A new rhythm-based fitness game promises more than 150 activities. That game is ExerBeat for the Nintendo Wii, which will be released by Namco Bandai in the spring. ExerBeat uses the Wii Remote to move you through over 150 simple yet challenging exercises. Expect varied workouts such as using the Wii’s balance board, boxing, karate, dancing hiphip and other styles and even fun activities such as the pizza toss. Of course you should toss the pizza, maybe not necessarily want to eat a pizza.
A new workout game will hit consoles in March. Fit in Six from Ubisoft will be available on the Sony PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii. As the title suggests, Fit in Six focuses on six modalities to get you in shape and reach your goals. Those are core body, upper body, lower body, cardio, balance and flexibility.
If you’re using the Xbox 360 to tone up with Your Shape Fitness Evolved you will now have a couple more options to keep you in the game and possibly get you in better shape. This week the makers of the exercise title have introduced two new workout programs for the Ubisoft published release.
These include the “Toned Body Program,” which is designed to help strengthen muscles and get a firmer body, as well as the “Cardio Boxing Platinum,” a new advanced level of the Cardio-Boxing class.
Both are available individually or in a bundled package for download from Xbox Live, and Ubisoft further noted that in the first half of the upcoming calendar year more than a dozen new add-on programs will be released for Your Shape Fitness Evolved.
This week best-selling author acclaimed celebrity trainer Harley Pasternak, renowned fitness and nutrition specialist, got in the game. He will work with Majesco Entertainment Company in a strategic partnership to develop and produce interactive electronic games based on his 5-Factor Fitness Program. The key to his program is fives, where users can see results in just five weeks through five-ingredient meals, five times a day combined with Harley’s fitness program of five-minute sets.
“Backed by degrees in both nutrition and fitness, Harley is the pre-eminent Hollywood trainer, responsible for some of the best celebrity bodies on stage and screen, including Katy Perry, Megan Fox, Lady Gaga and Rob Pattinson,” said Jesse Sutton, Chief Executive Officer, Majesco Entertainment. “Harley’s appearances on Oprah Winfrey and Rachael Ray have helped drive the growth of his 5-Factor brand and convert millions to his distinctive nutrition and fitness program. His program is the type of holistic approach that translates perfectly into motion-based video games that let players take control of their own health in a fully interactive way.”
“I’m thrilled to be partnering with Majesco to create a ground-breaking fitness game based on the same 5-Factor program I use to train all my clients,” said Pasternak. “I designed the program to get celebrities in top shape as quickly and efficiently as possible. This game will give everyone access to the simple yet effective training techniques I’ve used to achieve phenomenal results for some of the best bodies in Hollywood.”
Gamers can look to take it the fifth level in late 2011 with the official Harley Pasternak 5-Factor Fitness game.
If you’ve done too much eating this week and can’t get to the gym, you could still burn some of the calories while gaming with the family. So instead of just sitting on the couch watching football and parades give Game Party: In Motion for the Xbox 360 Kinect a go around.
The game includes 16 classic and new favorite activities including darts, table hockey, root beer tapper and basketball shooting.
This week saw the kick off of season 2 of Rehabbing with the Troops, which this year includes a live event with the Washington Redskins form their training facility in Ashburn, Virginia. This year fans can check out live training of 20 wounded warriors working out alongside the Washington Redskins as well as live webcam feeds of warriors from USO Centers in San Antonio, San Diego and Baghdad, Iraq!
Rehabbing with the Troops was created as a partnership with the Wounded Warrior Project and the USO, and sponsored by Armed Forces Insurance. The goal is to connect pros and troops through video games and focusing solely on wounded warriors, providing them fun, yet intense workouts using the Ninetndo Wii console and EA SPORTS Active titles with professional athletes acting as their training partners. This season’s workouts will come from the just-released EA SPORTS Active NFL Training Camp and our warriors’ pro trainers are the Washington Redskins and San Diego Chargers.
It is official, there is no reason not to want to be a loser, and by that we mean a big loser, as in The Biggest Loser. Based on the hit reality series The Biggest Loser health and fitness games for the new Kinect for the Microsoft Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii have arrived.
The Biggest Loser Ultimate Workout for Kinect for Xbox 360 features a dynamic routine of exercise moves that are adjusted to how well the players do. And The Biggest Loser Challenge for the Nintendo Wii offers its own challenging ultimate workout that uses resistance bands as well as a stability ball. Players – if players is actually accurate considering that the idea is to get a workout – can work out with a friend in 4, 8 and even 12-week programs, which can be customized from more than 125 exercise moves, including cardio boxing.
Since working out alone won’t keep you in shape, both titles include a library of 50 recipes and a wealth of valuable nutritional tips to keep up a healthy lifestyle.
