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Get a cheap Personal Trainer: Walking without walking too far
If you hope to save all of your footsteps for entry into Personal Trainer: Walking -- really make them count by having them tabulated by a video game -- this Amazon deal is perfect for you. The game, with two Activity Meters, is Amazon's Deal of the Day for $29.98.You may have to do some uncounted walking to pick it up (trips to the mailbox or the front door, a small amount of day-to-day movement until it arrives), but at least you don't have to walk around a store to pick it up, dooming yourself to several steps that don't contribute to a running total on your DS.
Fitness group 'underwhelmed' by Wii Fit exercises

The ACE noted that performing the real-life activity -- real boxing, step aerobics, running, etc. -- burns significantly more calories than their Wii Fit counterparts. As an example, the study notes that traditional boxing burns three times as many calories as Rhythm Boxing. That said, the study did note that Wii Fit burns twice as many calories as normal video games, and that's got to count for something.
Still, if you're looking to really feel the burn, the study concluded that Wii Sports "is a better option" for gamers looking to find a decent workout.
Source - ACEFitness.org -- Wii Fit - Or Just a Wee Bit? (PDF)
Change 4 Life campaign endorsing Wii Fit Plus

"We are thrilled that active videogames are finally being recognised by the Government for contributing to a healthy, balanced lifestyle," ELSPA's Mike Rawlinson said. Rawlinson revealed that ELSPA has been working with the UK government since the first Change 4 Life ad to get some fairer recognition for games, and apparently the Change 4 Life folks finally
Joyswag: Get your exercise on with Wii Fit Plus & Active Life Extreme Challenge

- Leave a comment telling us your favorite exercise fad of all time.
- You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec, largely due to Celine Dion)
- Limit 1 entry per person per day
- This entry period ends at 2:31PM ET on Monday, November 2
- At that time, we'll randomly select one winner to receive a copy of Wii Fit Plus ($20 ARV) and Active Life Extreme Challenge ($60 ARV)
- For a list of complete rules, click here
Finally, a Wii exercise game with a bicycle accessory
You may see a Wii exercise bike accessory and think it's ridiculous. We think it's about time. Not because there's never been an exercise bike controller before, but because there has. The Life Fitness Exertainment System did the video game/exercise bike interface back in 1994, allowing players to pedal along with Mountain Bike Rally or Speed Racer. However, you had to order the thing, and it cost around $3500.While the bike accessory with Big Ben Interactive's Cyberbike has yet to be priced, we are certain it'll carry a more modest price point than the Life Fitness system. Unless the company has to make back what it'll lose when Ubisoft sues it for calling its other newly-announced exercise game My Body Coach.
Wii Fit Plus out Oct. 4 at a svelte $20 price point

For new owners, a Wii Fit Plus bundle will replace the existing Wii Fit bundle, which makes sense given that it's the exact same game with added content. The Wii Fit Plus/Balance Board package will retail for $99.99.
Gallery: Wii Fit Plus (Wii)
Fitness First competing with, supporting Wii Fit

In addition, the company has partnered with European accessories manufacturer Blaze to, well, put its name on some standard Wii exercise accessories. The offerings include a silicone Balance Board skin, a yoga mat, a Wiimote holder that straps onto the player's leg, and wrist weights. Oddly, this stuff is all labeled for use with Wii Fit, suggesting a realistic understanding of what people will actually be using it for. The total lack of a consistent marketing campaign suggests just how much thought is going into this. Why not put your own game's name on the accessories?
[Via MCV]
EA Sports Active is EA's best-selling Wii game ever

