Category: Video Games

Hollywood Workout Coming to Xbox 360 and Wii

“Going Hollywood” usually doesn’t have the best connotation, but that could change with the newly announced Harley Pasternak’s Hollywood Workout. This upcoming exercise video game from Majesco Entertainment will arrive this fall for Kinect for the Microsoft Xbox 260 and Ninteno Wii, provides gamers with access to the fitness program used by many in Hollywood today. To help players get fit best-selling author and celebrity trainer Harley Pasternak arrives in digital form with the 5-Factor program that promises to make it easy to get fit.

While we doubt it will transform the average gamer into a Hollywood super star it should beat another round of Halo or Mario Kart!

Majesco Entertainment Company Official Website

President’s Council, ESA Join to Promote Active Video Games

Several forces recently joined together to promote the Active Play Presidential Active Lifestyle Award (PALA+) Challenge. Those forces include the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius; the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition (PCFSN); the Entertainment Software Association (ESA); and leaders from the U.S. video game industry.

The Active Play Presidential Active Lifestyle Award Challenge aims to highlight active video games as one way to help Americans lead more active lives. Continue reading President’s Council, ESA Join to Promote Active Video Games

Adidas miCoach Gets in the Game

Adidas miCoach is looking to follow The Biggest Loser and Zumba Fitness into the video game arena. This week 505 Games announced that it would publish the upcoming Adidas miCoach for the Microsoft Xbox 360 and Sony PlayStation 3. the Xbox Kinect motion camera peripheral and the PlayStation Move controller accessory will be not only supported , but will be integral parts of the game. Continue reading Adidas miCoach Gets in the Game

Spin to Make Mario Go (Kart)

httpv://youtu.be/pjPv8SRr5Vo

This past Sunday’s episode of The Simpsons, showed the efforts patriarch would go to avoid working out while watching TV on his treadmill. Fortunately, someone else has devised a way of turning Mario Kart into real exercise. The SMKCycle transforms an exercise bike to work as an SNES controller, where pedaling will hold the A button down to accelerate and make Mario’s kart go.

Well we would still prefer a real bike ride, at least this adds some exercise to playing with Mario.

Move Over SimCity, CaveSim Has Arrived

For those who like the idea of caving – also known as spelunking – but don’t like the idea of getting dirty, or worse trapped underground for all eternity, CaveSim might just be for you. Instead of crawling through natural caves or underground caverns, CaveSim puts you in a virtual in your cave environment. It even add a video game like scoring system as you wear electronic sensors that track your personal efforts will you compete against others.

Designer Dave Jackson, a caving hobbyist, used his MIT engineering degree to create CaveSim. He came up with the idea after participating in a cave rescue seminar, where organizers created a virtual cave of their furniture and tape. Jackson felt this lack and immersing environment, and after two years in development created his own virtual cave. This simulated environment offers built-in electronic sensors to track the user’s performance. CaveSim thus encourages you to crawl through this virtual cave as you would an actual natural chasm. Continue reading Move Over SimCity, CaveSim Has Arrived

New Study Finds Fitness Video Games May Not Be So Fit, After All

We have written a few stories about the fitness video game trend (in fact, we just posted one the other day), but one new study has found that such games don’t offer kids any benefits, according to a HealthDay report, and questions whether using video games as a way to get kids active is appropriate or not

The study, published in the journal Pediatrics, examined the physical gaming activity of two groups of kids (78 children between the ages 9 and 12) over a three-month period. Each child was given a Nintendo Wii system (none of the kids had ever owned one) plus accompanying accessories. One group of kids could choose from a selection of five fitness-based titles such as Wii Fit Plus, while the second group played “non-active” video games like Mario Kart Wii. Continue reading New Study Finds Fitness Video Games May Not Be So Fit, After All

Wii Will Cycle

Video games have opened possibilities beyond mere “gaming.” While no one is actually going to be a rock star playing the various musical themed games, the wave of Rock Band and Guitar Hero have reportedly inspired some young musicians while more recent releases have actually utilized more realistic instruments. On the fitness side of things games have tried to encourage exercise, with motion control opening up new possibilities.

But just as real music isn’t actually being created with video game controllers, real exercise isn’t happening either. And the interesting part is that it should be so hard. Dr. Werner Schoeman is one researcher who thinks that video game systems could be used as exercise machines.

