With sales of over 8 million, it's a sure bet that 'Wii Fit' has gone well beyond the traditional video game consumer in its reach," said industry analyst Anita Frazier from research firm NPD Group. "I hear stories all the time from friends and colleagues about their sixty-, seventy- and even eighty-something parent, grandparent or aunt using 'Wii Fit.'"
Several publishers are working up a sweat this holiday season in hopes of enticing similar consumers. Electronic Arts, THQ, Ubisoft and Majesco Entertainment have all unleashed their own exergames featuring an array of attention-grabbing gimmicks from digital cameras that scan users' flabbiness to virtual trainers who urge players to "NEVER STOP MOVING."
- more at www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34381072/ns/technology_and_science-games/
Publishers are working up a sweat in hopes of enticing ‘Wii Fit’ customers
By Derrik J. Lang
The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES - At first glance, the rack of video games seems out of place next to the row of elliptical machines at The Sports Authority in Burbank, Calif. The nation's largest sports retailer partnered with Nintendo last month to sell the popular Wii console and games. It's another sign of the times: Video games aren't just for shooting aliens anymore.
"I actually came here looking for soccer equipment for my sons for Christmas, but this caught my eye," said Celia Fernandez while browsing the sports- and fitness-themed Wii games at The Sports Authority. "We bought a Wii last year but don't use it as much anymore, so I was thinking we might get them a new Wii game to go with their new soccer equipment."
Launched by Nintendo last year, the fitness game "Wii Fit" and the accompanying Wii Balance Board have bench-pressed the gaming world. Thanks to the Wii's motion-controller and the scalelike balance board, exercise games — or exergames, as they're known — have become a fully formed gaming genre, attracting scads of users who don't normally play with joysticks.
"With sales of over 8 million, it's a sure bet that 'Wii Fit' has gone well beyond the traditional video game consumer in its reach," said industry analyst Anita Frazier from research firm NPD Group. "I hear stories all the time from friends and colleagues about their sixty-, seventy- and even eighty-something parent, grandparent or aunt using 'Wii Fit.'"
Several publishers are working up a sweat this holiday season in hopes of enticing similar consumers. Electronic Arts, THQ, Ubisoft and Majesco Entertainment have all unleashed their own exergames featuring an array of attention-grabbing gimmicks from digital cameras that scan users' flabbiness to virtual trainers who urge players to "NEVER STOP MOVING."
- more at www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34381072/ns/technology_and_science-games/
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