If EA hadn't already announced that expansions and versions for other consoles were coming out, now is right about when we would say "there are totally going to be sequels to this." Although, we suppose, technically, the second EA Sports released a game was the second we knew there'd be another one in a year.
New dieting app uses DSi camera for time-lapse humiliation
Namco Bandai's DSiWare fitness app, Diet Memo, has been officially revealed, after the title showed up in the original Namco Bandai DSiWare announcement back in February. Non-game diet stuff might not be the most exciting thing in the world, but this one at least seems to be implemented smartly.Diet Memo uses the DSi camera extensively, for before-and-after photos of your stomach and other areas in which you hope to lose weight. You can also snap pictures of food you've eaten and annotate them with calorie data. According to Andriasang, the game can store up to ten meals a day for 90 days, though if you're eating ten meals a day, you may not need such a sophisticated weight loss product (here's your new plan: don't do that).
It also lets players record their weight twice a day, providing a graph of the long-term changes in weight and body fat. This can be exported to CSV and transferred to a computer via SD card, so players can obsessively chart their own stats -- which is both really creepy and very helpful for dieting. Diet Memo will be out tomorrow in Japan.
[Via Gpara, Andriasang]
Pediatric journal boasts about benefits of exergaming
Kids-focused health journal Pediatrics recently published a study that would shock those who decry the health benefits of exergames. The study, which was performed by researchers from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, measured young people's energy expenditure while at rest, while playing Dance Dance Revolution at two different skill levels, while walking and running on a treadmill and while boxing and bowling on Wii Sports. That sounds like more physical exertion than we go through in a year.
Some of the comparisons between these activities yielded somewhat unsurprising results -- playing the video games burned three times the calories the kids spent at rest, of course. However, the researchers also found that playing these games was a comparable activity to "moderate to intense walking," despite the fact that Wii Sports requires little lower-body movement. It seems that for the first time in recent memory, we've got science on our side. Hooray!
[Via Kotaku]
Some of the comparisons between these activities yielded somewhat unsurprising results -- playing the video games burned three times the calories the kids spent at rest, of course. However, the researchers also found that playing these games was a comparable activity to "moderate to intense walking," despite the fact that Wii Sports requires little lower-body movement. It seems that for the first time in recent memory, we've got science on our side. Hooray!
[Via Kotaku]
Jillian Michaels Fitness Ultimatum 2010: Not just last year's game with a new number

"We went with a different developer this time around," the Biggest Loser star told USA Today's Game Hunters blog, "and now it's much easier to get around the interface, it looks much better and if you like, I can now train you, too." Ultimatum 2010 also includes a Spanish-language option and new multiplayer modes. "
Other new features include the option to play in English and Spanish, multiplayer competitions and using a training calendar to set various fitness goals (be it weight loss, toning or strengthening). "The biggest thing I'm excited about is the fact it's now a 'game,'" Michaels said. "It feels like an adventure as you're on a remote island and must compete in boot camp-like activities and traverse through dangerous obstacle courses."
While we're not going to take statements from the person whose name is on the game at face value, it does sound like Majesco is putting actual effort into this sequel. Whatever you think of this kind of product (we know), at least it's not as much of a cash-in as ... it could be.
Hands-on (and flapping like wings): Wii Fit Plus
Gallery: Wii Fit Plus (Wii)
EA Sports Active expansion out this holiday

If you resolve to buy more fitness games this year, EA wants to help! Peter Moore did say EA Sports Active was a "platform."
PSA: Personal Trainer: Walking ambles into stores next week
We didn't realize that the release date for Nintendo's DS exercise program Personal Trainer: Walking was approaching so quickly, probably because Nintendo has said little about the game since announcing it in October. Nintendo announced today that the game will be in stores on May 26, which is next Tuesday. We figure that if had sneaked up on us, it may have eluded your attention as well.Three reasons you may be interested in Personal Trainer: Walking.
- It's the first DS game that allows you to use Miis, either created in-game or imported from the Wii.
- Gadgets! Walking includes two pedometers that wirelessly transmit your step numbers into the game. Also, according to the press release, you can attach one to a dog's collar and tabulate the dog's exercise habits.
- Maybe you like walking. We don't know.
Majesco whipping up two more Jillian Michaels fitness games

Both games are set to drop this fall, and will likely each be purchased 500,000 times.