“There remains a significant market segment untapped in the cycling game genre,” Dr. Schoeman tells KineticShift.com, “specifically it has been a practical hardware interface that has proven difficult. Most cycle simulator games require you to buy the whole cycle, such as the typical cycle simulator games found in up market gyms.” Continue reading Wii Will Cycle

Toy Fair: The O Let’s You Throw Your Phone

Admit it – there are times when you just want to throw your phone. You know you shouldn’t do it but it would feel so good. At last week’s Toy Fair The O was awarded the Popular Science Best of Toy Fair 2012 award for making a way to throw the phone and even make a game of it.

Developed by Physical Apps, a NH-based technology company, The O takes mobile gaming to a whole new level – and in a very big way. Instead of just titling or shaking that iPhone or Android device you can put it in this special casing and really play with the phone! Throw it in a game of “hot potato” – just be sure you don’t play when “mom” calls! Video after the jump

Crestron Looks to Make Motion a Controller

httpv://youtu.be/tWZt2vJaj28

In the 1980s “The Clapper” worked with sound to allow lazy people to turn lights on and off without having to get up to do so. Now Crestron is looking to help simply our daily lives in a similar way – but by actually using some motion. Continue reading Crestron Looks to Make Motion a Controller

Kinetic(Mis)Shift: Game Controller Not About Food Control

There is no promise of health benefits with the game controller that Ben Hecks came up with, but we’re calling it out as a Kinetic(Mis)Shift for just taking gamers in the wrong direction. Instead of encouraging gamers to get up and get moving, Hecks created the Hot Pockets extruder that attached to a game controller – allowing a player to eat without having to actually stop playing. It features a manual slider to even push food forward – thus making it a true step backward at least as far as fitness and gaming goes.

[Via Ubergizmo: Xbox 360 controller holds your snack for uninterrupted gaming]

Kinetic(Mis)Shift are products that we think deserve to be called out for their utter lack of fitness benefits

U.K. Survey Finds More Older Adults Using Wii to Exercise

According to a recent survey of people aged 50 and up in the U.K., one in 25 uses a video game to exercise. Of course, we aren’t talking about the latest Grand Theft Auto or Call of Duty, but the popular Nintendo Wii and its Wii Fit accessories and games. While the survey specifically targets segments of the U.K. population past middle age, the results mirror similar surveys that have been conducted stateside since the Wii Fit exploded onto the scene; the Wii has been a been a hit with casual gamers thanks to the active movements and low learning curve required. And, Microsoft and Sony have recently entered the scene with their Xbox Kinect and PlayStation Move products and fitness-related titles.

As we have pointed out, video games are not a substitute for good-old exercise. However, according to a CNN report, the light intensity is ideal for older adults, particularly with systems that require full-body movements. These movement-based games are also great for those who never engage in any form of exercise. As we have reported in the past, institutions such as schools in Alabama and Iowa are using the Wii as part of their physical education curriculum to get kids active and help fight childhood obesity.

[Via The Huffington Post: More Post 50s Use Video Games To Exercise]

Kinect To Go to Space

While fitness video games could be a fad down here on earth, the Microsoft for Kinect for Xbox 360 could boldly go where only a few have gone before – namely outer space. The video game system could help astronauts stay a little fitter, thanks to the body tracking camera system built into the game controller’s sensor.

This could help astronauts better calculate their weight in zero gravity, something very important as those in sapce can lose up to 15 percent of their body mass because the muscles tend to develop atrophy due to lack of use. The crews already spend up to two hours a day exercising, but until recently there has been no way to measure weight post-workout.

Now the Kinect might just do the trick!

[Via New Scientist: Kinect weighs astronauts just by looking at them]

Next Xbox to Feature Built-in (and Required) Kinect Functionality

There is no denying that the Kinect for Microsoft’s Xbox 360 is a hit. It reportedly holds the Guinness World Record for being the best-selling consumer electronics device, and it has done a great job transforming video games into slightly more active activities. No one is going to argue that games will get anyone fit, but getting moving can’t hurt. Microsoft had previously announced it was bringing the Kinect to the PC, and now it seems that all new Xbox games will be required to offer Kinect support – and if rumors are true the Kinect will be built-in on the future Xbox 720. While this could just include voice support, which won’t get anyone off the couch and actually could make matters worse, we can’t help but think that maybe games will help America get back on a fitness track after all!

[Via Kotaku: Wave Hello: Microsoft’s Requiring Kinect Functionality for All Future Apps Built for Xbox 360]