Kinect for Xbox 360 delivers a whole new way to interface with games, as advertised. Just be sure to have a seven-year-old on hand to help mount the hardware. Shaun Conlin, editor of Evergeek.com explains.
There’s no denying that Nintendo took Microsoft by surprise when its comparatively wimpy little Wii became a runaway hit with general consumers, not just gamers. Wii’s simple and somewhat sloppy motion-sensitive controllers were key to its success.
After some presumed head scratching, Microsoft set about the none-too-small task of one-upping the competition. Taking the controller out of motion-controlled gaming altogether, the Xbox people delivered last week a true evolution of interactive entertainment, one where the player’s body waves and flails and prances about – and sometimes speaks – to invoke on-screen actions of the playable character on screen. Awesome idea there, Microsoft. Continue reading Hands On: Kinect for Xbox 360
Today Microsoft released the Kinect for Xbox 360 in stores. This is the device that uses motion capture to maneuver within games, replacing the controller. This means you pretty much have to play games standing up and in many cases pull off full body movements to play.
Here are a group of games that are also now in stores in conjunction with the release of Kinect.
Mel B, formerly Scary Spice of the Brit Pop group the Spice Girls, has been getting fit, and the latest title, Get Fit With Mel B has been released for the PlayStation Move for the PlayStation 3. This one offers you fitness expert Mel B, who offers positive feedback, encouragement and real-time guidance on your performance, while providing 25 different workout goals. The game features a custom workout program and a daily menu to help gamers stay on track (while getting off the couch).
“There’s never been a combination of technology and passion for fitness like this before,” says Deep Silver COO Geoff Mulligan, whose company developed the game. This is as close as you’re going to get to having a personal trainer in your own home. We’re incredibly proud that Get Fit with Mel B is the first fitness title available for the PlayStation Move platform and that critics are already hailing it as the best option for getting fit with an interactive program.”
In addition to programs the game also features social networking integration so users can share their workout results and accomplishments with friends via Facebook. It is almost as good as having Mel B as a close and personal friend.
We’ve long taken the opinion that video games are not an acceptable alternative to hitting the gym, but we also agree that fitness related games – including dance games, workout titles and anything that involves “moving” you off the couch is still a good thing. But now comes word from a few sources that the American Heart Association has found that Wii games such as Wii Sports and Wii Fit could be an actual “gateway” to the real deal.
According to Dr. Barry A. Franklin, who was quoted by My Fox Houston, games not a substitute for actual exercise, but do encourage people to get healthier. Franklin’s view:
“The fact of the matter is that 70 percent of Americans don’t exercise. Some of the reasons they don’t exercise s that it’s not enjoyable, it’s no fun, and it’s not readily accessible.
“Often times the boxing, the golfing, and other activities have an energy expenditure that is equivalent to slow, moderate walking. That’s a lot better than sitting on the couch.”
With the recent release of the PlayStation Move this past September, as well as this week’s release of the Xbox 360 Kinect we expect a lot of gaming to occur, but at least this could be a gateway to healthier gamers.
When the Kinect for Microsoft’s Xbox 360 is released next month gamers will be able to compete in 10 sporting events from the single Deca Sports Freedom title. This one will feature controller free gaming, which should hopefully get players off the couch and get their hearts pumping as they take part in tennis, boxing, archery, paintball, beach volleyball, dodge ball, kendo, mogul skiing, snowboard cross and figure skating. We’re not sure how all these will work, but we like the sound of it.
“DECA SPORTS FREEDOM is an exciting step forward for the DECA SPORTS franchise,” said Mike Pepe, Director of Marketing at Hudson Entertainment. “We’re proud to embrace new technologies and innovations in gaming in our mission to deliver games that appeal to players of all ages and skill levels.”
The game, which is being published by Hudson Entertainment, will arrive with the release of the Kinect for Xbox 360 video game system on November 18.
Deca Sports Freedom Official Website
While we like the idea that the Wii can get gamers off the couch and actually get their hearts pumping, we don’t like the fact that the hard plastic controllers will leave a mark when they come in contact with an opponent’s skin. In other words: getting hit with a controller mid-match just plain hurts. And this isn’t what we had in mind when we said no pain, no gain.
But BLAZE has gone for a soft touch with its latest Fitness First licensed product line, the Wii Fitness First Soft & Safe sports pack. These padded controllers feature soft foam materials so you can swing away without worrying about causing physical injuries. The attachments, which include bow, handle bars, Frisbee, paddle and bat are all fully motion plus compatible and can be used with Wii Sports Resort and other Wii Sporting titles. The Blaze Fitness First, Soft & Safe Sports Pack will be available in November.