Fitness in VideoGames

In this article they discuss the emergence of the wii fit and its significance toward the unification of gaming and exercise. Along with this they also talk about how while Nintendo has the only system out now that incorporates exercise both Sony and Microsoft are working on creating their own motion sensitive joysticks along with other technologies to try and pry into that area of sales. Also they talk about a new technology being developed by Nintendo called My Shape "The game utilizes a digital camera plugged into the Wii which scans players' bodies. Many of the "Your Shape" exercises can also incorporate real-life workout equipment, such as free weights and balance balls."(Dereck J. Lang, Msnbc). This shows how much Nintendo is working toward a fitness system in the format of a video game.


Although the wii fit is the first game to incorporate exercise into it so thoroughly it is not the first game nor was it on the first console to incorporate exercise into it. DDR became a popular game in the 1990s. According to research by the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina "21 of 28 children completed Week 12 assessments. Eighty-six percent (18/21) were categorized as high home utilizers of DDR. Physical fitness increased by 6.6%±9.8 of baseline VO2max"(T. Carter Bethea, Ann E. Maloney UNC).

Works Cited

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34381072 Dereck J. Lang "Fitness Video Games are Reshaping Medium" MSNBC updated updated 10:15 a.m. PT, Fri., Dec . 11, 2009

http://apha.confex.com/apha/134am/techprogram/paper_130735.htm T. Carter Bethea, Ann E. Maloney "DANCER: Videogame-based physical activity intervention improves fitness of school-age youth" Published November 8, 2006